National Basketball Association

LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard are in a three-year race for L.A. supremacy

Updated Aug. 13, 2021 8:38 p.m. ET

LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard have shared the same real estate at Staples Center for two years.

And if the measure of success is championships, James has a leg up on Leonard in the city of Los Angeles so far.

James led the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2020 NBA title while becoming the first player to win Finals MVP honors for three franchises, a feat Leonard has been chasing since signing with the LA Clippers.

While Leonard helped the LA Clippers to their first Western Conference finals appearance this past season, he is still playing catchup in the rings department.

But if there is good news for Kawhi, it's that he just agreed to a four-year deal with the Clippers, giving him more than enough time to match James' ring output in Los Angeles — and maybe even surpass it.

With James' current contract with the Lakers running for two more seasons, he and Leonard will be locked into the same city until at least the end of 2022-23, which means their arms race for Southern California supremacy is still on.

But in the eyes of Shannon Sharpe, the odds of the Clippers winning a championship are low, as he explained on "Undisputed," citing Leonard's recent knee surgery.

"We do know that there is a likelihood that he is going to miss some of the season this year," Sharpe said. "Is it going to be some, or is it going to be all? This is what we know about Kawhi Leonard and his history: He does not play hurt."

After undergoing surgery to repair the partially torn ACL in his right knee, Leonard is expected to be sidelined for an undisclosed amount of time this season. That could be seen as alarming for a player who has never played 82 games in a season, with his career-high of 74 coming in 2016-17.

Since 2017, Leonard has played in only 178 games, for an average of 44.5 per season.

But even with injury concerns, Skip Bayless foresees Leonard winning at least one championship in the next three years, and he doesn't think James will win any.

"I believe in all of my heart and soul that LeBron will not win another championship for the Lakers," Bayless said.

Like Leonard, James has had health issues of late, with two of his three seasons with the Lakers marred by groin and ankle injuries. He's also heading into his 19th NBA season.

It's hard to argue against the overall legacy of either star, as the two have a combined six championships and six NBA Finals MVP awards between them, as Chris Broussard pointed out on "First Things First."

"Kawhi Leonard is already a made man," he said. "But he does need to win a ring in L.A. to live up to the hype that surrounded him when he joined the Clippers.

With Leonard's injury history and James' rising age, both players are on the clock in Los Angeles. Whoever can add to his hardware collection will have bragging rights at Staples Center.

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