For the third season in a row, Kawhi Leonard had his campaign cut short due to injury in 2023.
Despite dropping a combined 69 points in his first two games of the postseason, he suddenly popped up on the Clippers' injury report on April 20. He missed Games 3, 4 and 5 of the series against the Suns, which ended with Phoenix eliminating L.A. in five games.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski initially reported Leonard had suffered a right knee sprain in Game 1 and played through it in Game 2. However, on April 26 it was revealed the injury was much more serious than initially thought. The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Leonard had actually torn the meniscus in his right knee, leading to him being shut down for the series.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Leonard averaged 35 points in first two games of this postseason vs. Suns before the meniscus injury was revealed and he was shut down by medical staff.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 26, 2023
It's another devastating blow for Leonard, who has been plagued by injuries for what feels like ages. The five-time All-Star has now missed significant time in each of the last five NBA seasons due to injuries and load management.
MORE: Will Kawhi Leonard retire? Torn meniscus casts doubt on future with Clippers
Here's a full timeline of Leonard's injury struggles as he deals with yet another setback:
Kawhi Leonard injury history timeline
2017 NBA Playoffs: Sprained left ankle
For the first five seasons of his NBA career, Leonard managed to stay quite healthy. Apart from a minor quadriceps injury back in 2012, he never faced any serious issues.
That all changed during the 2017 playoffs. In Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Spurs and Rockets, Leonard hurt his left ankle and was forced to leave the game. He missed Game 6, in which San Antonio eliminated Houston, but returned for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against Golden State.
With the Spurs out to a huge lead in the third quarter, Leonard landed awkwardly after an aggressive closeout by Warriors center Zaza Pachulia. He re-aggravated his ankle in the process and was forced to leave the game. Golden State went on to make a huge comeback to win Game 1, and Leonard never returned in the series as the Spurs ultimately got swept.
2017-18: Right quadriceps tendinopathy
A quadriceps injury resulted in Leonard missing the first 27 games of the following season. He finally made his return in December, but he was sidelined again barely a month later to continue rehab on the same injury.
The situation caused strife within the Spurs' locker room. The team's medical staff cleared him to return, but Leonard sought a second opinion from his personal doctors and ultimately made the decision to remain on the sidelines. Tempers flared during a players-only meeting in which his teammates urged him to return, but he never took the floor again for San Antonio.
2021 NBA Playoffs: Partially torn ACL
Leonard achieved his ultimate goal in 2019, winning a championship during his only season with the Raptors. He made it through the entire season unscathed, in large part due to Toronto limiting his playing time throughout the campaign. He only suited up in 60 of his team's 82 regular season games.
That trend of strict "load management" continued in 2020 after his trade to the Clippers. He appeared in just 57 of his team's 72 regular season games, but he was able to play in every postseason game as the Clippers fell to the Nuggets in the second round.
In the 2021 playoffs, however, he suffered another major injury. After playing in 52 of the Clippers' 72 regular season games during the 2020-21 season, Leonard partially tore his right ACL during Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Jazz.
It was serious enough to sideline him for the rest of the postseason and the entirety of L.A.'s 2021-22 campaign.
2023 NBA Playoffs: Torn right meniscus
Leonard finally returned from his ACL injury in October 2022 after nearly 16 months on the sidelines.
He was eased back into action at the start of the 2022-23 season, but his workload eventually ramped up and he looked back to his best for much of the year. He finished the regular season averaging 23.8 points per game after playing in 52 regular season matchups.
Unfortunately, his season was derailed yet again in the playoffs after suffering a torn meniscus in Game 1 of the Clippers' series against the Suns. He played through the injury in Game 2 and dropped 31 points, but he was ruled out for Games 3-5 as L.A. was swiftly eliminated.
MORE: What is Kawhi Leonard's latest injury? How torn meniscus affects his Clippers future
The injury is to the same knee as his recent ACL tear, but Wojnarowski says it is thankfully unrelated. However, it remains to be seen how long his recovery will take and when we will next see him on the court.
