LOS ANGELES – In a sign that Kawhi Leonard’s right-knee inflammation continues to improve, the Los Angeles Clippers’ All-Star forward has been named to fill the final spot on the United States basketball roster for the Paris Olympics, multiple outlets reported on April 16.
When reports of the US roster first surfaced on April 15, one spot was still unnamed and was expected to stay open through the team’s training camp.
Leonard’s inclusion comes on the same day that he was a partial participant in Clippers practice on April 16, in advance of the team’s opener in the first round of the National Basketball Association play-offs on April 21 against the Dallas Mavericks.
The 32-year-old averaged 23.7 points with 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 68 games (all starts) this season. But he missed the final eight games of the regular season, leaving the team’s four-game road trip that began in late March in order to return to Los Angeles for treatment.
His availability for the play-off opener has yet to be determined by head coach Tyronn Lue.
Leonard has dealt with knee issues in recent seasons, playing in 52 games during the 2020-21 season, missing all of the 2021-22 campaign because of an ACL injury, then playing 52 games (50 starts) in 2022-23.
His 68 games this season were his most since playing 74 for the San Antonio Spurs in 2016-17.
USA Basketball has yet to make an official announcement, but the 12-player roster is a star-studded cast and will include Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, who is making his first appearance in the Olympics.
The Los Angeles Lakers duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and Kevin Durant and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns also featured on the roster. James is slated to make his first Games appearance since 2012 and the fourth of his career.
The other team members named were Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, according to reports.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr serves as Team USA head coach and will be assisted by Lue, the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra and Gonzaga University coach Mark Few.
The US have won four consecutive golds at the Olympics since finishing with bronze at the 2004 Athens Games. REUTERS, AFP
