Los Angeles Clippers

Report: Kawhi Leonard expected to play in back-to-backs for rest of season

Published by
Brad Sullivan

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has reportedly expressed a desire to play in back-to-back contests this season, according to Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue.

That apparent decision by the 29-year-old Leonard would be a change from the controversial concept of “load management” that the veteran had been abiding by for the past few years. That involved sitting out games during the regular season in the expectation of a long playoff run for his respective teams.

Due to injuries that limited Leonard to nine games during the 2017-18 season as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, the load management idea commenced after he was dealt to the Toronto Raptors in 2018.

After Leonard played in 60 regular season games during the 2018-19 campaign, the Raptors went on to win the franchise’s first NBA title and Leonard won NBA Finals MVP honors.

When Leonard then signed with the Clippers after that championship season, the same approach was followed, with the veteran seeing action in 57 contests.

Whether or not the Clippers’ embarrassing collapse in the Western Conference semifinals had any impact on Leonard’s change is unknown. During the early portion of the 2020-21 season, he’s played in seven of the Clippers’ first nine games.

Leonard has been part of championship teams with both the Spurs and Raptors and is no doubt hoping to follow in the footsteps of LeBron James, who has won NBA titles with three different teams. Being on the court as much as possible might help Leonard achieve that goal.

Brad Sullivan

Brad has written on a variety of both NBA and NFL topics and has worked previously as a sports information director at the collegiate level. A lifetime fan of sports, he's witnessed countless great moments in different sports and understands that stories can be compelling from both the perspective of winners and losers. As a frustrated fan of Cleveland sports, he experienced something unprecedented when the Cavaliers won the city's first championship in 52 years.

Published by
Brad Sullivan

Recent Posts

‘Wtf’: Trae Young reacts to Rashad McCants saying he could score 81 points like Kobe Bryant

Back in January of 2006, former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant put on one…

1 hour ago

Rashad McCants says he could’ve won ROTY but had a coach who was ‘shaking in the motherf——g huddle’

Former NBA guard Rashad McCants was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the last lottery…

1 hour ago

Chandler Parsons says Jaylen Brown would be best player on over half of NBA teams, including some playoff teams

The Boston Celtics were without maybe their top player for Wednesday's Game 2 versus the…

1 hour ago

‘Spo gonna Spo’: Cavs player gives Erik Spoelstra his flowers after Heat’s near-upset in Game 2

The odds were stacked against the Miami Heat to pick up a win in Game…

1 hour ago

Report: Will Campbell landing with Patriots may depend on whether team gets ‘fair deal’ to trade down

As a consolation prize for a woeful 2024 season that was marred by losing, the…

2 hours ago

Report: ‘Most of the league’ has been contacted about Jalen Ramsey, including Rams, Lions and Eagles

Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey is one of the more notable players in the league…

2 hours ago