Kawhi Leonard Articles - Page 43

PLAYA VISTA – For the first time since acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the LA Clippers opened their doors for the most anticipated season in franchise history by hosting Media Day Sunday afternoon. It’s almost fitting that I got to celebrate the start of the new Clippers season and Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) […]

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers says don’t expect to see much of star small forward Kawhi Leonard, if at all, during the preseason. Rivers hinted that it’ll be more like starting quarterbacks in the NFL preseason. Doc Rivers says don't expect to see much of Kawhi Leonard, if at all, this preseason. Hinted […]

Kawhi Leonard has already established an incredible reputation for himself, helping two NBA teams to get an NBA title. It’s established that he’s one of the best two-way superstars the league has ever seen. He has a chance to make history this season as he joins the Los Angeles Clippers and turn them into instant […]

Kawhi Leonard may have won over the entire country of Canada during his lone season with the Toronto Raptors, but it seems he still has some work to do before he can capture the total adulation of sports fans in Los Angeles. Leonard, who signed with the Los Angeles Clippers this offseason, was booed during […]

Kawhi Leonard shocked the entire basketball world when he announced his decision to play for the Los Angeles Clippers over the next four years. Veteran point guard Lou Williams believes that choosing the Clips will give the reigning Finals MVP the opportunity to further solidify his legacy. “… he can basically have a franchise to […]

The Los Angeles Clippers will bring back most of last season’s roster, with some major upgrades following the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George this summer. Veteran guard Patrick Beverley is excited to play with this new-look roster, which he called essentially the same, but on steroids. "I think it's that scrapiness attitude… but […]

Kawhi Leonard is a fun guy, and his new Los Angeles Clippers teammates Patrick Beverley and Landry Shamet can attest to that. During the Clippers’ media day, both Beverley and Shamet insisted that Leonard is “funny as hell” despite not smiling a lot and showing some emotion. While the media has portrayed Kawhi as a […]

Los Angeles Clippers guard Landry Shamet was one of the people who were surprised when the team acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in free agency. In fact, he thought that he was traded when he received a ton of messages on his phone following the team’s massive offseason. "I was asleep. I woke up […]

In order to acquire two All-Star talents in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the Los Angeles Clippers had to break up part of their 2018-19 team, one that lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Golden State Warriors in six games but finished with 48 games on a rather star-less squad. At […]

Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard was one of the select few who were given an invitation to attend NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s secret camp last month, and he gave some details of the extent of his participation during his media day interview, per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints: “I didn’t play, I just went up […]

Part of the overwhelming storyline that followed the United States men’s national team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup was the never-ending rejections from American stars not participating in the international competition. Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard was among the “no”s, but on Sunday at the team’s annual media day, he expressed an interest […]

One of the major questions surrounding All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard’s free-agency decision with the Los Angeles Clippers was just how healthy the two-time Finals MVP was, and how many regular-season games he intends to play. While leading the Toronto Raptors to the Canadian franchise’s first title in history, the 28-year-old superstar only appeared in 60 […]

The LA Clippers pulled off a major coup this offseason, trading for Paul George and then signing Kawhi Leonard in one fell swoop. This gave the Clippers one of the most fearsome duos in the NBA and a legitimate chance to win their first championship. Naturally, George thinks he and Leonard are indeed the best […]

Serge Ibaka and the Toronto Raptors were disappointed with Kawhi Leonard’s decision to walk away from the team after leading them to an NBA championship last June. However, he understands the decision Kawhi had to make and was happy for him making it back home to Southern California with the Los Angeles Clippers. Josh Lewenberg […]

Toronto Raptors small forward OG Anunoby is bracing himself to fill the void left by Kawhi Leonard. Leonard, who was unarguably Toronto’s most important player in their title run last season, left the Raptors in free agency. The two-time Finals MVP opted to go home and pair up with Paul George with the Los Angeles […]

The Toronto Raptors are coming off of their first NBA championship, but with Kawhi Leonard departing via free agency this summer, a whole lot of the shine has been taken off of the team. However, Raptors big man Marc Gasol still thinks Toronto can accomplish big things this coming season: “We’re a very hungry team,” […]

The offseason featured a bevy of shocking signings and trades that completely altered the landscape of the NBA, and when the Los Angeles Lakers’ veteran pickup Jared Dudley was asked which newly-formed pairing would be the toughest, he had no choice but to name two. Not surprisingly, both duos play in the Western Conference – […]

The Toronto Raptors won their first NBA championship back in June. A month later, the core of their team was dismantled, as Kawhi Leonard decided to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers and Danny Green opted to join the Los Angeles Lakers. At Lakers media day on Friday, Green reflected on Leonard’s decision to link […]

ESPN’s NBA Top 100 is consistent with Sports Illustrated’s, as both considered Milwaukee Bucks talisman Giannis Antetokounmpo the best player in the league for the 2019-20 season, with new LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard finishing as the runner-up for that title. The argument was a similar one to SI’s — Antetokounmpo’s regular-season record and impact does have […]

