Las Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has already reached the threshold for missed games needed to be ineligible for NBA Awards.
He will miss out on the opportunity to be a part of the voting for All-NBA teams, All-Defense teams, MVP, or DPOY. Players must play at least 65 games to qualify for only 17 missed games allowed per season before disqualification.
Kawhi Leonard Ineligible For NBA Awards
He has been dealing with a right knee injury and has not set foot on the court for the Clippers yet this year.
The policy is designed to motivate players to take the regular season more seriously – if you’re 85% healthy, you should be playing.
Players who consistently battle with injury or have been the pillars of the NBA’s load management discourse, like Leonard, will not be represented in the league’s most prestigious awards. He’s become the subject of that, and we’re not even at Christmas.
Thankfully for Ty Lue, the Clippers have stayed afloat without Kawhi Leonard at 12-8, slotted in as the six-seed in a crowded Western Conference.
From basketball and nothing else, there’s not necessarily any pressure at the moment to bring Kawhi back, but the financial commitment the team is making to him seems wasteful.
But Leonard needs to be motivated on his own. If he continues to see his team is fine without him, that could deter him from keeping up with his rehab. If the Clippers were to find themselves in the NBA Playoffs, Leonard could be too rusty to be an impactful component for the Clippers.