The Los Angeles Clippers will be without All-Star Kawhi Leonard to start the season.
Leonard will be sidelined indefinitely as he continues to rehab his right knee, a person with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. There is no timetable on Leonard’s return.
In late September, Clippers president Lawrence Frank announced that the ‘swelling has significantly gone down’ in Leonard’s knee and that the inflammation is ‘almost gone.’ Although Leonard felt ‘great’ ahead of training camp, he said he and the team are ‘taking it day-by-day.’
‘Everything has been going great for the past month, but they are being very cautious,’ Leonard said at media day. ‘I haven’t been able to finish some playoff runs, so making sure I stay healthy for those important moments.’
The two-time Finals MVP didn’t appear in any of the Clippers’ preseason games and was held out of training camp to ensure he’s 100% for the regular season and postseason.
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Leonard had surgery to repair a partially torn ACL in his right knee in July 2021. Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season as a result of injury. He suffered a torn meniscus in the same knee in April 2023, resulting in Leonard missing the final three games of the Clippers’ first-round series loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Leonard played 68 games last season — the most games he’s played since a career-high 74 games in the 2016-17 season for the San Antonio Spurs — but he missed the final eight games of the regular season due to knee pain. He was limited to only two games in the Clippers’ first-round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks due to right knee inflammation.
Leonard was selected to be part of the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team, but ultimately withdrew from the roster ahead of the 2024 Paris Games to prepare for the upcoming NBA season.
‘Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas,’ USA Basketball said in July. ‘He felt ready to compete. However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers determined it’s in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season rather than participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.’
The Clippers open the 2024-25 season against the Suns on Oct. 23 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, and are preparing without Leonard, who signed a three-year extension worth $152.3 million in January.
‘He has not been a part of what we’ve been doing on a daily basis,’ Clippers assistant coach Brian Shaw said Wednesday following practice. ‘I know the company line has been that we’re going to be patient with him, so he’s doing everything that he can to rehab it and strengthen that knee on his own with our medical staff. And we’re just dealing with the guys that we have (available).’
