"Nights where he’s almost crying" - Ty Lue reveals Kawhi Leonard's emotional moments during long injury recovery
Kawhi Leonard has yet to debut this 2024-25 NBA season, with the LA Clippers star being listed out as he recovers from the knee injury he sustained during last season's playoffs. In an interview with ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith on Friday, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue revealed Leonard's emotional moments during his long injury recovery.
“I just want to let people know from Kawhi’s standpoint, like for him, it’s more frustrating,” Lue said. “He wants to be on the floor, he wants to play every single night, and it’s just a bad timing. … It’s been some tough days and nights.
“I’ve talked to Kawhi and there are nights where he’s almost crying just talking about how he’s let the team down. But you can’t do anything about injuries. He’s another guy that works extremely hard every single day to be on the floor. It’s just some unfortunate luck.
“Like one day, he has 35 [points] and the next day, he doesn’t play. It’s not by design. This guy works hard every single day.”
Ty Lue further elaborated on Leonard's work ethic and also mentioned that it's saddening for the organization not to be able to play him due to the circumstances.
“Kawhi is a hell of a worker. He’s a hard worker, a top-five player when he’s healthy. It’s just unfortunate with the injury bug. It’s not from a lack of working or wanting to be on the floor,” Lue said.
Watch the segment at 10:45 here:
Kawhi Leonard underwent surgery in the offseason to repair his knee injury. Because of his setback, the two-time NBA champion also missed the opportunity to play for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics and was replaced by Derrick White on the roster.
NBA insider makes bold statement on Kawhi Leonard's return to action
On the latest episode of his podcast, NBA insider and analyst Bill Simmons made a bold statement on Kawhi Leonard's potential return from injury. Simmons revealed that, according to his sources in the Clippers, Leonard will be back on the court before Christmas.
“My Clippers guy was telling me Kawhi’s coming back before Christmas," Simmons said. "I think he’s ramped up. He’s ramped up and ready to go.”
The LA Clippers have managed to stay afloat in Leonard's absence with a 14-10 record in the season. They currently stand sixth in the Western Conference and look forward to their star player's healthy return for the remainder of the season.