Report: Kawhi Leonard (Quad) Hopes to Return in March

Gregg Popovich said last week he didn’t expect Kawhi Leonard to return this season.

Spurs star Kawhi Leonard, who hasn’t played since Jan. 13 due to a quad injury, has returned to San Antonio and hopes to resume game action in March, ESPN’s Michael C. Wright and Adrian Wojnarowski report. 

Leonard had been in New York where he solicited additional medical opinions and worked out at the court in the NBPA’s headquarters. 

Gregg Popovich said last week he didn’t expect Leonard to return this season, at which point Wojnarowski reported that Leonard’s absence was self-imposed. Leonard had been medically cleared to return during the All-Star break but “elected against returning to the active roster,” Wojarowski reported. “If Leonard returns, it will be because he has decided he can manage the discomfort of the injury, according to the sources.”

Leonard missed the first 27 games of the season with the injury and played nine of San Antonio’s following 17 games before shutting down again. He’s averaging 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23.3 minutes per game. 

Wojnarowski and Wright reported in January that Leonard’s handling of the injury was causing tension within the organization. 

With only six weeks left before the end of the regular season, the Spurs (36–25) are in third place in a tight Western Conference. San Antonio is well behind the Rockets and Warriors, and only 2 1/2 games ahead of the eighth-place Nuggets.