Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is reportedly out indefinitely with knee inflammation

According to ESPN, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will be out indefinitely early in the season due to inflammation in his right knee.

Leonard did not practice with the Clippers or play in any games for them in the preseason. He reportedly underwent offseason surgery on his right knee after playing in just two of Los Angeles' final 14 games last season, including the first-round playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

In July, Leonard was removed from Team USA ahead of the Paris Olympics to continue rehabilitation of his knee.

“He wasn’t part of what we do on a daily basis,” Clippers assistant coach Brian Shaw said Wednesday. “I know the company line is that we're going to be patient with him, so he's doing everything he can to rehabilitate and strengthen the knee on his own with our medical staff.”

Leonard played 68 games for the Clippers in 2023-24, his most regular season appearances since 2017. He averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 34.3 minutes per game – the highest minutes per game average of his career.

Leonard is one of the best players in the NBA, but his career has been marred by injuries.

He failed to complete the 2017 postseason after spraining his ankle in the Western Conference finals and played just nine games the following regular season.

Since joining Los Angeles in 2019, Leonard has only played in every playoff game for the team once, during the 2020 season. Since then, his right knee has been a recurring problem.

In the 2021 playoffs, Leonard tore a cruciate ligament in his right knee and missed the remainder of that season and all of next.

In 2023, Leonard missed the final three games of the Clippers' first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns after tearing the meniscus in his right knee.

Los Angeles signed Leonard to a three-year, $153 million contract extension in January. For the first time since joining the team five years ago, Leonard will no longer have All-Star forward Paul George as a teammate, as George signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers in July.

The Clippers will open their regular season on October 23rd against the Suns.