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Kyrie Irving were among the players who trained with Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant at an invite-only camp in August, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times. Bryant hosted the Mamba Sports Invitational, a multi-day performance and basketball camp for some of the best players in the […]

Kawhi Leonard got the full extent of the Steve Ballmer experience very quickly into his tenure with the LA Clippers upon signing with them this summer. Head coach Doc Rivers, who admitted he nearly quit a week into the job, still recalls the first time the Clippers owner met his new star player. “(Ballmer’s) been […]

Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri believes that a ‘plenty part’ of Kawhi Leonard wanted to stay in Toronto. Ujiri laid out the key factors that might have attracted Leonard to stay with the Raptors. Apart from winning, the medical staff and the fans played a key role. Per Michael Hoad of Yahoo […]

Remember the plucky, lovable LA Clippers who captured the imagination of the basketball world by pushing the heavily favored Golden State Warriors to six games in the first round of the playoffs? A few months later, the hunters have become the hunted. Here’s what to know, watch for, and expect from the revamped Clippers in […]

It looks like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the rest of the Los Angeles Clippers had a great time during their recent fishing trip. George and Leonard are huge fans of fishing, and it appears their new teammates are as well: Team bonding was off the hook, but now we've got bigger fish to fry. […]

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown can still vividly remember watching Kawhi Leonard’s rim-bouncing game-winner that ultimately ripped the hearts of his players as the Toronto Raptors moved on to win in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The moment is still crisp, as Leonard created separation on the right side of the floor and flung a […]

Yahoo Sports insider Chris Haynes — who was the first to break the news that Kawhi Leonard was signing with the Los Angeles Clippers — says Leonard was never going to re-sign with the Toronto Raptors. Haynes says going back home to Los Angeles was always the goal for Leonard, who signed a three-year deal […]

Doc Rivers was already a known man in Los Angeles circles, but he because a town hero after the constant stories of his involvement in the signing of Kawhi Leonard became public knowledge. The LA Clippers coach admits he’s been the beneficiary of the kindness of thankful fans and businesses. “I got a couple of […]

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George started talking about playing together on the Los Angeles Clippers before free agency started at 6 p.m. on June 30. This is the type of stuff NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants to avoid. It’s why he’s enforcing new tampering rules. However, it’s nearly impossible […]

PLAYA VISTA – On Friday afternoon, the L.A. Clippers’ practice facility was finally reopened after a summer of renovations. Clippers players, including Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, have been working out in the facility over the last couple of weeks, but the team officially announced its reopening as well as its new sponsor: the ‘Honey […]

Los Angeles Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank gave a health update on star small forward Paul George on Friday. George underwent surgery to his right rotator cuff and left labrum after the 2019 playoffs ended. There’s no official timetable for the All-Star, but the current speculation is he’ll miss at least a few […]

Los Angeles Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were among the Los Angeles players to take part in a fishing trip. George is a huge fan of fishing and it looks like his new teammates are as well. Team bonding. You love to sea it. 🎣 pic.twitter.com/XivmoasBg6 — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) September 19, 2019 […]

Kawhi Leonard’s recruitment in free agency, unsurprisingly, was dominated by rumors and speculation. Initially, the Toronto Raptors were the supposed favorites to sign the reigning Finals MVP, an opinion broadly based on him publicly enjoying the city of Toronto after leading the Raptors to their first ever championship. The Los Angeles Lakers then vaulted to […]

LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers can vividly recall the anguish and gut-knotting anxiety that came with the pursuit of Kawhi Leonard, even the bits and pieces of the moments prior to locking down a verbal agreement with the star. Among them was an anecdote of his dinner time meal, in which he was forced […]

The LA Clippers had a vital stretch early in their offseason in a quest to acquire Kawhi Leonard. Yet the wait, doubt and constant consternation of whether they would be able to net his services was a helter skelter of frantic confusion. Head coach Doc Rivers was at the center of it all, now on […]

It is without question that the Los Angeles Clippers have had one of, if not the most successful offseason performances in the entire league. In the mind of team head coach Doc Rivers, a lot of credit has to be given to Clippers president of basketball operations, Lawrence Frank, for the pivotal role he played […]

LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers played a massive part of bringing in Kawhi Leonard in free agency, considering the stakes and vacillation between three teams coveting his services. The longtime coach explained how he went about recruiting the recently crowned NBA champion in the early days of July: “We had a meeting with Kawhi […]

By finishing the regular season with a league-best 60 wins last term, the Milwaukee Bucks had arguably the best season in franchise history (for the modern era, at least). This was no fluke as well, with Milwaukee establishing themselves as the best team in the league from start to finish. Unfortunately for them, they faced […]

JJ Redick was in the middle of the mayhem when Kawhi Leonard knocked down the series-clinching buzzer-beater that propelled the Toronto Raptors over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of Eastern Conference Semifinals. Redick appeared on Zach Lowe’s podcast and vividly described what it was like to be in that moment and the aftermath that […]

The L.A. Clippers will have their best chance at an NBA championship since the heyday of the Lob City days, having acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George through a season-long free agency and a consequent blockbuster trade, respectively. Yet much like their hallway rival Lakers, the Clippers will have to survive three main storylines through […]