The Los Angeles Clippers will be without their superstar Kawhi Leonard at the start of the 2024-25 NBA season and possibly longer.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Leonard was ruled out indefinitely by the Clippers as he works on overcoming inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee.
Leonard failed to appear in a single preseason game for the Clippers while also avoiding contact during practices at training camp. The team and Leonard are reportedly taking a cautious approach in order to make sure his knee is fully recovered and ready for strains of an NBA season.
Leonard tore an ACL in his right knee in 2021, causing him to sit out the 2021-22 campaign, and tore his meniscus in the same knee in 2023. While he managed to play 68 games during the 2023-24 regular season, his most since 2016-17, he once again experienced right knee issues during the playoffs. He ended up being shut down after two playoff games due to inflammation and would go on to be excluded from the Team USA roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics because of it.
The Clippers will now likely rely on James Harden to hold the fort until Leonard can return. The LA team has gone through some major roster reshuffling for the upcoming season, letting star Paul George leave in free agency and trading away veteran Russell Westbrook.
