Things are not going well for the Los Angeles Clippers, and the team’s early-season slide could get even worse with the latest news out of the franchise.
In addition to Bradley Beal’s surgery and expectation to miss the rest of the season, star forward Kawhi Leonard is the latest player to have an uncertain status going forward.
According to Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, Leonard is nursing both foot and ankle injuries that could cause him to miss an extended period of time.
“Kawhi Leonard missed his fifth straight game Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets, and the LA Clippers star will need more time before returning as he deals with a sprained right ankle, as well as a “significant” right foot sprain,” the insider wrote. “Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank revealed Wednesday that Leonard suffered the sprained foot when he injured his right ankle against the Miami Heat on Nov. 3. He hasn’t played since that game.”
Leonard has dealt with serious injuries throughout his career and has yet to play more than 70 regular-season games in nearly a decade. Along with the Clippers’ early-season struggles, the two-time Finals MVP and his team are also under investigation by the NBA for allegedly circumventing the salary cap, following reporting done by Pablo Torre.
Kawhi Leonard Injury Update Spells More Bad News
Leonard hasn’t been consistently healthy for a while, but there was hope he would be a dependable on-court presence for the team after their major offseason roster changes. However, that has not been the case, with the expectation of either Leonard or the other notable players helping impact winning, and the team’s 3-8 record could drop even worse with the latest update.
“With Kawhi, it wasn’t just an ankle sprain,” Frank said. “He also had a significant sprain in his foot, as well. When he sprained his ankle, it kind of triggered a mechanism in his foot.”
According to Youngmisuk, Leonard and the franchise consulted with multiple doctors. The star has undergone multiple lower-body surgeries over the past few years, but what is a good sign for the Clippers is that they don’t expect the injury to sideline him, like Beal, for the rest of the season.
“Everyone has concurred in terms of what it is,” Frank added. “It is just going to take a period of time to get the inflammation down and start to ramp back up on the court. So, he is doing two to three-a-day treatments, and it is just going to take a little time.”
In six appearances, Leonard is averaging 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.4 steals on 50.4% shooting in 33.5 minutes per game. The future Hall of Famer played in only 37 games for the Clippers last season, and has averaged only 53 regular-season appearances in his previous five seasons in Los Angeles.
He will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip, but doesn’t have a direct timeline for a return.
Clippers 2025-26 NBA Season Not Going As Planned
Along with Leonard and star guard James Harden, on paper, the Clippers have a strong yet old roster. They brought in Beal, Chris Paul, John Collins, and Brook Lopez, while keeping center Ivica Zubac, Derrick Jones Jr., and Nicolas Batum. They lost Norman Powell and Amir Coffey, but there was still an expectation that this team would be competitive in the West.
Now multiple weeks into the season, that hasn’t been the case, and the Clippers sit only ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, and Sacramento Kings in the conference standings at 3-8.
They rank 23rd in net rating, 20th in offensive rating, 26th in defensive rating, and 27th in points per game, along with being in the bottom half of many other major team statistics. In a year in which there were real expectations about this team getting over the hump, it has already looked like a failed experiment.
While Harden, Zubac, and a healthy Leonard have been solid, the rest of the roster, especially the new additions, have been underwhelming. Paul and Lopez are both averaging career lows in points and minutes, while Collins is only putting up stronger numbers than he did in his rookie season.
The team looks old, out of sorts, and without a sustainable direction for the future, just 11 games into the 2025-26 NBA season. There might still be hope that change is possible, but with Beal out, Leonard missing more time, and the almost certainty of other injuries in the future, it doesn’t look good for the Clippers.
Los Angeles only has wins over the Kings, Warriors, and Pelicans, and most recently saw Nikola Jokic drop 55 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in what was their sixth straight loss.
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