The Los Angeles Clippers will start the third season without Kawhi Leonard. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Leonard has inflammation in his right knee and is expected to miss the start of the NBA season. He will be out indefinitely as he rehabilitates his injury.
Leonard has been suffering from problems with his right knee for months. He missed several games at the end of last season and also missed four of the Clippers’ six playoff games. He had committed to play for Team USA over the summer, but withdrew about three weeks before the Paris Olympics.
Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers will miss the start of the season as he rehabilitates inflammation in his right knee and will be out indefinitely. (Benny Shue-USA TODAY Sports)
The swelling in Leonard’s knee was “almost gone” in late September, but the cause of the swelling was called into question when Charania reported that Leonard underwent knee surgery during the offseason. He did not appear in any preseason games, and it is currently unclear when he will return to full strength with the Clippers.
Leonard has been plagued by knee issues in recent years, all apparently starting with a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the Clippers’ 2021 playoffs. He missed the entire 2021-22 season while recuperating. He then tore the meniscus in his right knee during the 2022-23 playoffs, and injured his right knee again during last year’s playoffs.
