INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard is fresh in mind and body this year, no longer relegated to watching from the sideline when the Los Angeles Clippers begin the postseason.
After appearing in just two playoff games over the last two years, the 33-year-old two-time Finals MVP is healthy and looking like his old self as the fifth-seeded Clippers take on the fourth-seeded Nuggets in the first round starting Saturday in Denver.
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Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, right, moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 13, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Golden State Warriors' Mose Moody and Jimmy Butler III defend against Los Angeles Clippers' Kawhi Leonard in the second quarter of an NBA game in San Francisco Sunday, April 13, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during overtime of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 13, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) get looked at by the medics during second half of an NBA basketball game against theSacramento Kings, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
“Just happy that I was able to get here,” he said. “My teammates did a great job down that last stretch.”
The Clippers have been a much different team since Leonard got healthy and found his rhythm. He missed the first 34 games of the season because of lingering issues with his surgically repaired knees.
Los Angeles won 18 of its final 21 games, a stretch in which it had the NBA's No. 1 offense.
“It feels good for us and him playing at a high level helps our team out tremendously,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “I'm happy for him for all the hard work he's put in to get to this point and to be healthy at the end of the season.”
Leonard won two NBA championships — one with San Antonio and another with Toronto — but his health has been a major issue during his five years in Los Angeles.
In 2020-21, he hurt his knee in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against Utah and missed the rest of the series. The Clippers advanced to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history and lost to Phoenix.
Leonard sat out the entire 2021-22 season while rehabbing his knee. He came back strong in 2022-23 only to tear his meniscus in the first round of the playoffs. Last season, he hurt his right knee and played in just two games as the Clippers lost in the first round to Dallas.
“I love the game and I have a passion for it still,” he said. “I love to compete out there, so that's pretty much what drives me back. Everything has its ups and downs and you got to go through those in life. You just keep going.”
Leonard has said the Clippers allowed him to seek outside opinions on his health and then blend that information with the team's medical staff to get healthy.
“The biggest thing is just trusting,” Lue said, crediting medical staff president Maggie Bryant with showing Leonard different ways he could do things to be healthy at the end of the 82-game regular season.
“They didn't let him shortcut, checked every box before he came back and he's been feeling good,” Lue said.
All the injury and strife has crystalized Leonard's focus.
“Just don't take the opportunity for granted and try to play my best and that's it,” he said. “Just having fun.”
Leonard has always come to play in the postseason, averaging 29.3 points while shooting 63% in 60 games between 2017 and 2020.
“It's just leaving it all out on the floor and then just going into the summer knowing that you tried to give it your all,” he said.
The Clippers begin the postseason as the league's hottest team, having won eight in a row. Leonard scored 33 points on 13 of 20 shooting in an overtime win at Golden State to close out the regular season.
“You can just tell when he's able to play and be healthy and play the game he loves at the level that he knows he can play at,” teammate Norman Powell said.
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Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, right, moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 13, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Golden State Warriors' Mose Moody and Jimmy Butler III defend against Los Angeles Clippers' Kawhi Leonard in the second quarter of an NBA game in San Francisco Sunday, April 13, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during overtime of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 13, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) get looked at by the medics during second half of an NBA basketball game against theSacramento Kings, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.
The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.
“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”
The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.
The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.
“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”
New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.
"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.
The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.
The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.
Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.
The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.
The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.
Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.
Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”
“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.
State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”
The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.
It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
