Kawhi Leonard's Honest Statement on Clippers Losing Paul George

Kawhi Leonard broke his silence on Paul George leaving to the Philadelphia 76ers

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) and forward Paul George (13) look on in the second half against the Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

When the Clippers first lost Paul George to the Philadephia 76ers, the first person many had on their minds was Kawhi Leonard. However, Leonard has ever publicly spoken about the situation, until now.

During Clippers media day, Leonard spoke to the public for the first time since the 2024 NBA Playoffs, where he opened up about the team losing Paul George. While losing George is a big impact for Leonard, he doesn't believe it'll make his game any harder.

“He obviously made things easier on the court for players. But as far as my mental focus going into a game, I don’t think it’s gonna be harder for me," Leonard said. "For anybody on the court, I don’t look at him to be my savior.”

Kawhi Leonard said his mindset doesn’t change with Paul George gone.

Kawhi: “He obviously made things easier on the court for players. But as far as my mental focus going into a game, I don’t think it’s gonna be harder for me… For anybody on the court, I don’t look at him to be… pic.twitter.com/GdjmoEv0dn

— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) September 30, 2024

When both players were healthy, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were a fantastic duo on the court. Unfortunately, the reality is that the two players only had one fully healthy playoff run together - during the 2020 bubble playoffs. Outside of the NBA bubble, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George never played in a full playoff run together.

Although Kawhi Leonard might not admit it, his body needs a 3rd superstar on the team. The moments that Leonard plans on resting were greatly alleviated by the presence of Paul George. Now, it's going to be a committee approach by all the role players on the team.

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