Stephen A. Smith rips Kawhi Leonard’s availability vs. Joel Embiid’s: ‘Kawhi Leonard invents ways to get hurt’

Los Angeles Clippers small forward Kawhi Leonard “invents ways to get hurt,” according to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

While comparing Leonard’s injury track record to that of Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, Smith claimed that nobody misses more games than the Clippers star.

“Nobody misses more games than Kawhi Leonard,” Smith said. “… Joel Embiid (has) missed 204 games in his career, primarily the first two seasons of his career. That’s true. Kawhi Leonard invents ways to get hurt.”

Earlier in the ESPN segment, Smith did say he was “shocked” Embiid was healthy when he flew to Paris for the Olympics, joking that he thought the 76ers star would get injured flying.

It’s worth noting that while Embiid has indeed missed over 204 regular-season games since making his NBA debut, that number actually doesn’t include any games from the two full seasons he missed to start his NBA career.

Leonard and Embiid were both set to represent Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but Leonard, who battled knee inflammation down the stretch of the 2023-24 NBA season, was ultimately removed from the Team USA roster and replaced by Boston Celtics guard Derrick White. Embiid remains on the roster and is hoping to help Team USA win gold this month.

Leonard and Embiid are two extremely decorated players in today’s NBA. Between the two of them, they have 13 All-Star selections, 11 All-NBA selections, two NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles and one regular-season MVP award. They also have a number of impressive defensive accolades.

But injury woes have indeed plagued them over the years. Embiid has never appeared in 70 or more games in a single regular season, and Leonard hasn’t done so since the 2016-17 campaign.

For Leonard, his availability issues have been especially noticeable in the playoffs in recent years. Embiid, on the other hand, has done a decent job of taking the floor in the postseason.

With any luck, both players will stay healthy in the upcoming NBA season, as the league is certainly better with both of them competing. Ironically, Embiid’s 76ers recently stole star veteran Paul George away from Leonard’s Clippers, shaking up the rosters of both teams heading into the new season.