Does Kawhi Leonard play against the Nuggets in the first game after the All-Star break

Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers back into action on Thursday evening when they fight against Nikola Jokić and Denver Nuggets inside the Intuit Dome. It’s the first night of a back-to-back for the Clippers, who will also face the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

The Clippers are currently 26-28, having won 20 of their last 27 games after starting the season 6-21. The comeback was largely led by star Kawhi Leonard. Given his injury history and the upcoming back-to-back set, everyone wants to know if Leonard will play.

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Kawhi Leonard’s injury status against the Nuggets

Kawhi Leonard played in 41 of the Clippers’ 54 games this season. He missed 10 games in November 2025 with a sprained ankle he suffered against the Miami Heat and three more games in January 2026 with knee swelling from a hard hit he took against the Detroit Pistons a week earlier.

Kawhi Leonard was not listed on the Clippers’ injury report for Thursday night’s game against the Nuggets and is expected to play, but the team will likely limit his minutes given the back-to-back set and the fact that he played significant minutes during Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game.

Leonard played the last three games and 34 of a possible 36 minutes for Team Stripes in the NBA All-Star Game.

“He’s on a minutes (restriction),” head coach Tyronn Lue admitted after practice Wednesday afternoon. “He’s on his minutes, so we just can’t go overboard. Like I said, we’re smart about it. We know we can’t just put him on the floor. As much as he wants to play more and do more, we just know that with that workload, we just can’t keep doing that night in and night out. So it’s going to be some nights where that’s for sure, but we want to be safer with him than others.”

Kawhi Leonard played in In 41 appearances this season, Kawhi Leonard is averaging 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field, 38.3 percent from three and 91.2 percent from the three-point line. His 27.9 points per night is a career high for the Clippers star, while his 2.1 steals per game leads the entire NBA.

The Clippers and Nuggets will tip off their first game after the All-Star break tonight at 7:30 PM PST.