It might be just the preseason, but the last thing the Los Angeles Clippers would want to deal with this early in the new campaign are injury problems. But if there's a silver lining to be had, it's better to get those injury woes out of the way at the start of October instead of having them occur come playoff time.
Nonetheless, on Thursday night, during their preseason contest against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions, the Clippers saw veteran shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic leave early due to a back injury, as per Tomer Azarly, Clippers beat reporter for ClutchPoints.
Bogdan Bogdanovic is OUT for the remainder of the game with low back soreness. https://t.co/yvpyZrDOb4
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 10, 2025
With Bradley Beal not active for the Clippers, it was Bogdanovic that drew the start for head coach Tyronn Lue. However, the Serbian sharpshooter ended up playing in just two minutes and did not return after he exited.
Bogdanovic had been dealing with injuries for some time now. The Clippers guard was a member of Serbia's roster in EuroBasket earlier in the offseason, but he played in just two games in that tournament after suffering a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the rest of the tournament.
It is good news that the injury that ruled Bogdanovic out early in the Clippers' first preseason game of 2025 isn't the same as the one he suffered during EuroBasket. But it is very concerning that Bogdanovic, who is no longer a spring chicken at age 33, is already navigating injury problems after missing 28 games last year.
If there's a team that's gotten used to dealing with injury problems, it's the Clippers. This explains why adding depth was crucial for them this offseason. Nonetheless, one would think that ruling Bogdanovic out was merely for precautionary reasons.
Bogdanovic is expected to fill an important bench role for the Clippers, backing up Beal and being a secondary playmaker off the pine alongside Chris Paul.
Clippers dominate in first preseason win
The Loong-Lions aren't exactly the best opponents, but the Clippers definitely gave them so much respect in their first preseason contest. They ended up destroying the team based in Guangzhou by 47 points, 142-95, even though no one played in more than 18 minutes (Kawhi Leonard) on Thursday night.
Leonard led the team in scoring with 18 points on 6-10 shooting (5-8 from three), and he was just one of five players to score in double figures. Joining the Clippers star in the double-digit club on Thursday were Ivica Zubac, Chris Paul, John Collins, Jordan Miller, and Trentyn Flowers.
