Kawhi Leonard plans to play back-to-back, but it might not be up to him

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — With their first back-to-back set of the season upon them, the LA Clippers have some tough decisions to make with limited players. One guy who it is not limited to the beginning this season, however, it is Kawhi Leonard.

The Miami Heat will visit the Intuit Dome on Monday night and the Oklahoma City Thunder will follow on Tuesday night.

Leonard has played in all five games the Clippers have started this season, averaging 32.8 minutes per game. He’s coming off his best performance yet of the young season, dropping 34 points, five rebounds, five assists, six steals and the game-winner in 36 minutes against the New Orleans Pelicans.

After the contest, Leonard confirmed his plans for the upcoming back-to-back set.

“I plan to play in both games,” Leonard said.

When asked if he had already discussed this with the medical staff, Leonard said he does not face any restrictions to start the season after receiving

“There are no limits for me. I feel good. We played hard days in training camp, two to three hours (sessions), so I think everyone is comfortable with where I am today.”

Me: “Do you plan to play both halves of a back-to-back set?”

Kawhi Leonard: “I plan to play in both games.”

Me: “Have you discussed this with the medical staff yet?”

Kawhi: “There are no limits for me. I feel good… I think everyone is comfortable where… pic.twitter.com/cua6lhTBVO

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 1, 2025

What’s great news, Leonard also told ClutchPoints after the game that while his plan is to play, the decisions will ultimately be made after the games.

“I don’t have any restrictions, but we want to be smart and see how many minutes I play in the first game.”

After the team’s practice on Monday, head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed that Leonard is healthy, but wants to leave the decision on his playing status up to the team’s performance and the medical staff, depending on how Leonard’s workload looks on Monday night.

“Well, we’ll see,” Lue said. “We’ll see what happens after this game. But it’s good to see Kawhi saying he’s healthy, he feels good and he wants to try to do it, but we can’t make a decision until tomorrow’s game.”

“It’s very positive. It just shows that he’s feeling good, that he wants to take the next step, but like I said, we’ve got to be smart about it. Let’s go through the game and just go from there.”

Through five games, the Clippers are 3-2 with some solid wins mixed in with some ugly losses. The losses — on the road against the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors — have left players like Bradley Beal and Bogdan Bogdanovic struggling as they work their way back from injuries.

Beal had a nice rebound in the third quarter against the Pelicans, scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting in eight minutes. Bogdanovic, meanwhile, is out of the rotation but has had positive conversations with head coach Tyronn Lue about his role after back-to-back injuries in the offseason and camp.

“It’s always tough when you’re in those situations, especially when you’re coming back from an injury or dealing with the very end, that last 10-20 percent,” Kawhi Leonard said. “But you just got to stay locked in. Like I told them today, keep shooting the ball. It’s only Game 5, we’ll see how it looks in January. It’s a marathon, it’s not about today. Let’s see how it looks in two months or so.”

The Clippers enter a stretch where they play five of their next six games at home, with the lone game being a quick trip to Phoenix to face the Suns.