It seems that far too many outsiders overlook just how big an impact a healthy Kawhi Leonard can have on the hardwood. LA Clippers fans know how well their team is performing this season, but they are also well aware that Leonard remains one of the most significant difference-makers in the association when he is at his best.
Many seem to have forgotten that just last season, Kawhi played in 68 games and earned his way to All-NBA second team, as well as an All-Star appearance. It is not like it has been years and years since we have seen him play at a dominant level, though some critics seem to think so.
We know the kind of impact he can have when in top form, but Leonard's health is obviously still in question at the moment. He has yet to play in a game this season, and updates on his progress have been minimal. We know from Ty Lue that he is at least back to shooting, but no substantial progress reports have been made.
What we do know is that Kawhi has now been ruled ineligible for NBA season awards for the 2024-25 season. Due to him missing the first 18 games of the Clippers' season, Leonard officially eclipsed the games-missed mark that would serve to disqualify him from consideration from all the major awards.
Kawhi has missed too many games to be considered for season awards
The new rules instituted during the 2023-24 season made playing 65 games in a season a requirement to be considered for any and all season awards. This includes MVP, All-Star, DPOY, All-Defense teams, Sixth Man of the Year, and all the various smaller awards as well.
With the Clippers now being 19 games into their season, Kawhi could return and play every single game and he would still finish the year with just 63 games played. In a way, this hypothetical circumstance serves to question the logic of this arbitrary 65-games rule. If Leonard were to return and play that many games consecutively while putting up big numbers, common sense would say he would have to be in consideration for plenty of applicable awards.
But Adam Silver and the NBA would disagree with this logic as per their new rules. The painful reality is that Kawhi is likely still several games away from returning at the least, and it is entirely possible he goes below 50 games played this year if he needs to continue to manage swelling in his knee for the entire season.