Los Angeles Clippers All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard will not play a part in the team’s start to the season as he continues his rehabilitation from inflammation in his right knee, Afrosport reports.
The 33-year-old, who will be sidelined indefinitely, did not feature for the Clippers in all five of their preseason games, which concluded with a 113-91 win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. He also did not participate in any on-court, contact activities during training camp.
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is expected to be sidelined for indefinite period of time to start the NBA season as he rehabilitates the inflammation in his right knee, league sources tell me and @NotoriousOHM. pic.twitter.com/M5wFYIWGiv
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 17, 2024
Leonard began to experience inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee in a win over the Charlotte Hornets back in March, forcing him to be sidelined for the final eight games of the regular season, including four games of the Clippers’ first-round series loss against the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed that Leonard suffered a “setback” after participating in USA Basketball camp in Las Vegas back in July and has not suffered any new setbacks during training camp or this preseason.
“He looked good,” Lue stated. “The swelling was down, everything was going in the right direction. He had worked hard to get to that point, and then once you start playing, you never know what’s going to happen.”
“But he was in position, we thought in the right position to go forward, and it was a setback, so that was unfortunate.”
Leonard was initially named to the USA men’s team to represent the country at the Paris 2024 Olympics but was replaced by Boston Celtics guard Derrick White after pulling out due to injury.
However, Lue expects the two-time NBA champion to feature sometime this season, despite stating that they had “no timetable” for his potential return.
“I don’t see those chances, but I’m not a doctor, either,” Lue said. “But I don’t see those chances.
“Like we said from Day 1, it’s going to take some time,” Lue said. “He’s going to progress. He’s doing all the right things. He’s working hard and he’s looking good. So, there’s no timetable, or nothing like that. Nothing has changed from Day 1. Still working to get him to where we’re trying to get him to.
“And, so, until he’s 100% and he’s able to go and we have no concerns about him doing anything different, then we just got to continue to follow the path we’ve been on.”
Leonard played 68 regular season games last campaign, his most since joining the Clippers in 2019. He has, however, missed 179 of a possible 435 games for the franchise.
The former San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors star missed the entire 2021-22 season with a torn ACL in his right knee, played in just 52 games in the 2022-23 season.
The Clippers’ Intuit Dome arena will get a competitive feel when they open the 2024-25 season on October 23 against Phoenix Suns.
