Kawhi Leonard: Injury History of Clippers Star in NBA Playoffs After Latest Setback

• Kawhi Leonard has sustained another injury, a sprained right knee, putting his playoff participation in round one in serious doubt
• The Los Angeles Clippers star's career in the last few NBA seasons has been plagued by injuries, raising concerns about whether he'll be able to stay healthy enough to win another title
• Leonard missed all of last season due to injury, and his latest setback puts the Clippers' title quest in serious doubt

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is injured again. He missed his team's Game 3 against the Phoenix Suns, where they lost 129-124.

The two-time NBA champion's career has been plagued by injuries. This time it has come at the worst possible time, the playoffs.

With Paul George nursing a knee sprain, the Clippers expected the former San Antonio Spurs star to hold down the fort, at least in the first round. However, they are both now out with knee injuries, putting their postseason success up in the air.

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Since signing with the Clippers in 2019, many expected them to be a perennial contender. Injuries and underwhelming performances have made that impossible.

Leonard missed all of last season due to a partially torn ACL and will be monitored and evaluated daily, and is considered day-to-day, per ESPN.

Sports Brief looks at Leonard's injury history in the playoffs.

2017 NBA Playoffs: Sprained left ankle

The 31-year-old avoided major injuries in his first six seasons in the NBA. He played at least 64 games in five of those seasons. In the 2017 NBA playoffs, he suffered an ankle injury in Game 1 of the 2017 Conference Finals against eventual champions Golden State Warriors.

Leonard was on fire with 26 points in 24 minutes to give the Spurs a comfortable 21-point lead in the third quarter. Gregg Popovich's team were on course to steal the series opener until their best player landed on Zaza Pachulia's foot on a three-point attempt.

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He was ruled out for the rest of the game and the series. The Warriors went on to sweep San Antonio and then edged Cleveland Cavaliers to win the 2017 NBA title. Popovich accused Pachulia of being a dirty player after the game, per Fox Sports. The Georgian received heavy criticism on social media for his defense on Leonard in the play.

2017-18: Right quadriceps injury

Leonard played a total of nine games in the 2017/18 season. It was an intriguing season for Leonard, whose stint with the Spurs ended prematurely when he was traded to the Toronto Raptors.

He missed the first 27 games of that season and ended up missing 73 games.

2018-2019: Load management

After joining the Raptors, a plan was implemented to manage Leonard's injury that forced him to miss 73 games in the previous season. He did not play in back-to-backs and missed games to rest.

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He played a total of 60 regular season games, but their strategy paid off in the end as he led them to their first-ever NBA championship, per Sporting News.

According to ESPN, load management is a program employed by NBA teams and players to monitor the physiological stress (or load) a player endures doing any number of activities.

2020-2021 NBA Playoffs: Partially torn ACL

The Clippers would've reached the NBA Finals if they had Leonard. They reached the conference finals but lost to the Phoenix Suns in six games. He sustained a partially torn ACL in the conference semis against the Utah Jazz.

The injury saw him miss the entire 2021/22 season. Since winning the NBA title in 2019, he has not played 60 regular season games. He has played 57, 52, and 52 games in the regular season due to load management.

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It is unclear when he will return. It may be too late since the Suns, with two-time finals MVP Kevin Durant, have a 2-1 series lead.

This is Leonard and George's fourth NBA season together, and it seems the championship window is shrinking. They are both in their 30s, and with their injury history, it is hard to tell if they can stay healthy to sustain a championship run.

Curry debunks load management

Sports Brief earlier reported on Curry explaining the true nature of load management in the NBA. The phenomenon has sparked heated debates among the fan base this season.

The two-time NBA MVP said it is not the player who decides if he wants to play, admitting that it is always the other way around.

Many star players usually miss games when their team is playing on back-to-back nights, many times inconveniencing fans who paid for tickets to come to watch them.