Tony Parker knows better than anyone what Kawhi Leonard is going through as the star forward continues to nurse a quad injury, and it sure sounds like Parker believes his teammate should be back on the court by now.
Parker, who had surgery in May after he tore his quad muscle during the postseason last year, spoke about Leonard’s injury on Friday. Perhaps the most telling thing he said was that his quad injury was “a hundred times worse” than Leonard’s.
“I’ve been through it,” Parker said, via Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “It was a rehab for me for eight months. Same kind of injury, but mine was a hundred times worse, but the same kind of injury. You just stay positive.”
Leonard has gotten multiple opinions on his lingering injury, which has been characterized as tendonitis. There have been reports that the Spurs cleared Leonard but his own personal doctors have not given him the green light. Parker says he has full trust in San Antonio’s medical staff and did not seek a second opinion.
“It was awesome,” he said of his experience with the Spurs’ doctors. “I had options, too, obviously when you have a big injury like that you can go to L.A., Europe, France. I could have gone anywhere, but I trust my Spurs doctors. They have been with me my whole career. They know my body better than anybody.
“So for me, it was a no-brainer to do the surgery with them. So when I had my injury, forty-eight hours (later) I was in surgery. I didn’t take two weeks and go through options. For me, it was a no-brainer because I feel like we have the best medical team in the world.”
It would not be a stretch to interpret Parker’s remarks as a challenge of sorts to Leonard. Parker said back in November that he believed Leonard was weeks from returning, and Kawhi has played in just four games this season and none since early January. Also, Parker is reportedly the one who organized the players-only meeting on Saturday where it sounds like Leonard was confronted by teammates. There is clearly growing frustration from the Spurs organization and players.
