Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard played his first official NBA game since the 2021 playoffs on Thursday night, and he came off the Clippers bench as the team tries to load ...

He has had an extensive injury history, so Los Angeles plans on limiting his minutes to start the year, but Leonard did come off the bench to begin his career with the Spurs, so it isn’t completely new to him. As part of his load management plan, the Lakers, Leonard played 21 minutes and scored 14 points as part of a 103-97 win. “This is how I started my career. That’s how I approached it, mentally. [Kawhi Leonard](https://www.si.com/nba/player/kawhi-leonard) played his first official NBA game since the 2021 playoffs on Thursday night, and he came off the [Clippers](https://www.si.com/nba/team/los-angeles-clippers) bench as the team tries to load manage him this season.

Kawhi Leonard returned for his first NBA game in a while, but not quite as long as TNT sideline reporter Stephanie Ready thought.

Either way, it was nice of Leonard to wait until his mic was off before correcting Ready, rather than risk derailing the interview on live TV. [Leonard](https://awfulannouncing.com/tag/kawhi-leonard) helped his [Los Angeles Clippers](https://awfulannouncing.com/tag/los-angeles-clippers) defeat their hallway rival [Los Angeles Lakers](https://awfulannouncing.com/tag/los-angeles-lakers) with 14 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Surely, Ready is aware that Thursday night wasn’t Leonard’s first game action in nearly a decade.

After returning to the court after surgery and rehab for an ACL injury, Kawhi Leonard decided to come off the bench in the Clippers' recent game versus the ...

No timetable was revealed for how long Leonard plans to come off the bench instead of starting. We wanna get in the playoffs and want me to play in the playoffs.” In just 21 minutes off the bench, Leonard played well. “You gotta gradually play minutes in order to get the ACL strong,” Leonard said. Returning from an injury like that is not easy, and some players never return the same. In a post-game interview with Ohm Youngmisuk, Leonard said the following;

Leonard will miss Saturday's game against the Kings for rest and rehab purposes, Justin Russo of the 'Clip & Roll' podcastreports.

The LA Clippers are set to take on the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, and they will not be fully loaded like they were on opening night against the Los ...

Leonard is working closely with them to construct the optimal ramp up process. Neither player is currently cleared for back-to-backs, and even if they wanted to play both games, Ty Lue has consistently and adamantly stated that the Clippers have to do right by their players when it comes to their health. Having already been handed a back-to-back set, the Clippers will be resting both Kawhi Leonard and John Wall for the first half of this back-to-back.

The Clippers are going to take things slow as John Wall and Kawhi Leonard get their legs back under them, and both will sit out against the Kings as a ...

The game will be televised locally on Bally Sports SoCal and Clippervision. According to the injury report the team submitted on Friday, both Wall and Leonard will sit for what the team is officially dubbing “return from injury rehabilitation.” The Clippers tip off against Sacramento at 7 p.m.

The Los Angeles Clippers will try to improve to 2-0 against the Sacramento Kings without the services of Kawhi Leonard and John Wall.

And it’s something that I have to like maintain and look at from like the past history of me trying to almost play 40 minutes every game and practice three hours. “We got the leading three-point shooter coming off the bench in the NBA. Wall finished with a game-high tying 15 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Aside from Leonard and Wall, no other Clippers players are listed on the injury report. We wanna get in the playoffs and want me to play in the playoffs. I’m listening to the doctors with that.” The Clippers have 15 sets this season, and Leonard is expected to sit at least one of those as he ramps up. With Sunday being the home opener, it makes sense to rest both Leonard and Wall Saturday to play them in front of Clippers fans for the first time this regular season. They’ll try to improve to 2-0 against the Sacramento Kings without the services of Kawhi Leonard and John Wall. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow and then gradually go as time goes forward and I’ll start adding minutes and once I’m ready to play 35 minutes when we come collectively — I think I played 33 minutes when I was healthy — that’s probably when you’ll see me starting. But like I told T-Lue, whatever way with his subs and how he thinks it should go without me affecting the game and causing people to get out of rhythm, I’m all for it. Leonard came off the bench for the first time since November 2013, scoring 14 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.