Report – NBC Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Clippers will likely be with out their greatest participant after they break floor at their new area subsequent week and may very well be with out him for the foreseeable future.

Kawhi Leonard will likely be sidelined indefinitely to begin the 2024-25 season as he continues to rehabilitate from irritation in his proper knee, ESPN’s Shams Charania and Ohm Youngmisuk reported on Thursday.

The 2-time NBA Finals MVP has a protracted damage historical past, together with a torn ACL that sidelined him for all the 2021-22 season and a torn meniscus suffered through the 2023 first spherical.

Leonard is coming off an All-Star season wherein he performed 68 common season video games, his most because the 2016-17 marketing campaign. Nonetheless, the damage bug was again by crucial a part of the Clippers’ season final spring.

He first handled the knee irritation in a March 31 win over the Charlotte Hornets, and the ailment lingered into the playoffs. He missed the ultimate eight video games of the common season and 4 video games of the Clippers’ first-round collection towards the Dallas Mavericks, which the Mavericks went on to win in six video games.

Leonard was additionally named to Crew USA this summer season however was changed by Boston Celtics guard Derrick White on the Olympic roster that went on to win gold in Paris. USA Basketball stated on the time that Leonard “respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers decided it is in his greatest curiosity to spend the rest of the summer season getting ready for the upcoming season fairly than collaborating within the Olympic Video games in Paris.”

The 33-year-old ahead has not performed for the Clippers this preseason and didn’t take part in any on-court, contact actions throughout coaching camp.

The Clippers will open the season by internet hosting the Phoenix Suns within the first common season recreation at their new house, the Intuit Dome, on Wednesday.

Listed here are vital dates for the upcoming 2024-25 NBA season.