Kawhi Leonard’s knee issue has been one of the biggest threats to the Los Angeles Clippers’ hopes of winning a league title over the years. The star stated that he would love to play in their season opener – where the Clippers’ new arena will also be inaugurated, but all of that depends on his knee’s status ahead of the game.

Leonard’s knee issues have been present over the years in his Clippers tenure. That has certainly prevented him from playing a lot of postseason games – with the last run seeing him missing out on four of six games that they played against the Dallas Mavericks – which led to their first-round exit and the later dissolution of the so-called “Big Four” with Paul George and Russell Westbrook now moving on to new teams.

The Clippers are slated to play the Phoenix Suns – who also had a rough first-round exit after being swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves despite boasting one of the best offensive trios in the league. So far, Leonard still remains confident that he will get the chance to play for LA and start the season on a promising note.

Thinking Positive

Los Angeles’ debut in the Intuit Dome marks a new era of competence for the Clippers this season, who now only have Leonard and James Harden as its lead stars for the coming season after a set of failed contender runs over the years. Leonard, a six-time All-Star, now moves to make his presence felt and remains positive that he can make his debut as early as the first game of the season.

“Right now it’s a positive thing to think I will play, but we’re taking it day by day,” Leonard said of his plans to play in the first game of the season. “I never plan to miss games, but it’s just about my body. I’m a human being and we’re playing basketball. There’s some stuff we can do or try to do to make me last. We’ll see what happens.”

It is worth noting that Leonard did not play in the 2024 Paris Olympics despite practicing with the US Team in Las Vegas before he was later replaced by Derrick White en route to their gold medal win. Despite that, Leonard played the most games in his tenure with the Clippers last season, logging a total of 68 games in the regular season alone but had to miss the final eight due to his knee.

A New Hope for the Clippers

The Clippers were considered to be one of the biggest contenders in the Western Conference ever since Leonard teamed up with Paul George in the squad back in 2020 – just after Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to win its first championship. However, the following years proved to be tough and filled with injuries for Leonard, which prevented him from coming up with huge strides in the game.

At this point, the Clippers are now hoping that Leonard can stay healthy for the whole season and be present in their postseason hopes. The Clippers did reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time in the earlier years, but Leonard was sidelined that time and had to watch his team lose out the 2021 campaign.

Now more than ever, the Clippers need more from Leonard in the coming season and the rest of the postseason should they qualify for the playoffs. That all depends on how Leonard’s health would play a huge role in their chances of winning in the games.