Kawhi Leonard is going to be out for a while.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday that Leonard will be “sidelined indefinitely” as he deals with right knee inflammation in yet another injury blow for the Clippers star.
Leonard, 33, missed the Clippers’ final eight regular-season games last season and four of their six playoff games with knee inflammation and spent the offseason rehabbing the injury.
He withdrew from the Paris Olympics a few weeks before the Summer Games began, citing his desire to prepare for the 2024-25 NBA season.
It’s far from the first time knee problems have plagued Leonard’s NBA career.
During the 2021 playoffs, Leonard, a six-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP, tore his ACL, taking him out for the entire 2021-22 season.
In 2023, his playoff run was cut short after tearing the meniscus in his right knee.
Since becoming a Clipper in 2019, Leonard has played in just 179 of the team’s 435 games.
Before going to Southern California, Leonard played in just nine games during the 2017-18 season as a member of the Spurs as he dealt with a quad injury.
The injury comes at a tough time for the franchise, which will host the first regular season in the Intuit Dome in Inglewood on Oct. 23 against the Suns.
The Clippers lost Paul George, who came to the team alongside Leonard in 2019, to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency over the offseason.
They’ll hand the keys to James Harden, who signed a two-year deal worth $70 million in the summer.
Leonard signed a three-year, $153 million extension to stay in Los Angeles in January.
