On Tuesday evening, the LA Clippers announced the successful ACL surgery for superstar Kawhi Leonard. The release also states that there is no timetable for his return.
The Clippers announce that Kawhi Leonard has undergone surgery to repair a partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament: pic.twitter.com/eMoMe0Kq4v
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 14, 2021
The former two-time NBA Finals MVP appeared to have injured himself late in Game 4 of the Conference Semifinals against the Utah Jazz.
At the postgame press conference, he said “I’m good, next question.” but each game after that Leonard was declared out 24 hours prior.
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He eventually didn't suit up again and finished the 2021 playoffs with averages of a career-high 30.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals and a playoff career-high 57.3 percent shooting from the field in 11 games.
His best performance in this past postseason was, by far, his Game 6 showcase on the road against the Dallas Mavericks. He showed out by tying his playoff career-high of 45 points, helping the Clippers stave off elimination and force a Game 7 - which they would go on to win.
Heading into the 2021 offseason, Leonard holds a player option on the three-year contract he signed with the Clippers in the summer of 2019.
The 2020-21 season was the fifth time that the two-time NBA Champion was named an All-Star and the third time, he was selected to the All-NBA First Team, with averages of 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 assists through 74 games.
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