Heading into the 2021-22 NBA season, the LA Clippers had relatively high hopes. Although Kawhi Leonard was expected to miss most, if not all of the season, there was a bit of an outside shot that he would return in time for the playoffs.
Outside of Leonard, LA has a pretty stacked roster. Reggie Jackson returned to form, Paul George is very much one of the best two-way players in the entire NBA, Ty Lue is a diabolical coaching mind, Norman Powell and Robert Covington are shot-making role players and Ivica Zubac is an underrated and underutilized big man down on the block.
In addition to those well-constructed pieces, there was always an outside chance that if the Clippers took care of business during the regular season, Leonard would be enticed to play. Yet, despite it all, the Clippers’ season fell apart. George missed 51 games due to an elbow injury, leading to LA being ushered out of the playoff picture in the play-in games.
Still, even with LA currently watching this year’s Playoffs from the sidelines, Leonard isn’t ruling out their chances of winning a title. Not next year’s title but this year.
“Who do you have based on who’s left?”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 25, 2022
Kawhi Leonard: “Clippers.”
“Who do you think will win the title?”
Kawhi: “Clippers.” pic.twitter.com/UFUbeWAVeU
“The Clippers,” said Leonard to TMZ Sports when asked who will likely win it all.
There’s reason to believe the Clippers would’ve been in the championship mix this season
Currently, the four teams left in the big dance are the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics. Although Leonard likes his LA Clippers’ imaginary chances at winning a title this year, there’s reason to believe that if everything had gone right, the Clippers would have found themselves in prime position to compete for a championship.
Over the past two seasons, the Clippers have been firmly entrenched in the NBA title race. In previous years, LA has wiped the floor with the Dallas Mavericks, unceremoniously showing them the door. Now, ironically enough, with LA out of the playoff picture, the Mavericks have made their deepest run in about a decade.
From top to bottom, provided health was not an issue, the Clippers would appear to have a championship-level team. With Leonard continuing to rehab his torn ACL, he’s seemingly preparing himself for LA’s championship parade following the conclusion of this season.