ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is particularly frustrated with Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers after they failed to live up to their lofty expectations again, following their early exit at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.
The famous sports media personality is not one to shy away from making bold claims, and he did just that in his recent appearance on First Take, where he blamed Kawhi Leonard’s availability, or lack thereof, for the Los Angeles Clippers’ struggles.
“Do you know that Kawhi Leonard hasn’t been available for 15 of the last 19 Clippers playoff games? Do you know that the year that they went to the conference finals, which, by the way, was without him because he got hurt before they got to the conference finals, do you know they haven’t won a playoff series since?” Smith said about Leonard.
“This is the worst superstar. I can make a case this is the worst superstar in the history of sports. He is a nightmare. You’re talking about the first four years of his time with the Clippers. He’s averaged 40.3 games a season. He played 68 games this past year and then again he wasn’t available to play,” he added.
Kawhi Leonard for the Los Angeles Clippers this season
As Stephen A. Smith pointed out, Kawhi Leonard’s durability is still a major issue, even if he’s coming off his healthiest regular season in a Los Angeles Clippers uniform.
The two-time NBA champion played 68 regular-season games, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game on 53/42/89 shooting splits.
However, just like last year, Kawhi Leonard only played two playoff games for the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field.
Despite this, the Los Angeles Clippers gave the six-time NBA All-Star a three-year, $152.4 million extension.
