After missing five games due to injury, Norman Powell returned to the Clippers’ lineup on Sunday for the second night of their back-to-backs against the Lakers. A Purple and Gold faithful reached out to the veteran shooting guard after the game, arguing that he rushed his return to face the storied franchise.
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It’s been somewhat of a trend around the league as notable names seem to make their way off the injury report when the Lakers are in town. It happened just last week when Donte DiVincenzo made his return against LeBron James‘s team after missing 19 games due to a toe injury.
Considering their hometown rivalry with the Clippers, Powell’s return was all the more significant. Even Luka Doncic commented on the phenomenon after winning the home game with a 108-102 score line.
“I didn’t believe it before, but they say like, you know, if somebody is out a long time, then they play against the Lakers. I don’t know, I didn’t believe in that a long time but obviously it’s the Lakers so, I think that’s normal,” the five-time All-Star commented.
Clearly, the Slovenian superstar is learning the pros and cons of playing for one of the biggest teams in the NBA. However, it might have been Doncic’s comments that emboldened a fan to tease Powell about his return against the Purple and Gold.
“Was it worth rushing the injury? I know playing the Lakers is like the NBA Finals for you, but look what happened,” a Lakers faithful texted on Instagram. Powell wasn’t a fan of the insinuation and surprisingly fired back with his own text message.
“Brotha, I didn’t rush anything to play the Lakers!” Powell wrote. He continued, “Think the Lakers mean that much? LOL, totally unrelated to what I was out with before. But hey, you and everyone else knows more than me.”
Norman Powell going at it with a Lakers fan in his DM’s 💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/0XewuIPBM2
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) March 3, 2025
The 31-year-old had missed the previous five games, including the Clippers’ 102-106 loss to the Lakers on Friday, before suiting up for the final game of their regular season series. Unfortunately, he would only be able to play for 9 minutes as he would be benched after the first quarter.
His team later shared an update that Powell wouldn’t return to the game. He was suffering from left knee patellar tendinopathy, an injury that has a recovery timeline of 10 to 30 days for NBA players. However, there is truth to the veteran guard’s statement as well.
Earlier this season, he incurred a similar hamstring injury which forced him to miss 6 games in November. He would miss two weeks of action as he recovered. Similarly, Powell’s last game before the current injury was on February 14th, when he scored a season-high 41 points against the Utah Jazz.
Flash forward two weeks and Stormin’ Norman appears to be on the cusp of a return. Perhaps he was telling the truth and his appearance against the Lakers merely coincided with his recovery timeline.
In any case, the Clippers will hope to have their sharpshooter back in the lineup as soon as possible. They’ve fallen to the 7th seed, with the 10th seeded Dallas Mavericks just one game behind. Powell’s 23.8 points per game will certainly help them fend off the competition through the final 22 games of the campaign.
