Kawhi Leonard is without a doubt one of the best players in the game if he’s healthy. He is a two-way wing that can do almost anything on the basketball court, and he has proven that he can win a championship as the No. 1 option on a team.
As of right now though, there’s some debate about whether we will ever get to see “peak Kawhi Leonard” again. Kawhi Leonard only played 109 regular season games out of the maximum of 162 over the course of the 2020-21 and the 2020-22 seasons, and he is still missing games this year due to his knee rehabilitation.
REPORT: Kawhi Leonard is out for a fourth consecutive game due to “knee management.”
(via @TomerAzarly, @TheSteinLine) pic.twitter.com/1hVByDKKqL
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 31, 2022
Under a recent Reddit post, fans debated whether Kawhi Leonard has “scammed” the Los Angeles Clippers. Thus far, the team has not been able to win a championship under the superstar’s tenure, though, obviously, that can change this season.
While the Los Angeles Clippers have not managed to win a championship thus far, they did manage to make their first Western Conference Finals in franchise history in the 2021 playoffs. Thus, it would be unfair to call Kawhi Leonard’s time with the Clippers a complete failure.
However, there is no doubt that this season is championship or bust for the Los Angeles Clippers. There is definitely the sense that this is the expectation from the franchise this year.
Tyronn Lue Believes The Clippers Can Win A Championship
Prior to the beginning of the season, many people had the Los Angeles Clippers as contenders due to their depth. Ahead of the season, Tyronn Lue expressed confidence that the Los Angeles Clippers are a team that “has a real shot” of winning it all.
“We stack up with the best,” Lue said. “If we’re healthy, we’re one of the best teams in the league and we’re gonna be one of the teams that’s gonna have a real shot at winning the championship. Our main thing has been health over the last couple seasons and just getting everybody back now, hoping we all can stay healthy, but we definitely match up right there at the top with the teams that can win a championship.”
While the team is clearly confident, a huge part of them potentially winning a ring will involve Kawhi Leonard staying healthy. He is the key to their championship hopes, as Paul George and a lot of good role players won’t be enough to win in a deep and talented league.
Hopefully, we see Kawhi Leonard stay healthy going forward. There’s no doubt that he is a game-changer when at his peak, and we’ll see how his knee fares throughout the regular season.
