"Kawhi Leonard is an odd duck man… Kawhi is the single biggest health risk in the league” – Nick Wright criticizes Kawhi Leonard’s irregular health issues
Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers have the chance to contend for an NBA championship. The Clippers have put together one of the deepest rosters in the entire league for the 2022-23 season. As long as their superstar stays healthy, the Clippers will be a force.
That idea could become challenging, especially given the recent injury history of Kawhi Leonard. The 31-year-old forward missed the entire 2021-22 season with an ACL injury and has had his fair share of issues before. When Kawhi is on the court, he's one of the top two-way players in the game of basketball.
It's why the Clippers were so aggressive in acquiring pieces during the previous season. One person who is not convinced is analyst Nick Wright. While making an appearance on the "Dan Patrick Show," Wright went into depth about his opinion regarding Kawhi.
"Kawhi Leonard is an odd duck man. Tore his ACL two seasons ago and then when it happened, it was like a knee strain, they didn't even tell us, and now he's on a serious minutes restriction this late at this point. How about this Dan, remember when Zaza put his foot underneath him when Kawhi was with the Spurs? That was more than five seasons ago.
Wright then went into depth about how Leonard has only played 179 games since he was with the San Antonio Spurs. He then goes on to say that he believes that Leonard is "the single biggest health risk in the league."
Since then Kawhi Leonard has played 179 games, that is 306th in the NBA. There's only 450 players. So the idea that you're just going to assign Health to the clippers, I thought John Wall looked awesome, but he's a health risk. Kawhi is the single biggest health risk in the league And so, yes, if healthy, I love their coach, I love their depth, but I think that if healthy thing is a big if."
Kawhi Leonard impresses in 2022-23 debut with Los Angeles Clippers
There's going to be plenty of lofty expectations when it comes to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2022-23. The key to everything will be the health of Kawhi Leonard moving forward. With fellow superstar wing Paul George back in the mix, the Clippers now have the potential to be a dominant contender.
Before the team's first game last night, it was announced that Kawhi would come off the bench. The mindset was to slowly bring Leonard back up to game speed after he's been away for so long.
It didn't take long for Kawhi to showcase just how dangerous he can still be on the court. In just 21 minutes of action, Leonard shot 6-of-12 from the field. He went on to finish the game with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in the win against the Lakers.
Kawhi Leonard made his return to action last night, putting up 14 PTS & 7 REB off the bench as the Clippers defeated the Lakers 🤚 https://t.co/fkktTdQWAS
The Clippers are off to a good start to the 2022-23 season after their opening night win against the Lakers. With a roster that features a serious amount of depth, the Clippers should give opposing teams all they can handle. The key to the puzzle will be the health of their superstar. Time will tell if Kawhi can stay on the court and lead the Clippers to a potential title.