Kawhi Leonard will be entering the 14th season of his NBA career this year. The two-time NBA Champion has several challenges in front of him, the biggest being his knee injury. However, keeping that aside, Leonard talked about his plans for the 2024-25 season.
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During his conversation with reporters, the 33-year-old Clipper stated that winning a championship in the upcoming season is his only focus. Infamous for his load management strategies, Kawhi made it clear that playing the entirety of the regular season is not a priority for him if that’s what it’ll take to win a Championship.
He also had high praise for the things he has been doing to get himself back into the mix.
Kawhi told reporters, “As I get older, guys aren’t doing what I’m doing pretty much. You don’t see it around the league. Even when I was young… This is what I work for.”
“I strive to get a championship. I’m not out there to try to play 82 games. I’m trying to win. Even tho that’s obligated for me. I try to, but it hasn’t worked out,” he added.
Kawhi Leonard: “As I get older, guys aren’t doing what I’m doing pretty much. You don’t see it around the league. Even when I was young… This is what I work for. I strive to get a championship. I’m not out there to try to play 82 games. I’m trying to win. Even tho that’s… pic.twitter.com/mVSdzsrQ0j
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) October 6, 2024
The Clippers have lost a lot of talent since last season. So, it will interesting to see how they take care of business in 2024-25 in a stacked Western Conference. They have lost their first preseason game against the Golden State Warriors, making an unfortunate start to the season’s festivities.
From this year, the Clippers will have their own home. The Intuit Dome was inaugurated earlier in August and it boasts the best environment for live events. They would want to make their first campaign in their home arena a success by winning the franchise’s first championship.
It seems like Kawhi is up for the challenge.
Kawhi Leonard will try to control his miles this season
The Klaw has had quite a lot of injuries in the recent past. He missed the 2021 playoffs due to a torn ACL, the 2023 playoffs due to a torn meniscus, and the first-round series last season due to knee inflammation. This season, the Klaw would like to be more in control of his actions.
When asked about his positioning for the next season, he said, “Who was the power forward last year? It’s gonna be the same thing pretty much. But we gotta control what we can control. I probably ran the top five most miles per game last year. Or top-10. All coming off a torn meniscus. So we gotta see if that’s beneficial for me or not.”
Kawhi Leonard when asked about his position and playing power forward:
“Who was the power forward last year? It’s gonna be the same thing pretty much. But we gotta control what we can control. I probably ran the top-five most miles per game last year. Or top-10. All coming off a… pic.twitter.com/1Nsee7jUtU
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) October 6, 2024
Kawhi was the 12th player on the list with the most miles. He led the Clippers with an average of 2.53 miles per game. The table topper Miles Bridges averaged 2.82 miles per game. It’s more impressive for Leonard because he did that with a body that’s marred with injuries.
