The LA Clippers begin a three-game two-city road trip starting with the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. This is the fourth game in a difficult five-seven stretch for the Clippers.
Seven-time NBA All-Star Kawhi Leonard was unable to play in Monday night's loss to the San Antonio Spurs after suffering a left ankle sprain suffered in Saturday night's game against the Sacramento Kings. Leonard left the game in the fourth quarter, went back to the locker, and was immediately ruled out for the remainder of the game. After the game, the Clippers announced that Leonard was suffering from a left ankle sprain and would be reevaluated before the upcoming three-game trip.
Here's everything we know about Kawhi Leonard's injury status for tonight's game vs. the Pelicans.
Kawhi Leonard's injury status vs. Pelicans
Kawhi Leonard was listed as "questionable" to play in the Clippers' home contest against the Spurs, and was ultimately ruled out of the contest in the afternoon. Leonard is once again listed on the Clippers' injury report for Wednesday, but he has already been upgraded to "questionable" against the Pelicans, the first night of back-to-back sets and the end of a five-game stretch.
If Leonard plays in Wednesday night's game, it is highly unlikely that he will also play in Thursday night's game against the Pelicans, given the franchise's cautious history with the two-time NBA Finals MVP. Another factor to consider is that Darius Garland is also listed as "questionable" to play in Wednesday's game. He has not played a consistent match since his return and there is no reason to believe he will do so any time soon this season.
Despite bad signs due to his unfortunate injuries, Kawhi Leonard has played in both halves of nine back-to-back sets during the 2025-26 regular season with the Clippers, demonstrating his ability to stay healthy and produce at a high level. In previous years, the Clippers have kept him out of back-to-back sets due to serious injuries, such as a torn ACL that ended his 2021 and 2022 postseasons, a torn meniscus that cut his 2023 postseason short, and knee inflammation that caused him to miss the 2024 postseason.
Leonard has been mostly healthy this season and has played in 53 of the Clippers' 68 games so far. Of the 15 games Leonard missed, 10 were due to a severe right ankle sprain. Despite suffering a left ankle injury against the Spurs, Leonard finished with his 45th straight game of 20+ points, surpassing Bob McAdoo and setting a new franchise record. Leonard's current streak is the second-longest active streak behind Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Passing McAdoo is a huge accomplishment,” Tyronn Lue recently said of Kawhi Leonard. "He was a really good player, great player, and it says a lot about Kawhi. When he's healthy, you know, what he's done this year is crazy. Someone asked the other day, 'Have you seen anybody do that in their 14th season, which is more than what they've averaged their entire career?' And I said, 'No, I'm not surprised.' Because I see the work he does every day. I see what he does every night to get on the floor and try to play. He plays as healthy as he is. And it may take him a long time to do so.
This season, the Clippers are 30-23 in the 53 games that Kawhi Leonard has played and 4-11 in the 15 games that he has not played. They're also 0-3 in the three games Leonard has missed due to injury in the fourth quarter – against the Heat, Lakers and Kings.
Leonard is averaging 28.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals, while shooting 50.3 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and 90.6 percent from the free-throw line. 28.3 points are a career high.
So far, the Clippers have posted a 34–34 record, turning their season around to 28–13 since starting the season 6–21.
clippers injury report
The Clippers have five players listed on the injury report for Wednesday's game.
- Kawhi Leonard (sprained left ankle): Questionable
- Darius Garland (left toe injury management): Questionable.
- Bradley Beal (left hip fracture): Out
- Yannick Konan Niederhauser (right Lisfranc ligament rupture): out
- Benedict Mathurin (recovering from right toe injury): Out
pelicans injury report
The Pelicans have five players listed on the injury report for Wednesday's game.
- Trey Alexander (G League - Two Way): Out
- Hunter Dickerson (G League - Two Way): Out
- Bryce McGowens (fractured right little toe): out
- Dejounte Murray (illness): Out
- Josh Oduro (G League - Two Way): Out
The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Dallas Mavericks 129-111 in their last game on Monday night. Wednesday night's game represents the third of four matchups between the LA Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans.
