PHOENIX SUNS

Report: Clippers without Kawhi Leonard ‘indefinitely’ ahead of opener vs. Suns

Oct 17, 2024, 12:28 PM

Kawhi Leonard dribbles by Joel Embiid...

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers dribbles by Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center on December 23, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will begin the season “indefinitely” on the shelf with right knee inflammation, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania and Ohm Youngmisuk.

That makes Leonard unavailable against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday for the Clippers’ 2024-25 opener and first game at their new home arena, the Intuit Dome.

Leonard has not played in the preseason nor practiced with the team in camp.

He first experienced inflammation in March and missed eight regular season games. The forward appeared in just two games of a six-game series loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.

Leonard played in 68 regular season games last year and averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Before that, he hadn’t played in 60 or more games since he helped the Toronto Raptors win the 2019 NBA title.

This summer, he went through part of training camp with Team USA before its run to gold in the Paris Olympics. Leonard was removed from the roster in what USA Basketball said was a joint decision between its leaders and the Clippers. The forward’s injury history was not mentioned in the reasoning.

Los Angeles president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank later told ESPN that it was not a move determined by the NBA team and that Leonard and the Clippers wanted him to participate in the Olympics.

Two seasons ago, Leonard also ended the year with an injury. He tore his meniscus after playing in two games of a first-round series against Phoenix that the Suns eventually won.

The 33-year-old’s history of injuries goes back to his time with the San Antonio Spurs, when in 2017-18 he appeared in just nine games due to quad and shoulder issues.

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