The Los Angeles Clippers are set to face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night. The Clippers got superstar forward Kawhi Leonard back for training camp after he missed the end of the 2023 NBA Playoffs with a torn right meniscus, but as the 2023-24 season is set to begin and Leonard's workload is increased, it begs the question: Is Kawhi Leonard playing tonight vs. the Lakers?

Kawhi Leonard injury status vs. Lakers

The Clippers posted a 44-38 record last season, with Leonard playing in 52 games despite dealing with several different injuries early on in the year as he worked his way back from a torn ACL. Leonard played 45 of the last 55 regular games for LA, with the ten games he missed during that stretch being the second nights of back-to-back sets. Leonard played in Games 1 and 2 of the Clippers' first round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, but he suffered a torn meniscus in Game 2 that cut his postseason short.

Leonard underwent surgery to repair his torn meniscus in early June, and he ended up making a full recovery, which allowed him to be a full participant in all of Clippers training camp and the preseason. He played in three of their four preseason games and looked strong, but the Clippers remain determined to be extremely cautious with Leonard moving forward. Despite that, the latest injury report indicates that Leonard is likely to play in their contest against the Lakers on Wednesday night.

In the 2021-22 season the Clippers accumulated a 42-40 regular-season record, all without the two-time NBA Finals MVP due to the ACL rehab he was undergoing. Now in their fifth season together in Los Angeles, Leonard and Paul George are hoping to lead the Clippers to that highly coveted NBA championship.

This training camp marks the first in three years that Leonard has been fully healthy, not nursing an injury, and not limited in any capacity. During camp in Hawaii, Leonard admitted that he believed the team was too excited for his return and “skipped some steps” along the way.

“Last year, I think everybody was a little excited just by me coming back,” Kawhi Leonard told ClutchPoints. “I feel like we really we skipped some steps, I would say. That's on all of us in here. The front office, me included, and the coaching staff. And so I think now, we see what we got. And hopefully we could, you know, start from square one, building steps. Transition drills and going over rotations on the defensive end, you need all those coming into a season. So, I think he's doing a great job of, you know, making us, you know, build our foundation and get our basic of basketball together as a team.”

Head coach Tyronn Lue said it's been a different feel at camp with Leonard healthy and unrestricted.

“Just being healthy and being able to do everything full speed, no restrictions. And then just his leadership in camp. It's been tremendous. It was just more vocal. You know, we already know he leads with his actions as far as practice, and all that stuff.  But he's been great. You know, so he and PG and Russ, just coming into camp, setting the tone. Really allowed us to have a great camp.”

The team's newest addition in Russell Westbrook, who arrived with 21 games remaining in the 2022-23 season, is encouraged by the different leadership styles he's seeing out of Leonard and George.

“I just think obviously Kawhi and PG, everybody leads differently. Everybody leads in different ways. Obviously Ty making sure how he leads is differently by just making sure we all leading the same message and the message with our group, making sure we all understand how we want to go into this year. And I think everybody's been doing a great job of that from top to bottom.”

The Clippers only allowed Leonard to play in back-to-back sets late in the season when they were desperate to put together wins and avoid the Play-In Tournament. Could the plan be any different this year? As usual, the goal is to make sure Leonard and George are as close to 100 percent healthy as possible in April, May, and June.

At the same time, Lue has claimed several times that he wants the Clippers to take the regular season more seriously. There were times last year where managing workloads became a source of frustration for Lue, so if Leonard goes through the morning walk-through and film session feeling good, he should be expected to play against James and the Lakers.

In 52 games last season, Leonard averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2 three-pointers per game on 51.2 percent shooting from the field, 41.6 percent from three, and 87.1 percent from the free throw line. In two postseason games, Leonard averaged 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 3 three-pointers per game on 54.5 percent shooting from the field and 60 percent from three.

So far this season, Leonard is averaging 19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals across four games.

As the Clippers prepare for their matchup against the Lakers, the question is answered: Is Kawhi Leonard playing tonight? It's not official yet, but yes, he is expected to.