“Kawhi Leonard’s Putting Too Much Load on His Body!”: Former All-Star Defends 2x NBA Champion Against ‘Injury Criticism’

Kawhi Leonard recently responded to the NBA’s new resting rules, which limit teams from resting their healthy star players during the regular season. The Los Angeles Clippers have been scrutinized a lot in the past few seasons for implementing ‘load management’ with their star players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Amidst these kinds of criticism surfacing, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas presented another hot take defending Kawhi Leonard’s comments on his ‘injury’, on the Gil’s Arena podcast.

Over the past three seasons with the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard has missed 85 out of 246 regular season games due to injuries. However, Gilbert Arenas defended the two-time NBA champion by saying that he puts too much load on his body. If we account for all of Kawhi’s missed games for the Clippers, it amounts to more than an entire season!

While critics have a lot to say about Kawhi’s continued absence, the Clippers All-Star believes the new policy will not impact him. He explained his stance over the years citing his extensive injury history in San Antonio, prior to his trade to the Toronto Raptors. Perhaps, some of Leonard’s absence can be well explained, given his encounters with significant injuries through the past few seasons.

Gilbert Arenas comes in support of Kawhi Leonard’s comments on the NBA’s new resting policy

A reporter recently asked Kawhi Leonard about the NBA’s new resting policy. When he understood the details of the policy, Kawhi didn’t believe it would impact his presence in games for the upcoming season. The two-time NBA champion fired back at his critics and the media for their load management claims. Leonard explained that whenever he has missed games, he has missed them for injuries.

Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas was very much in support of Leonard on this issue. Agent Zero believed Kawhi was pushing himself way beyond his capacity to play through his injuries. In the long run, this was detrimental as Leonard never really fully recovered. The three-time All-Star said, during the podcast:

“He [Kawhi] plays, when s0metimes… he shouldn’t be playing. His knee is swollen, he’s going out there playing anyway. So, it’s more of them trying to shut him down because they think he works too hard and he’s not resting enough. Because he does sit in the gym all day, taking shots, and working out… he’s going through every drill hard when he’s working out by himself. So, as someone who is hurt trying to come back, he’s [Kawhi Leonard is] putting so much load on his body that he’s just not recovering. And they said, that’s the problem. The problem isn’t that he’s just sitting…[rather] he’s overdoing it trying to be in shape and trying to get ready that he’s not actually healing.” 

It’s true that Kawhi Leonard has been over-exerting himself since his lingering quad injury from his time at the Spurs. Despite having an ACL tear added to this injury, Leonard still led the Toronto Raptors to their first-ever NBA championship in 2019. Therefore, it’s true that Kawhi requires adequate rest without facing scathing criticism for load management and absence from regular season games. In this way, the Clippers will be able to ensure Kawhi regains his previous form that has been missing for a long time.

Kawhi Leonard might be entering this new season to start healthy and afresh

This season seems to bring a new ray of hope for the Clippers fans. After missing almost a season’s worth of games, Kawhi Leonard finally looks healthy and steady enough to start this new season afresh. Last season, the Clippers finished with a 44-38 record in the Western Conference, finishing as the 5th seed. However, they witnessed some disappointment in the playoffs, as they exited in the first round after a 1-4 defeat against the Phoenix Suns.

Aside from Leonard, fellow All-Star Paul George is also expected to be fully healthy to begin the new season. The Clippers desperately need their All-Stars to show up for the regular season games. Going ahead, the Los Angeles side would hope for more consistency to begin the new season on a positive note.