Lakers news: LeBron James praises Kawhi Leonard after win against Clippers

The Los Angeles Lakers he played the LA Clippers for the last time in the 2025-26 regular season, and as those matchups tend to do, this one went all the way. And while LeBron James was there to close the game, Kawhi Leonard was forced to leave late with an ankle injury.

James ended the night with 13 points, three rebounds and 11 assists on 5-of-13 shooting for the Lakers, who beat the Clippers 125-122. Kawhi Leonard had 31 points, four rebounds and five assists on 11-of-19 shooting in 31 minutes before leaving with 5:10 left in the fourth quarter.

After the game, LeBron James was asked about Kawhi Leonard and his resiliency to continue to come back from injury and perform at an All-Star level.

“Kawhi is great, man,” James said. “He’s the best. He’s one of the best players ever. And I couldn’t worry about injuries. You can’t control those things. You can only control control, and the things he controls is how he comes back and how much perseverance he has every time.”

In 42 appearances this season, Kawhi Leonard is averaging 27.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 49 percent from the field, 37.8 percent from three and 90.7 percent from the free throw line.

His strong play throughout the season, but especially since mid-December was a big reason why the Clippers were able to climb out of the 6-21 hole they started the season with.

“He’s— That guy’s great,” LeBron James continued. “I swear. I have nothing but great things to say about Kawhi and the type of basketball he’s played the last few months. I mean, he is who he is during the season. I’m not surprised by that. On the other hand, I was kind of disappointed in the 2024 Olympic team when he couldn’t go with us. I was too excited. Disappointed that he had to deal with another injury, I was excited to spend some time with him, but he had 31 points. in 12 minutes That was great.

LeBron James was incredibly complimentary of Kawhi Leonard when I asked him about the resilience he’s seen from him:

“Kawhi’s great, man. He’s the best. He’s one of the best players ever. I don’t care about injuries… That guy’s great. I swear I ain’t got nothing… pic.tvitter.com/GipDkoJRfKs

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 21, 2026

Kawhi Leonard has dealt with a number of injuries throughout his career, from a torn ACL to a torn meniscus in recent years, not to mention the quad and knee swelling issues he’s also dealt with.

LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard haven’t played 40 games against each other — 28 in the regular season and 12 in the playoffs. Leonard won 15 of those 28 regular season games and seven of those 12 playoff games.

James and his team in Miami won the 2013 NBA championship against Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard and his Spurs then defeated James and his Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals.