LOS ANGELES — Eleven months after Kawhi Leonard underwent surgery to repair a partially torn knee ligament that sidelined him for the 2021-22 NBA season, Leonard's longtime trainer fired off a tweet in early June that did not go unnoticed.
"I felt like I was in the lab with MJ today," wrote Clint Parks, adding a hashtag with Leonard's initials and number. A photo posted the same day showed Leonard in San Diego State's practice facility where his "KL2" banner blanketed much of one wall behind him.
Leonard's health is the linchpin holding together the Clippers' hopes to raise their first championship banner as soon as 2023. Lawrence Frank, the team's president of basketball operations, did not quite reach for a Jordan-level comparison when describing Leonard after selecting Michigan's Moussa Diabate in Thursday's NBA draft. He acknowledged that even though the two-time most valuable player of the NBA Finals is not playing five-on-five games, Leonard "continues to do great."
