Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard diagnosed with torn meniscus in right knee: Sources

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee, league sources told The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know:

• Leonard missed the final three games of Los Angeles’ first-round series loss to Phoenix.
• In the first two games, he averaged 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 40 minutes per game.
• Leonard injured the same knee in the 2021 playoffs and later had it surgically repaired, which cost him the 2022 season.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

What this means for the Clippers

Leonard waited two years to return to the NBA postseason after surgery to repair a partially torn right ACL suffered in the 2021 postseason caused him to miss the entire 2021-22 season. To see that Leonard is dealing with another serious knee injury is disheartening, to say the least.

Of course, others have said more than the least. The fact that anyone would expect Leonard, who has also dealt with quadriceps tendinopathy, to play through that kind of injury is ridiculous. Paul George, dealing with his own right knee injury, said that those who thought Leonard was just sitting out were “attacking his character” while echoing the team’s explanation that Leonard was injured in Game 1 of the series and played through the injury in Game 2.

The Clippers have a history of not saying much about the severity of Leonard’s injuries until after a postseason is over. A sprained knee two years ago was revealed to be a partially torn ACL that required surgery. Now, Leonard’s “sprained right knee” is the kind of injury that usually requires a procedure that takes months to heal from.

The best case scenario is that Leonard will be ready to resume basketball activities in 1-2 months, allowing him to have most of the summer to get ready for next season. But there will once again be questions about his readiness to play entering the 2023-24 season as his knee responds to whatever the appropriate treatment is. — Murray

Backstory

After winning Game 1 behind Leonard’s 38 points, the Clippers battled the Suns competitively in Game 2 with his 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Without Leonard for the final three games, LA had no answers for Phoenix stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, who averaged 37.2 and 28.4 points per game in the series.

Leonard, 31, played in 50 games in 2022-23 as he made his slow return from the right knee injury he suffered in July 2021 during the Western Conference semifinals.

Clippers co-star George missed all of the first round with his own knee injury. He sprained his right knee in March.

George also missed 43 games in 2021-22 with an elbow injury. Without their two stars for most of the season, the Clippers went 42-40.

Leonard hasn’t played more than 60 games in a season since 2016-17. He’ll enter the third year of his four-year contract in 2023-24, and holds a $48 million player option for 2024-25.

Required reading

(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)