Kawhi Leonard averaged 34.5 ppg in his 2 playoff games with the Clippers in 2023.
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has a meniscus tear in his right knee, although his surgically repaired right ACL is intact.
Leonard played in Games 1 and 2 of the Clippers’ first-round series against the Phoenix Suns, but missed Games 3-5 because of a knee injury. The Suns ousted the Clippers from the playoffs in Game 5 with a 136-130 victory.
The team had said Leonard sustained a right knee sprain after playing in the first two games of the Clippers’ first-round loss to Phoenix but didn’t provide further details.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP had an MRI in Los Angeles after Game 2, which showed the tear, according to Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations.
“Regardless of the treatment, Kawhi will be ready for next year,” Frank said Thursday.
The team has yet to decide on a course of treatment, he said. Rest or surgery are among the wide range of treatments for the common knee injury.
L Frank says that Kawhi Leonard has a torn meniscus and explains that the team does not know at this time if he requires surgery.
— Law Murray ❎️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) April 27, 2023
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Leonard averaged 35 points in first two games of this postseason vs. Suns before the meniscus injury was revealed and he was shut down by medical staff.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 26, 2023
The 31-year-old missed all of last season while recovering from a torn right ACL.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP averaged 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and six assists per game in the first two games against the Suns.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
