Is this Kawhi Leonard's best season?
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What did Kawhi Leonard achieve in his recent game?
Tiny grain of affection from a warm-hearted hand.
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily, presented by Amazon Prime for March 12th, 2026. I'm Dave DeFore, here with Zena Keita. Coming up, Kawhi Leonard has a huge night for the Clippers, and Josh Robbins is here to talk about the resurging Orlando Magic.
Good morning, everybody. What's up, Zena? What up? I'm so jealous. You guys got an 83-point game out of BAM. And don't get me wrong, Kawhi tried his best to get there, but it's just not the same vibes.
Bryce Sensabaugh, look, I'm just going to say, he had... 10 points in like the first four and a half minutes of that. And I was thinking, Oh man, that guy, he's a, he's a walking bucket as it is. It'd be amazing if he did it. But no, did not happen. Shout out to the Knicks for coming back. Cause man, if they lost to Utah, Ooh, buddy, we would have had a lot to talk about. Well, let's talk about, look, the Wolves, they lost back-to-back. This L.A. double-dip back-to-back has gotten a couple teams. They got the Knicks the other night. Now they've got the Wolves. They've lost back-to-back games here in the West, and everything's super tight. But the Clippers, look, they have been very good as of late. They now, you know, they're a game above .500.
Kawhi Leonard, 45 points, is his fifth 40-plus point game this season. Still got his 20-point game streak, you know, going. This is some of the best basketball that Kawhi Leonard has maybe ever played.
How has Kawhi Leonard's performance impacted the Clippers' season?
And that's not hyperbole. Like, he looks fantastic right now. And the Clippers have no real hope of getting out of the play-in. Like, I don't even think they can get to the seventh seed. But, man, I would not want to play the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard looking like this in a must-win game. Xena, are we going to see the Clippers maybe make some noise?
I think so. I absolutely think so. And it is so weird to think that we're saying this after the departure of James Harden and Avicii Zubats because we immediately thought – Oh, they're clearing out the cupboards. They're moving on. We'll see what happens. But Kawhi Leonard is such a force that you cannot deny. And that's what I think is even most impressive about his game. Like, yes, the 45 points last night against the Wolves is phenomenal, but it's also what his performance is doing for everyone else, right? It's the water, the tide that raises all ships. You're seeing Derrick Jones Jr. make these outside shots, get inside. You're seeing Jordan Miller, this young guy coming off the bench, being so explosive to the basket.
Of course, we know the story about Benedict Matherin that's been dropping buckets. Derrick Garland looks amazing. Everyone on this team, Brooke Lopez was hitting outside shots. Like this was amazing to see overall that it feels like all of the Clippers are raising to the level of what Kawhi needs. And I mean that from a speed level, how fast they're playing, how fast they're playing on both sides of the ball and their efficiency from the floor. Yeah.
They feel so much younger, right? Like they're way younger than they started the season. And look, Yannick, Conan, Niederhausen being out is a huge bummer. I know to you, Xena, especially. But him being out is a huge bummer because we got to see a little bit of his athleticism on display.
What factors contributed to the Clippers' recent success?
And you could see how, man, come playoff time, he would be a nice guy coming off the bench. You know, maybe Brooke Lopez isn't as effective. So we're not going to get a chance to see them at the playoffs. full strength of what the team could have been. But it is odd to talk about the Clippers team and feel like, oh, wow, they kind of got some youth out there. And you mentioned Darius Garland. Look, put up 21 points, rounding back into form. Like, I don't know. They're a lot of fun. For the Wolves, look, it's tough. It's tough to go back-to-back against two pretty good teams, or at least two decent teams around your level with the Lakers catching them.
I'll just say this really quickly on the Clippers. Two really good teams. The Clippers, all season long, 17th net rating, 12th offensive, 19th defensive.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What did Kawhi Leonard achieve in his recent game?
0:00–2:01
2
How has Kawhi Leonard's performance impacted the Clippers' season?
2:01–3:43
3
What factors contributed to the Clippers' recent success?
3:43–7:17
4
How are the Orlando Magic performing this season?
7:17–8:51
5
What role is Paolo Banchero playing in the Magic's resurgence?
8:51–12:53
6
What playoff concerns do the Magic face?
12:53–16:56
7
How is Desmond Bane contributing to the Grizzlies' success?
16:56–23:35
8
What are the Wizards' current challenges and future prospects?
23:35–32:05