Kawhi Leonard was one of the best players in the world prior to his ACL injury. He is well-known for being the best two-way player in the league, giving superstar production offensively while also playing elite perimeter defense. During the 2020-21 regular season, Kawhi Leonard averaged 24.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 5.2 APG for the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Los Angeles Clippers should be contenders next year if the team is fully healthy. Law Murray of The Athletic‘s recent report revealed that Kawhi Leonard is “physically ready for next season”.
I was able to update Leonard’s status before the NBA Draft last month, and Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, affirmed Leonard’s positive progress the night of the draft. Everyone who has been around Leonard this offseason, both with the team and outside the team, have suggested that Leonard is physically ready for next season and is not carrying any mental angst that comes with a return from an ACL surgery.
But we’re a long way until Leonard needs to be ready in October. Frank said that Leonard wasn’t playing five-on-five yet, but the benchmark that matters is October’s preseason. I’d expect Leonard to play in multiple preseason games to help knock off the rust, which will be about 15 months after he underwent surgery in July 2021.
There is no doubt that the league is better with a healthy Kawhi Leonard, and hopefully, we see him get back to All-NBA form next year. He will be returning to a team with Paul George and many elite role players, and that will be a perfect situation for him to win his 3rd championship.
The Western Conference will likely be tough next season, and there’s no guarantee that the Clippers will make the Finals. They notably added former All-Star John Wall to the team via free agency this offseason, and we’ll see how far the Clippers end up getting next year.
