As the 2025-26 NBA season draws closer, the Los Angeles Clippers are looking more and more ready. They just played their first preseason game earlier this week against the Guangzhou Loong Lions and blew them out by 47 points.
Their star forward, Kawhi Leonard, finished with 18 points in the game, and he only played 18 minutes. While Leonard has had many better performances throughout his career, being able to play healthy basketball amidst the current NBA investigations should be a positive sign.
His 18 points came at what seemed so effortless for him. He shot 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, including one corner three that had a degree of difficulty most players couldn’t make.
Kawhi Leonard drills his 4th triple of the game 👌
13 points in 13 minutes for the Klaw! pic.twitter.com/MY3lyj4MTh
— NBA (@NBA) October 10, 2025
Kendrick Perkins, NBA champion and current ESPN analyst, seemed to believe that Leonard’s controversy has been a blessing in disguise.
“Kawhi Leonard playing in the preseason game? When’s the last time we saw Kawhi play in a preseason game? But here’s the thing, right? It’s so much noise going on about Kawhi Leonard outside the lines; the only way to quiet that noise is by going out there and performing on the floor at a high level,” Perkins said on ESPN.
He continued, “I believe that we’re going to see the best version of Kawhi Leonard. It was a blessing in disguise what’s going on outside the lines because now, Kawhi can find his sanctuary inside the lines, which is going to benefit the Clippers.“
Perkins isn’t entirely wrong either. Leonard has had a history of missing games, so for him to appear in a preseason matchup speaks volumes about his mentality heading into the season.
“Kawhi looks great. Every drill, every practice, conditioning, body’s in great shape. He feels really good, so hope we can keep it that way.” – Tyronn Lue
The Clippers might just be getting the best version of Kawhi Leonard again.
After years of battling knee issues, the… pic.twitter.com/qXzGwALjLy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 11, 2025
Much of last season for the LA Clippers was navigating games without Leonard in the lineup. That meant they had to utilize James Harden a lot more than they wanted to.
As great a player as Harden is, taking that entire load of leading the team with no second star to help can fatigue a player come playoff time. Harden had help in Norman Powell, but Powell was also injured after the All-Star break.
Mar 11, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) and Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden (1) react during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
This season could be much different. With Leonard playing, the other older stars like Harden, newcomer Bradley Beal, and others can help each other take less responsibility. Essentially, they can focus on team basketball.
Whether the best version of Leonard is here or not has yet to be seen, but the signs are there — even if only in a preseason game.