Is Kawhi Leonard Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Clippers vs. Suns)

The latest injury update for Los Angeles Clippers guard Kawhi Leonard on Thursday night against the Phoenix Suns.

LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers have ruled out star forward Kawhi Leonard (ankle) for Thursday night's matchup against the Phoenix Suns.

Leonard isn't the only important player out for the Clippers, as James Harden (personal reasons) also will not play on Thursday.

Kawhi Leonard (ankle) ruled out for Thursday.

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) November 5, 2025

Leonard tweaked his ankle in the team's loss to the Miami Heat on Monday night, and he ended up sitting out the second night of a back-to-back against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

Leonard sitting out the second night of a back-to-back isn't rare -- he only played in one back-to-back last season -- but the fact that this injury has lingered into Thursday makes it something to keep an eye on for the Clippers going forward.

Kawhi Leonard said he turned his ankle late in the game and will see how he’s feeling tomorrow before deciding on his status against OKC pic.twitter.com/GbkTPdGQZ6

— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) November 4, 2025

With Leonard and Harden out, oddsmakers have set the Clippers as road underdogs in Thursday night's matchup. Los Angeles is 0-2 on the road so far this season and has the worst road net rating (-21.1) in the NBA.

Can the Clippers turn things around against a Suns team that is just 3-5 through eight games?

Here's a look at my favorite prop bet for the Clippers tonight with Leonard out of the lineup.

Best Clippers Prop Bet vs. Suns With Kawhi Leonard Out

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Earlier today, I shared in SI Betting's best prop bets for this game why Bradley Beal is worth a look as the lead option in L.A.'s offense tonight:

Bradley Beal OVER 14.5 Points (-116)

It’s been a slow start to Bradley Beal’s Clippers tenure, but he has a revenge game on Thursday against the Suns, who waived and stretched his contract this past offseason.

Beal is averaging just 8.0 points in 20.3 minutes per game to open the season, but he should be in line for an expanded role in his fifth appearance of the 2025-26 campaign. 

With both Harden and Leonard out, Beal could end up operating as the No. 1 option in this Clippers offense. He’s coming off his best scoring game of the season, dropping 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in a loss to the Miami Heat.

I’d expect Beal’s shot diet to increase on Thursday, as the Clippers don’t really have an offensive hub outside of him and veteran point guard Chris Paul that can run the offense tonight.

Let’s not forget, Beal still averaged 17.0 points per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from 3 last season. He can take a step forward as a scorer as long as the minutes are there for him to do so.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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