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LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard (X)
Leonard played 68 games during the regular season, his most as a Clipper, before missing the final eight because of his knee.
Kawhi Leonard is planning to be in the Los Angeles Clippers’ lineup for opening night unless his balky right knee prevents him from inaugurating the team’s new arena.
The health of their superstar once again looms large after Leonard was limited to two postseason games last season because of inflammation in a knee that has been surgically repaired twice. Leonard’s absence proved costly when the Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs in six games by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round.
The Clippers open the regular season on Oct. 23 against the Phoenix Suns.
“Right now it’s a positive thing to think I will play, but we’re taking it day by day,” Leonard said Monday at the team’s media day inside the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood. “I never plan to miss games, but it’s just about my body. I’m a human being and we’re playing basketball.”
Leonard indicated he could be dealing with knee inflammation for the rest of his career.
“It can get that way,” the 33-year-old six-time All-Star said. “There’s some stuff we can do or try to do to make me last. We’ll see what happens.”
Kawhi Leonard on his motivation to keep fighting through injuries:“I can play. I mean I played my most games I’ve in a long time last year. I played like 68 games, was one of the guys that probably didn’t take a rest break earlier on in that season… Obviously, from a fan base… pic.twitter.com/UL8pa341uv
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 30, 2024
Leonard played 68 games during the regular season, his most as a Clipper, before missing the final eight because of his knee. He signed a three-year extension worth $52 million in January. But his health has restricted his postseason availability for four straight years.
“Everything has been going great for the past month, but being very cautious for reasons in the past,” he said. “Haven’t been able to finish some playoff runs so making sure I stay healthy for those important moments.”
Leonard said he considered last season a success from a health perspective.
“We didn’t reach our goal but in the grand scheme of things, and how my body’s been doing, it was a good year,” he said. “Let’s see if I can keep it going from here.”
The Clippers flew to Hawaii later Monday for the start of training camp, which culminates Saturday with an exhibition game against the Golden State Warriors in Honolulu.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)
