Kawhi Leonard achieved a huge career milestone on Sunday during the Los Angeles Clippers' home game at Intuit Dome in Inglewood versus LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Leonard walked into that matchup just 14 points short of the 14,000-point club in the NBA. The six-time NBA All-Star finally reached that scoring plateau, as he helped the Clippers secure a 116-102 win against the Lakers by scoring 19 points on an efficient 9-for-13 shooting from the field.
Leonard, who is not known for a bombastic personality, appeared to downplay his reaching the 14,000-point mark, though, he still showed appreciation for his latest accomplishment.
“I’m not looking at that as a milestone,” Leonard told reporters in the postgame press conference following the win over the Lakers (h/t Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated).
“I’m more of a team guy and get the win.. be the last team standing. But thank God for being able to get that opportunity. Most people don’t. I take every opportunity and blessing and don’t take it for granted,” Leonard added.
If not for his health troubles, Leonard could have scored his 14,000th point in the NBA long ago. The two-time NBA champion has not played more than 74 games in a season thus far in his career in the pros. Moreover, he has not appeared in more than 68 games in a season since the 2016-17 campaign. Leonard also only made his 2024-25 NBA debut on Jan. 4, as he was ruled out indefinitely due to right knee inflammation at the start of the season.
Article Continues BelowKawhi Leonard working his way to bigger minutes

Leonard is still on a minutes restriction and he can be expected to sit out Monday's meeting with the Chicago Bulls at home for rest purposes, but he expressed optimism about his progress.
“I’m happy with the progress,” Leonard said (via Linn). “I’m coming out the games feeling great. Still got work to do and we’re gonna keep taking each step.”
Through five games this season, Leonard is averaging 13.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals on 21.8 minutes while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from behind the arc. Leonard's next chance to suit up will be on Wednesday when the reigning NBA champions Boston Celtics visit Inglewood.