Clippers Reach .500 But Kawhi Leonard, Darius Garland Not Satisfied

The LA Clippers have surged back to a .500 record, but the team's stars are focused on more wins ahead.

Mar. 10, 2026 at 11:50pm

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The LA Clippers have turned their season around, climbing back to a .500 record after starting 6-21. However, star players Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland are not satisfied, emphasizing that the job is not done with a month left in the regular season. Leonard and Garland both expressed the need to keep working and improving the team, rather than celebrating the .500 milestone.

Why it matters

The Clippers' turnaround has been an impressive feat, but their stars are setting a high bar for the team's performance. This mentality could help propel the Clippers to an even stronger finish to the season and potentially secure a playoff spot, despite their early struggles.

The details

The Clippers reached a 32-32 record on Monday with a win over the Knicks, reclaiming the eighth seed in the Western Conference from the Warriors. Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, while Darius Garland added 23 points in just his fourth game back from injury. However, both players downplayed the .500 milestone, emphasizing that the team still has more work to do to finish the season strong.

  • The Clippers started the season 6-21.
  • On December 20th, the Clippers began surging and have gone 26-11 since then.
  • The Clippers reached a .500 record of 32-32 on Monday, March 10, 2026.

The players

Kawhi Leonard

A star player for the LA Clippers who is focused on continuing to improve the team rather than celebrating their .500 record.

Darius Garland

A Clippers player who recently returned from injury and shares Kawhi Leonard's mentality of needing to keep working to win more games.

Tyronn Lue

The head coach of the LA Clippers, who credited his coaching staff and the team's resilience for fighting back to a .500 record after a difficult start to the season.

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What they’re saying

“It's cool, you know, but the job ain't done. The season's not over. It's what's expected. Like I told the fellas, you don't train to lose, you train you win, so yeah, it's alright.”

— Kawhi Leonard (clutchpoints.com)

“I came to just win games. That's what we do, put in work in the offseason to win games so it's exciting to be back to .500, but we've got a lot more ways to go. We're not done yet.”

— Darius Garland (clutchpoints.com)

“It means a lot. Just about our guys in the locker room staying with it, continuing to fight, continuing to compete. We thought we should've been better and could've been better. Injuries hurt us, but this team, ever since I've been here for six years, our guys always continue to keep fighting when our backs are against the wall.”

— Tyronn Lue, Head Coach (clutchpoints.com)

What’s next

The Clippers will look to continue their strong play and secure a playoff spot in the remaining month of the regular season.

The takeaway

The Clippers' stars are setting a high bar for the team, refusing to be satisfied with just reaching a .500 record. This mentality could help propel the team to an even stronger finish and potentially a postseason berth, despite their early-season struggles.