Clippers star Kawhi Leonard expects to make his season debut against the Hawks on Sunday
Kawhi Leonard apparently he’s ready to play basketball again.
The LA Clippers upgraded Leonard from questionable to their injury report Friday night, and he is expected to make his season debut Saturday when the team hosts Atlanta Hawksaccording to reports.
Leonard was sidelined for what the Clippers described as recovering from a right knee injury. He has not played since April 26, when he appeared in Game 3 of the Clippers’ Western Conference first-round playoff series against Dallas.
He missed 12 of the Clippers’ final 14 games last season with right knee inflammation, but thought he was healthy enough to play for USA Basketball last summer at the Paris Olympics. Leonard was selected for the Olympic team and brought to Las Vegas for a training camp, but the Americans — saying they felt his knee couldn’t handle the rigors of the game — sent him home and replaced him with Derrick White on the team that would eventually win gold at the Playing in Paris.
Leonard is a two-time NBA champion, a six-time All-Star and a six-time All-NBA player, but injury problems have been a theme throughout his career. He has missed 290 regular-season games over the past eight years, including the entire 2021-22 season with knee problems.
He appeared in 68 games for the Clippers last season, his most since playing in 74 games for San Antonio during the 2016-17 season.
“This is just my journey,” Leonard said last summer, referring to his injuries. “I can’t think of a perfect scenario for myself. Last year I tried to play as much as possible, I felt great and for a certain period of time I couldn’t leave. I tried my best, but simply my journey … I motivate a lot of people, so I have to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Leonard, a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, averaged 20 points per game in his career.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Kawhi Leonard
LA Clippers
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2025-01-04 06:08:00
