Clippers Star Kawhi Leonard Brushes Off Tyronn Lue's 'Playoff Kawhi' Moniker

Leonard believes he's the same player all the time.

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard continued his hot stretch of play on Wednesday night. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Clippers captured their fourth straight win, and eighth in 10 games, with a 119-105 win over the Wizards on Wednesday night at the Intuit Dome.

Kawhi Leonard continued his torrid stretch of play, scoring 33 points on the night, with 11 in a row coming early in the fourth quarter to help Los Angeles put the game away.

Leonard has reminded the league just how potent his is at full health as a scorer. He's played in 30 of Los Angeles' 40 games this season, and is averaging 28.2 points and 6.3 rebounds on 49.7% shooting from the floor and a 39.9% mark from three.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue praised Leonard after the game, saying that he's been performing like "Playoff Kawhi." When asked by the media if he agreed with his coach's assessment of his play, Leonard brushed off the moniker.

"Um, I don't know. I don't even know who that is," Leonard said. "Y'all make up those names and titles. It's the same player in and out of the game." Leonard said, insinuating that it was a media-driven nickname.

When reporters followed-up asking if it felt any differently coming from his head coach, Leonard was thankful for Lue's comments, but believed his play in the regular season has been just as good.

"I don't know the story behind 'Playoff Kawhi' so I don't really know. I thank him for it, but over the years I feel like I've been playing at a high level before in the regular season, not just the playoffs. It's hard to turn it around. You gotta have the same mindset going into every game."

Kawhi Leonard on Playoff Kawhi:

"I don't even know who that is" https://t.co/P0rVSCpcUA pic.twitter.com/HWwaNG3wzk

— Law Murray 🐐 (@LawMurrayTheNU) January 15, 2026

Leonard's effectiveness this season has been notable given his track history of injuries. When healthy, he's one of the league's best players. He's been fortunate to be able to stay on the floor most of the season so far and remind people just how good he can be.

The Clippers are 17-23 on the season, but continue to dig themselves out of an early season hole in the West when several key players were hurt.

Los Angeles will look to make it five in a row when they take on Toronto on Friday night.

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