Kawhi Leonard Announcement Made Before Warriors Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Will Chesanek | Last updated Apr 15, 2026 8:38 PM ET

Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers are the No. 9 seed in the 2026 NBA Play-In Tournament. Sitting at 42-40 and a third-place finish in the Pacific Division, Los Angeles will face off against Stephen Curry and the No. 10 seed Golden State Warriors (37-45, No. 4 in the Pacific Division).

Leonard is having a strong season with the Clippers. The man they call “The Klaw” was sixth in the league in scoring at 27.9 per game and fourth in steals at 1.9. The California native was selected to his seventh All-Star Game as well, where he poured in 31 points while performing in front of hometown fans at the Intuit Dome.

LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2).Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Leonard has been an excellent scorer for Los Angeles this season, with the 27.9 per game number being a career high. His previous career high was in his first year with the Clippers (2019-20), when he averaged 27.1 points per game. The 6-foot-9 forward finished in the top five in MVP voting that season.

Leonard reached the minimum game threshold for season awards by playing 65 games, which makes him eligible for recognition and honors from the NBA. This also solidifies his season for record book honors. In his 14th season, the California native is doing something never before seen in NBA history.

By averaging a career high in points in his 14th season, Leonard becomes the first player in NBA history to accomplish this feat. On Wednesday, just hours before the play-in game against the Warriors, the NBA took to social media to highlight Leonard’s accomplishments. The post included an image of Leonard with “1st player to avg career-high in year 14 or later” written underneath, along with numerous videos of the Clippers star’s best plays of the regular season.

"@kawhisklawset is the FIRST player in NBA History to average their career-high in year 14 or later (27.9 PPG)" the NBA wrote on Instagram. " Kawhi & the @laclippers host the Warriors tonight at 10:00pm/et on Prime! The winner will play PHX for the West 8-seed. "