PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Kawhi Leonard is back.

The Los Angeles Clippers star is slated to return from the knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 2021-22 season during Monday’s preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers, head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters Friday.

Lue told reporters earlier this week that Leonard looked good during practice.

“He looked really good,” he said. “Went through everything, both practices, so it was good to see.”

Leonard has not played since June 14, 2021—a Game 4 win over the Utah Jazz in the second round of the NBA playoffs—after suffering a partially torn ACL and undergoing surgery to repair the ailment.

The 31-year-old said earlier this week that he feels “stronger” entering the 2022-23 campaign after spending much of the offseason in rehab and weight training:

“I feel stronger, yeah. I feel stronger for sure. It’s been, what, 14, 15 months of no basketball — well, playing in an NBA season for me, no basketball. That whole 13, 14-month process is just lifting, lifting weights and getting stronger. But I definitely got a lot stronger.”

Videos and photos of Leonard posted to social media show how much he has bulked up this offseason:

LA Clippers @LAClippers

Kawhi doing Kawhi things. pic.twitter.com/qNALr9vAIJ

The two-time NBA champion will play a significant role for the Clippers in 2022-23 alongside Paul George.

In his first season with the franchise in 2019-20, he averaged 27.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.8 steals in 57 games while shooting 47 percent from the floor and 37.8 percent from deep en route to an All-Star selection.

The Clippers reached the Western Conference semifinals that season but fell to the Denver Nuggets in seven games.

In his second season in L.A. in 2020-21, he averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals in 52 games while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor and 39.8 percent from deep.

L.A. was eliminated from the playoffs in the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns.

Without Leonard in 2021-22, the Clippers finished eighth in the West with a 42-40 record and missed the postseason.

The combination of Leonard, George and John Wall should be enough to vault the Clippers back into the playoffs in 2022-23. However, only time will tell if the trio can win the franchise its first NBA title.

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