Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard appeared in his first NBA game in 476 days Monday night, playing 16 minutes in the first half against Portland and tallying 11 points, four rebounds and two assists. The contest was played in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena, the former home of the now-defunct Seattle SuperSonics.
Leonard, who hadn’t played since April 2021 after undergoing surgery for a partial tear of the ACL in his right knee, came out firing, scoring the game’s first points on his first shot, a 25-foot 3-pointer after isolating Portland center Jusuf Nurkic.
There were obvious signs of rust for Leonard, as he missed his last five shots of the first quarter and looked a little tired by the time he subbed out for the first time at the 5:36 mark.
But Leonard also showed a strong feel for the game, getting inside multiple times to set up teammates. He found Nicolas Batum for a corner three to cap an 8-0 Clippers run, then later drove the baseline from the post to drop a dime to Ivica Zubac for a dunk.
The Clippers outscored the Trail Blazers by 10 points in Leonard’s minutes.
New Clippers guard John Wall made his Los Angeles debut in the contest, playing 14 minutes off the bench and scoring five points while dishing three assists.