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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 11: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers dribbles past the defense of Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half of a game at Intuit Dome on March 11, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Popular head coach Steve Kerr called out Kawhi Leonard’s playing style of hunting for fouls when discussing his Golden State Warriors facing the Los Angeles Clippers in a play-in. Wednesday night’s game will be a must win for both teams since the winner will advance to play the loser of the Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers game for the 8^th seed.

Kerr made the following comment about his game plan against Kawhi and the Clippers:

“We’ll have some rules for our guys that we’ve had in regular-season games, too, in terms of not letting (Kawhi Leonard) do certain things. He’s going to really try to get fouled. He’s going to do the NBA thing, which lots of guys are doing. Podz does it for us. He’ll try to use the rules against the other team and get to the foul line, so we have to be prepared for all of that, just like they do with [Brandin Podziemski].”

The comment started off with Kerr talking about how Leonard tries really hard to get foul calls for easy free throws. However, he also named his own player Brandin Podziemski when comparing foul hunting across the league. Kerr was feeling blunt today and shared his unfiltered opinions about Leonard and Podz.

Is Kawhi Leonard A Foul Baiter?

Leonard is not one of the first names that opposing players across the league discuss when foul baiting becomes a subject. Players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, and Jalen Brunson have received this criticism over the past few years for getting foul calls.

This season saw Kawhi finishing 12^th overall in total free throw attempts per game. Doncic, Deni Avdija, Gilgeous-Alexander, Devin Booker, and Paolo Banchero were the only players to average over 8 free throw attempts per game. Those names should be called out before Leonard when comparing those benefiting from free throw attempts.

Kawhi has never averaged more than 7.1 free throw attempts per game to show that he does draw fouls, but he’s never one of the leaders at getting free throws. Kerr likely is speaking from experience of his team struggling to defend Leonard and getting into foul trouble by nature of the matchup.

Kerr Made It Clear Kawhi Is Still A Superstar

Leonard repaired his reputation of being injury prone and missing too many games this year with a strong all-around season. The 65 games played was only the second time Kawhi hit this mark since the 2016-2017 season with the San Antonio Spurs.

Clippers management trading both James Harden and Ivica Zubac ahead of the trade deadline limited the help around Leonard. Extra pressure led to Kawhi delivering a stellar season, with most expecting him to make the All-NBA second team for his performances.

Kerr talking about game planning for Leonard and using the foul baiter term felt like a coach knowing he’s trying to stop the best player on the court. Stephen Curry is still an elite superstar, but Kawhi has been the best player of both rosters all season. Leonard will try to eliminate Kerr and the Warriors in a winner take all situation.