‘Up and down practices’ prompted Kawhi Leonard to withdraw from U.S. Olympic team

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, left, went through multiple practices before the U.S. men’s basketball Olympic team announced he was withdrawing from the Games to focus on rebuilding his strength ahead of the upcoming NBA season. (Joe Amati/NBAE via Getty Images)

Kawhi Leonard said his surgically-repaired right knee was “at a neutral state” after a fourth day of training camp practice with Team USA and he was hopeful it remained that way.

It did not.

So, in consultation with Team USA and the Clippers, Leonard has withdrawn from the Paris Olympics so the forward can concentrate on getting his knee healthy for the 2024-25 NBA season.

“Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas.” Team USA said in a statement Wednesday morning. “He felt ready to compete. However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers determined it’s in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season rather than participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.”

Read more: Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard impresses during workout in front of Team USA leaders

The U.S. is scheduled to face Canada in an exhibition game Wednesday night, a game Leonard said after practice Tuesday that he was going to play in.

“Yeah, I think I will suit up tomorrow,” Leonard said Tuesday. “Everything has been good so far. It’s been at a neutral state and hopefully it stays that way.”

But injuries have been a part of Leonard’s time with the Clippers during his five seasons in Los Angeles.

He played in 68 games last season, the most since he played in 74 for the San Antonio Spurs during the 2016-17 season, but he missed the Clippers’ final eight regular-season games with right knee inflammation.

Read more: ‘I took the time’: Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard is ready for Paris Olympics

Leonard then played in Games 2 and 3 of the Clippers first-round playoff series against the Mavericks, but missed the last three straight with right knee inflammation. His last time playing in an NBA game was April 26.

Out of 410 regular-season games during his time with the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/down-practices-prompted-kawhi-leonard-160217544.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-07-10 16:02:17

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