- - Kawhi Leonard continues to shine as Clippers hit their stride

James H. Williams, USA TODAYJanuary 10, 2026 at 9:17 PM

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Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers may have finally found their stride, winning eight of their last 10 games.

The Clippers enter Saturday’s game with a 14-23 record, after starting the season 6-21.

The team not only dealt with struggles on the court, but the franchise has been a topic of discussion throughout most of the season due to the ongoing investigation involving Leonard, Chris Paul’s departure, and more.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue understood the need to turn the season around, stating that the team's "main goal is to try to be 35-20 the rest of the way and just keep stacking wins from there" on Dec. 20.

The recent success provides hope that the team can continue to turn the season around and earn a spot in the playoffs.

Leonard is averaging a career-high 28 points with 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. While the standout is 10th in the league for scoring average this season, he has been serving as the best over the last 10 games with a league-high 33.1 points per game.

“It’s been great,” Leonard said about his recent success when talking with the NBC Sports broadcast team that included Snoop Dogg. “It’s a different role than I have played before, just being aggressive all game and shooting as many shots as possible. I’m still getting used to it and getting my legs under me but it’s been great.”

He recently became just the second player in NBA history to have an undefeated five-game span with 40+ points per game, while shooting for 50% from the field, 40% from the 3-point line and 90% from the free throw line earlier this month. Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was the only other player to achieve a similar feat from March 16-25, 2007, according to OptaSTATS.

Leonard also produced a single-game career-high point total after scoring 20 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter of a 118-101 victory over the Utah Jazz on New Year's Day at the Intuit Dome.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets forward Danny Wolf (2) and guards Nolan Traore (88) and Drake Powell (4) during the second quarter at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Jan. 9, 2026.What is Kawhi Leonard’s injury status?

Leonard was listed as questionable for the Clippers' game against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. He sprained his right ankle earlier in the week against the New York Knicks after stepping on a fan's foot during the game in Madison Square Garden.

Leonard managed to play in the 121-105 victory over the Nets, scoring 26 points, five assists and five rebounds.

He's likely to be questionable for the second game of the back-to-back against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

"It's going to be a day-to-day,” Leonard told Law Murray of the Athletic on Friday night. “See how it feels tomorrow morning, and then see how I feel at my shooting time, and then go from there."

Will Kawhi Leonard be an All-Star?

Kawhi Leonard was ranked 13th in the second returns for the 2025-2026 NBA All-Star game fan voting. He had 275,316, which ranked him above Dallas Maverick big man Anthony Davis (269,979) and below Clipper teammate James Harden (400,282).

The league will introduce a new All-Star Game format this year, featuring two teams comprised of American players and a third team consisting of international players, known as the "World Team."

The teams play in a round-robin tournament that will feature four 12-minute games.

The game will be played at the Clippers’ home arena, the Intuit Dome.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kawhi Leonard continues to shine as LA Clippers hit their stride

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Source: “AOL Sports”