The Los Angeles Clippers suffered a brutal 118-109 loss to the lowly Sacramento Kings at the Intuit Dome on Saturday, but that wasn’t the only bit of bad news to come out of the night. Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard had headed to the locker room early in the fourth quarter after twisting his ankle while defending against DeMar DeRozan, and he was later ruled out of the game with a left ankle injury.
Here is the play on which Leonard injured his ankle.
Kawhi Leonard left the game with an ankle injury, got it twisted up with DeMar Derozan.
It’s the second night of a back to back 😬 😬 pic.twitter.com/6vRj8b8qCO
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) March 15, 2026
Leonard immediately headed out of the game with 9:27 left in the fourth. The injury bug had stayed away from the 34-year-old lately, and it’d be a real shame if he misses significant time.
Of the Clippers’ last 23 games, Leonard had missed just one, against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 26, due to left ankle soreness. Getting a consistent run of games under his belt had led to the 34-year-old putting in some incredible performances.
Leonard had 45 points against the Timberwolves on Wednesday and looked set to have another big game here against the Kings. The seven-time All-Star had racked up 31 points (13-23 FG), six rebounds, and two steals in just 26 minutes.
Despite Leonard’s exceptional play, the Clippers were down 97-83 when he departed. This was one of their worst performances in months, and losing their star to injury just made it a night to forget.
According to Joey Linn, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue shared postgame that Leonard, who is averaging 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26, has a sprained left ankle. We should get the timetable for his return sooner rather than later.
These ankle sprains have been a real problem for Leonard this season. He missed 10 games in November 2025 due to right ankle and foot sprains. Then, in January 2026, Leonard missed three games with a right ankle sprain. The Clippers have gone 4-10 without him this season, and he’ll be sorely missed.
The Clippers had won seven of their last eight games coming into this clash with the Kings, but have now dropped to 34-33. They remain eighth in the Western Conference and will take on the San Antonio Spurs next at the Intuit Dome on Monday at 10 p.m. ET.
