Kawhi Leonard’s personal team is notoriously private when it comes to his injuries. You may recall that Gregg Popovich clashed with Leonard’s people over a quad injury and recovery. Those issues resulted in the talented forward’s departure from the team. So it’s no surprise that details regarding Leonard’s recent knee injury have been kept quiet.
During this season’s NBA playoffs, no details were given regarding Leonard’s long-term status. The exact type of injury he had was never disclosed either. All we knew was that Leonard had an ACL injury.
But on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Clippers shared that Leonard had undergone surgery for a partially torn ACL in his right knee. They said Leonard would be out indefinitely.
If the Clippers are not going to give us a timeline about Leonard’s recovery, maybe we can try to use other information to figure out a timeline.
Injury analyst Jeff Stotts pointed out that Thomas Bryant and Spencer Dinwiddie both had Grade 2 partial tears of their ACLs. Dinwiddie took over six months to return.
Re: Kawhi: Thomas Bryant & Spencer Dinwiddie each missed 60+ games after undergoing surgery for Grade 2 (partial tear) ACL injuries earlier this season. Dinwiddie was cleared for basketball activities ~6 months after surgery. Look for Kawhi’s recovery to carryover into next year.
— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) July 14, 2021
If Leonard needs six months to be cleared for basketball activities, then he will need more time after that before being ready for game action. It might not be surprising to see Leonard unable to return until the middle of next season. If he is unable to return until then, that will put a burden on the team to win without him for quite some time. Winning two playoff games without Leonard is one thing. Winning without him for another 40-plus games is a completely different challenge.
