WATCH: Every Point From Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers Season Debut

Almost two-months-and-a-half after the start of the 2024-25 campaign, Kawhi Leonard finally made his way back to the NBA courts and completed his season debut for the Clippers in a 131-105 victory over the Hawks on Saturday night. The forward played 19 minutes in his first match at the Intuit Dome. 

The All-Star had missed Los Angeles’ first 34 contests after recovering from a right knee injury that started during last season’s playoffs. The veteran dropped in 4-of-11 from the floor, including three shots from beyond the arc, and added three rebounds and one assist to his stat line.

After the match, Leonard was excited to play again after 254 days on the sidelines. “It felt great,” he told the press. “I was able to throw some paint on the canvas tonight … we’re working to create something beautiful, so let’s keep it going.”

WELCOME BACK, KAWHI LEONARD.

📺 ATL/LAC on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/69amdp23ZV

— NBA (@NBA) January 5, 2025

The Clippers snapped a two-game losing streak this weekend, with strong contributions from teammate Norman Powell’s 20 points and Ivica Zuba’s 18 points and 18 rebounds.

The last time that Kawhi played was on April 26, when he competed for 25 minutes and scored 9 points during Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Mavericks. That night the Clippers lost and were eventually eliminated after six contests.

Last season, the 33-year-old participated in 68 regular-season game, but then missed 12 of the final 14 matches due to this right knee inflammation. He then returned for the final two games of the playoffs, but was heavily criticized for always missing out in the most important moments.

There was even hope of him recovering this summer, as he was picked for the U.S. men’s Olympic team who eventually conquered the gold medal in Paris, but was sent home during the training camp in Las Vegas when it became evident that his knee was not healthy enough to play.

Coach Tyronn Lue revealed that his All-Star forward will be on a minutes restriction as he gets up to speed

Even though coach Tyronn Lue was excited to see Leonard play again, he explained that the team hopes to take things slow as they don’t want him to re-injure himself. The tactician shared that the player will be on a minutes restriction as he gets back on his feet again.

“This is like his preseason and training camp because he hasn’t had that. Everybody who’s playing tonight had a training camp and they played 30-35 games,” Lue expressed. “We’re going to make sure we bring him back slowly. It’s a great step in the right direction tonight, but we’ve got to make sure we’re doing it the right way.”

Kawhi has missed out on 290 regular-season matches over the past eight seasons, including the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign, after he injured his knee during the Western Conference semifinals against the Jazz. The Clippers also saw the return of Terance Mann, who had broken his let middle finger and was out for 10 games.

“So just going back to the drawing board, trying to find the right rotation and guys who play well with each other. And so that’s going to be the toughest task,” Tyronn said, as his team improved to a 19-15 record and sit in their conference’s seventh spot.