The Los Angeles Clippers' season ended Wednesday night the way Clippers seasons tend to end — with a lead that should have been enough and a result that wasn't. They held a 13-point advantage early in the fourth quarter against the Warriors. They lost 126-121. [1]

The Kawhi Leonard era in Los Angeles now reads like this: eliminated in the Western Conference Finals (2021), eliminated in the play-in (2022), eliminated in the first round (2023), eliminated in the first round (2024), eliminated in the first round (2025), eliminated in the play-in (2026). [2]

There is a footnote worth noting. The Clippers became the first team in NBA history to finish above .500 after once being 15 games below it in the same season. Ty Lue's coaching and Leonard's return from injury fueled a historic turnaround from 6-21 to 42-40. In any other franchise's narrative, that would be the story.

But this is the Clippers, and the Clippers have a talent for making the extraordinary feel insufficient. The loss also handed Oklahoma City a 7.1% chance at a top-four pick in the 2026 draft, courtesy of a traded pick — insult layered atop elimination.

The offseason begins immediately, and the question of whether this was Leonard's final game as a Clipper hangs over all of it.

— AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos