Kawhi Leonard withdraws from Team USA ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics

Kawhi Leonard withdraws from Team USA ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will no longer be suiting up for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics, USA Basketball announced Wednesday. He dealt with knee inflammation at the end of the season, causing him to miss 12 of the team’s last 14 games.

Here was the statement they released on social media:

“Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas,” the statement read. “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.”

An update on Kawhi Leonard from the USA Basketball Men's National Team. pic.twitter.com/84TjYpc90i

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 10, 2024

NBA insider Marc Spears reports that Leonard’s camp reached out to USA Basketball earlier this week expressing concern about playing. Team USA’s first scrimmage will be Wednesday against Team Canada, the first of five exhibitions before it begins Group play in Paris, France, on July 28 against Serbia.

Two days ago, Kawhi’s camp reached out to USA Basketball expressing concern, a source said. https://t.co/9caNxAmwMs

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 10, 2024

According to NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic, Boston Celtics guard Derrick White is the “leader” to replace Leonard. That’s not new news, though White would be the only player on Team USA to have never made an All-Star team, should he be the replacement.

Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard will no longer play for USA Basketball in the Paris Olympics this summer, and Celtics champion Derrick White is leader to join 12-man roster – developing story at @TheAthletic:https://t.co/JPjPEEl186

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 10, 2024

Charania also notes that the Clippers and NBA were “concerned” about Leonard, 33, doing more damage to his knee and putting his “status for the start of the regular season in jeopardy.” That’s a reasonable concern, with Leonard having only played 70 percent of his team’s games twice since 2016-17, including missing the entire 2021-22 season recovering from a torn ACL.

With the Clippers losing Paul George in free agency and getting markedly worse, Leonard’s health should be the utmost priority–arguably more than it already was after getting an extension.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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