Russell Westbrook and Paul George have since departed, joining the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers, respectively. When Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue announced ahead of this season that small forward Kawhi Leonard would be sidelined for a significant amount of time due to injury management, many fans prepared for the worst.

Clippers are holding Kawhi Leonard out on front end of back-to-back tomorrow vs Celtics, and Ivica Zubac (eye) also is not ready to return. All of James Harden, Norman Powell, Kris

Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi ... Leonard — who reportedly purchased a home in the hard-hit Pacific Palisades area in 2021 — will miss the Clippers' Wednesday night contest in Denver ...

The Athletic NBA Daily discuss what a healthy Kawhi Leonard could mean for the Los Angeles Clippers going forward.

Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard still signed autographs on Wednesday despite some Spurs fans booing him.

Kawhi Leonard admits feeling a "little pain in the heart" after San Antonio Spurs fans booed him during his return.

Stephen Curry bounced back from a four-point first half with five second-half 3-pointers and the Golden State Warriors rallied to overcome Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 52 points and stun the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-109 on Wednesday night in San Francisco.

Whenever we see a little separation in their ranks, the standings tighten again. So with apologies to Sacramento and Golden State — both 24-23 but tied for ninth behind too many rivals — here is a look at the eight West teams lined up behind Oklahoma City, with reasons why and why not they might climb as high as No. 2:

The Golden State Warriors withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading

Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points to lead the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers to a 126-106 NBA victory over Miami on Wednesday, maintaining their Eastern Conference lead over reigning champions Boston.

The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Keon Johnson led a balanced Brooklyn attack with 18 points, and the Nets snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 104-83 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. Jalen Wilson added 15 points and Tosan Evbuomwan had 14 for the Nets,