Raptors Getting the Full Kawhi Leonard Experience As He's Ruled Out for Clippers Game

The Los Angeles Clippers kick off the 2026-27 NBA season in less than three weeks. It's a new era in LA as they embark on their first season without Kawhi Leonard or postseason aspirations in a long time.

Clippers fans who have moved past the cap circumvention saga can find plenty to be excited about the season. Most of all, they must be excited to have ended the Kawhi era. Seeing the latest out of Toronto should reinforce this sentiment.

Kawhi Leonard Is Already Missing Games for the Raptors

The Raptors had their first preseason game on Saturday night, facing the Miami Heat in Vancouver. Leonard didn't play.

More importantly, Raptors insider Josh Lewenberg reported that Leonard is "unlikely to play" against the Clippers in LA's second preseason game on October 10. He said that this is a part of the ramp-up plan for Leonard.

Clippers fans are all too familiar with this type of reporting about Leonard. It's not surprising that the 35-year-old superstar is sitting out the preseason ahead of his 15th season in the league. But Raptors fans presumably wanted to see Kawhi get some reps in before the season, working on his chemistry with his new teammates.

The phrase "ramp-up plan" should raise some eyebrows. Sure, the trade was recently finalized, but Leonard was already with the team and presumably continuing his offseason workout program. There isn't a good reason why he shouldn't be ready to see some action, especially considering that the Raptors are playing in Vancouver, in front of a different crowd.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Klay Thompson, and Scottie Barnes all played on Saturday, leaving Leonard as the only All-Star-caliber player on either team to sit out.

This is the ultimate Kawhi Leonard experience. It's difficult to know whether he will be available on any given night. This complicates game-planning and roster construction particularly difficult.

When he is on the court, Leonard is still so good that he is worth this trouble. But he is 35 years old. At some point, he will fall off. If and when he does, his relationship with the fanbase will suffer.

Even though he has already done his damage in LA, Clippers fans should be glad that they no longer have to deal with this.

This means that Clippers fans have to wait until November 2 to see Leonard go up against them. That matchup, which will be Game 7 of the season for the Clippers, will be the game the fanbase will be looking forward to the most.

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