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Kawhi Leonard won’t be starting the season for the Los Angeles Clippers as he continues to rehab his right knee, which is dealing with inflammation, according to a report by Shams Charania of ESPN.
Sources have said Leonard will be sidelined indefinitely, and he hasn’t played during the preseason, which wraps up Thursday night at home against Sacramento. He also hasn’t participated in any on-court contact during training camp. The Clippers haven’t made any official comments on the situation yet.
At the beginning of training camp, Leonard was hopeful he’d be ready for the season opener, saying, “I never plan to miss games, but it’s just about my body. I’m a human being, and we’re playing basketball.”
The focus for Leonard has been to get his knee stable enough to allow him to contribute in the postseason. He missed the final eight games of last season and was limited to just two games in the first-round playoff loss to Dallas.
“There’s some stuff we can do or try to make me last,” Leonard shared in September, hinting at possible strategies to stay healthy.
Last season, Leonard played in 68 regular-season games, his most as a Clipper, but his knee issues flared up on March 31, causing him to miss the final stretch of the season. Now 33, Leonard has dealt with these recurring knee problems, including a torn ACL that sidelined him for the entire 2021-22 season.
Leonard signed a three-year extension worth $52 million in January, but his ongoing health issues have limited his availability in recent postseasons, a trend that has affected the Clippers’ playoff success.
He was initially set to play for Team USA in the Paris Olympics but was replaced in mid-July by Celtics guard Derrick White to focus on his NBA season. Team USA went on to win gold, but Leonard had been practicing with them in Las Vegas before his replacement.
Since joining the Clippers in 2019, Leonard has missed 179 of a possible 435 games. The Clippers are set to open their season on October 23 against the Phoenix Suns in their new arena in Inglewood.
