Sources: Spurs star Kawhi Leonard expected to miss remainder of postseason
San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss the remainder of the postseason as he continues to rehabilitate his right quadriceps injury, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Leonard has been rehabbing in New York because that is where his medical staff is located, and he has not been cleared by his doctors, league sources said. Time has run short for Leonard — one of the league’s best players when healthy — to make a sensible return to the Spurs, who lost Game 1 of their first-round series to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Leonard has made strides recently in training and is focused on regaining his full health, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Leonard’s rehab program in New York has been in collaboration and with the approval of the Spurs’ medical staff, league sources said.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Thursday that his team did not expect Leonard to play in the series.
Leonard — the 2013-14 NBA Finals MVP — missed the first 27 games of the season with the quadriceps injury and returned on a limited basis Dec. 12, playing nine games over the next month. He last played 29 minutes on Jan. 13 and hasn’t returned to the court since.
Leonard averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game last season and cemented himself as one of the league’s best players. The two-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year is in his seventh season with the Spurs after being drafted No. 15 overall in 2011. He led the Spurs to the 2014 NBA title over the Miami Heat.
The Spurs finished the season 47-35 to earn the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
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