Los Angeles Clippers superstar forward Kawhi Leonard will sit out at least “the next few games” with a right ankle sprain, head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters Saturday.
“Nothing serious, and we just evaluate from there,” Lue said.
Leonard missed a third straight game Saturday night as the Clippers played the Phoenix Suns.
If Leonard is sidelined for multiple additional games, he could potentially miss next week’s home games against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday and the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.
The Clippers are then scheduled for a seven-game road trip, starting with a Friday away game at the Dallas Mavericks.
Through six games this season, Leonard is averaging 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest.
Leonard, 34, missed the Clippers’ first 34 games of the 2024-25 season due to a knee injury before making his season debut against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 4.
He went on to play in 37 regular-season games, averaging 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.1 three-pointers made and 1.6 steals per contest.
After winning a pair of NBA championships and NBA Finals MVP Awards during his time with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors, Leonard signed with the Clippers in free agency in 2019.
While Leonard has been a highly productive force when healthy, injuries have severely hampered him during his time in L.A.
Over his seven seasons with the Clippers, Leonard has appeared in more 57 games in a season only once, and he missed the entire 2021-22 campaign with a torn ACL.
In 2023-24, Leonard averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per contest, and he played in 68 games, which were his most ever as a member of the Clippers.
However, Leonard missed four of the Clips’ six playoff games because of a knee injury, and that knee ailment rendered him unable to play for Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Despite being without their best player to start the 2024-25 season, the Clippers remained competitive thanks to strong play from the likes of Norman Powell, James Harden and Ivica Zubac, and they went on a late-season tear after Leonard returned to reach the playoffs.
If Leonard is forced to miss more time this season, the likes of Harden, Zubacand Bradley Beal will be asked to step up as go-to guys, while Derrick Jones Jr., Bogdan Bogdanović and Nicolas Batum will likely have increased roles as well.
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