NBA Rumors: Kawhi Leonard Out Indefinitely To Start 2024-25 Season With Knee Injury

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will be sidelined “for an unspecified amount of time to start the NBA season” as he continues to rehabilitate inflammation in his right knee, ESPN's Shams Charania and Ohm Yongmisuk reported Thursday.

Leonard did not play in the preseason or make contact in preseason practice due to knee inflammation.

Reported earlier by Youngmisuk NBA today Leonard was “questionable” for the Clippers' season opener on Oct. 23 against the Phoenix Suns.

According to Yongmisuk, the team may err “on the side of caution” when focusing on keeping Leonard healthy after the 2024-25 season.

Leonard missed both the Clippers' 2023-24 postseason finals and the 2024 Paris Olympics with the same issue.

Before the injury, Leonard earned his sixth career All-Star nod in 2023-24, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 68 regular-season starts. He shot a career-best 52.5 percent from the field while adding 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.

For the third consecutive postseason, however, Leonard was limited by injury until the playoffs.

After missing the final eight games of the regular season and the first game of the playoffs, Leonard bounced back to average 12.0 points in two postseason appearances before being sidelined again by surgically repaired knee inflammation in 2021 and 2023.

Leonard then sat out the Olympics after participating in three training camp practices with Team USA. Team USA executive director Grant Hill told reporters that the decision to sideline Leonard was “in the best interest of the Clippers” and Kawhi.

Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season after tearing his right ACL during the 2021 postseason.

His 2023 postseason was cut short when he tore a meniscus in his right knee, followed by inflammation in his shortened 2024 postseason.

Leonard's injury history is a significant concern for the Clippers, especially considering the three-year extension he signed in January that locked him with Los Angeles through the 2026-27 season.

Paul George's offseason departure for the Philadelphia 76ers makes Leonard more important to the Clippers than ever. James Harden, who signed a two-year extension over the summer, will be called upon to lead the team's offense through a tough Western Conference as the Clippers work to get Leonard back on the floor as soon as possible.