The 5-game winning streak proves that the Clippers are back

Once upon a time, 2025-26 Los Angeles Clippers started the season losing 21 of their first 27 games. A record of 6-21 would be perfectly acceptable for any team that is catching. But the Clippers have raced against the clock since 2019 and continue to owe a first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder thanks to the fateful Paul George trade. This was by no means acceptable; in fact, one could argue that it is The Clippers were reaching nuclear panic levels.

But the Clippers have since won 12 of their next 14 games, with Kawhi Leonard turning into the ultimate Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen hybrid and James Harden he finally got some help on the offensive end after being nearly crushed to dust by the workload he carried early in the season.

LA is now in the midst of a five-game winning streak, and has climbed all the way to 10th in the West after battling the Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans earlier in the season.

They even come down a Toronto Raptors win 121-117 on the road even though Leonard got the night off ahead of the Clippers’ two-day break.

Some may be wondering if this Clippers hot streak is legit or if this is a mirage and they are simply using a weaker schedule. But here’s why one has to believe in the legitimacy of this stretch from LA, as they look to climb over the .500 mark and make the Western Conference playoff picture that much more crowded.

Kawhi Leonard is playing at an MVP level

We start with the most obvious reason why the Clippers are legit: Leonard himself is. Of the Clippers’ first 27 games of the season, Leonard missed 10, preventing LA from getting into any sort of rhythm. He wasn’t yet at his typical superstar level when he returned on Nov. 23, but he’s been improving — and even with the losses, he’s been rounding into form.

But from December 20th onwards, Leonard took his game to another stratosphere. He is more aggressive in finding his shots and more confident in drilling than ever before. During the Clippers’ 12-2 stretch, Leonard is on average 32.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 51/44/92 shooting. These numbers are worthy of MVP consideration, especially when LA was the best team in the NBA, a record, during that period.

It’s a miracle that Leonard, at the age of 34, is playing his best basketball yet. It didn’t look like he was going to hit career highs again amid all the knee issues he had to deal with, but here he is, logging heavy minutes and being productive at every turn for a Clippers team that needs every bit of juice it can get from its best player.

Leonard is this good means the Clippers have a chance every night against any team.

The Clippers did it amid injury woes

This season has not been easy for the Clippers in terms of injuries. Many players who were expected to contribute a lot to the team have been hit by the injury bug. Ivica Zubac was one from them. He may be back now, but there was a big concern that it would be even harder for LA to climb out of the hole they dug themselves into without their starting center.

Instead, the Clippers settled into a five-out offense with Brook Lopez at the five, giving Leonard and Harden plenty of room to operate. It is no accident that LA published second best offensive rating in the NBA since December 20, as they get more and more quality shots.

And it’s not like the absence of Zubac led to a worse defense than the Clippers. They even improved in that regard, posting the seventh-best defense in the NBA during their 12-2 stretch. As a result, LA has their best net rating since December 20th, indicating that they are unlucky in these wins.

Derrick Jones Jr. is also back for repair. Bogdan Bogdanović remains out of the field. Bradley Beal is out for the season. Even John Collins didn’t play at all (healthy scratch) during their win over the Raptors on Thursday. And yet, the Clippers keep winning.

A soft pillow layout awaits LA

The worst part is now over for the Clippers; they have the seventh easiest schedule in the NBA are improving, according to Tankaton, and that should set them up for a great finish to the 2025-26 campaign.

LA also has a few assets they could part with bring in an influential player (Kobe White perhaps?) for a threatening run. They have yet to fully resolve the Chris Paul situation. suffice it to say, The Clippers have several paths they could explore in their never-ending quest to improve the roster.