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Ty Lue Reacts to Latest Kawhi Leonard Injury News

The LA Clippers will be without Kawhi Leonard to begin the season.

Joey Linn

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) looks on from the bench during the 2024 NBA playoffs.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) looks on from the bench during the 2024 NBA playoffs. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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The LA Clippers will be without All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard when they begin the 2024-25 season on Wednesday. Leonard missed all of training camp and all five of LA’s preseason games.

While Leonard’s absence from camp and the preseason already indicated he would not be ready when the regular season began, it was reported by ESPN on Thursday that he will be sidelined indefinitely as he continues strengthening his right knee.

Leonard missed the last eight 2023-24 regular season games before missing four of LA’s six first round playoff games. Eliminated by the Mavericks in that first round, the Clippers were without Leonard for the fourth-straight season at the time of their elimination.

Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden
Los Angeles Clippers forwards Paul George and forward Kawhi Leonard with guard James Harden against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Clippers head coach Ty Lue spoke with reporters prior to Thursday’s preseason game against the Sacramento Kings, and admitted Leonard had a setback after being with Team USA in Las Vegas for their Olympic training camp.

“He felt good,” Lue said about Leonard beginning camp with Team USA. “He looked good. The swelling was down… It was just a setback. That was unfortunate.”

Leonard was removed from Team USA on July 10. Five days later, Clippers president Lawrence Frank made it clear the decision was Team USA’s, and one the Clippers disagreed with.

"It was USAB's call, and I was quite frankly very disappointed with the decision," Frank told reporters in Las Vegas. "Kawhi wanted to play. We wanted him to play."

Until Thursday, there was no official word from the Clippers about what transpired between Leonard’s removal from Team USA and this recent news about him being ruled out indefinitely to start the season.

According to Lue, the star forward suffered a setback shortly after joining Team USA in camp.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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