Kawhi Leonard embraces 3-point shooting to lift Clippers

By Canadian Press on January 23, 2026.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard has built his reputation on defense and a mid-range game featuring a deadly fadeaway jumper. Now, he’s joining the 3-point club.

While the Los Angeles Clippers were losing 19 of 22 games from November through mid-December, Leonard went to coach Tyronn Lue and said he was going to try shooting 12 3-pointers a game.

“How?” Lue asked.

“You’re going to see,” Leonard replied.

With his team mired near the bottom in the West, Leonard figured it was time he tried something new.

“I thought that’s what we needed, for me to get more 3s up,” he said. “Encourage guys to shoot the ball even if it doesn’t go in.”

Leonard was 3 of 7 from 3-point range while scoring 24 points in the Clippers’ 112-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. He returned after missing the final three games of the team’s road trip with a bruised left knee.

Leonard is shooting 40% from long-range this season, just off his average the previous few years.

“It’s easy for me because I’m not worried about no outside opinion or my percentage,” he said. “It’s all about me evolving, and I know what it takes to become a better basketball player on that floor and if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”

Leonard feels free to let it fly in games, where he can get plenty of repetition.

“I learned that at a young age and still have it in me,” the 34-year-old two-time NBA Finals MVP said.

Leonard has upped his game as the Clippers have won 14 of 17 games to move up in the West, even while playing under a minutes restriction.

“Shooting more 3s has allowed us to get to that 38-43 per game, which we’ve been trying to do,” Lue said. “Usually he settles for the mid-range pullup which he’s great at, but he’s been getting to the free throw line, getting to the basket has been really good for us.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Beth Harris, The Associated Press