Warriors rival Kawhi Leonard out indefinitely

The West just got a little bit less daunting.

The Golden State Warriors have a lot of work to do if they want the upcoming NBA season to be better than the last one. The Dubs finished 10th in the Western Conference standings a year ago, which means there are nine teams they’re trying to leapfrog over this year ... while staving off the teams behind them, like the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz.

One of those teams that bested the Warriors a year ago was the LA Clippers, who finished fourth in the West last season with a 51-31 record, docking six more wins than Golden State did.

The offseason gave the Warriors a leap towards catching the Clippers, when one of their two hometown stars, Paul George, asked out. The Dubs were, unfortunately, unable to land a trade for him, but George departed the Western Conference, joining forces with Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Which leaves LA with just one star: Kawhi Leonard. And unfortunately for the Clippers and their shiny new arena, Leonard is going to be out for a while.

According to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania and Ohm Youngmisuk, Leonard will be sidelined indefinitely to start the 2024-25 NBA season, which kicks off next week.

Injuries are always bad, and we will never root for them or cheer for them. But the impact of Leonard’s injury does need to be noted. This will surely knock the Clippers from the top of the West, if they weren’t already removed from that grouping. Depending on the length of Leonard’s absence, it could easily put LA on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff standings.

Hopefully Leonard, who has had many great battles with the Warriors over the years, is back on the court soon. And in the meantime, Golden State’s third game of the season — next Sunday, at home against the Clippers — just got quite a bit easier.