LAS VEGAS — Team USA star forward Kawhi Leonard, who has been battling chronic knee soreness and inflammation for months, will not play for the U.S. in the Paris Olympics, USA Basketball announced Wednesday.
Boston Celtics’ Derrick White will replace Leonard on the roster, USA Basketball announced. White is expected to accompany Team USA to Abu Dhabi, where the team will practice and play over the coming week.
Leonard, 33, attended Team USA’s training camp and was on the court for every practice and scrimmage. He insisted his ailing left knee was feeling better, and coaches said he was performing well while “ramping up” to full speed for the Olympics, but managing director Grant Hill said the American staff determined he was not moving well enough to help the team defend its Olympic gold medal in Paris.
“This is a sprint, it’s not a ramp up,” Hill said Wednesday night, before Team USA hosted Canada in an exhibition game. “Our decision was made and I think we were open, honest and understanding through it all. The heart goes out (to Leonard), but we have to do what’s best for the team and protect the team and give ourselves the best opportunity for success.”
In 2021, Kevin Love came to training camp as a member of Team USA but removed himself because of a lingering injury that prevented him from reaching acceptable conditioning and performance levels.
Hill said the two situations — Love and Leonard — were similar, but he also made clear that this was USA Basketball’s call, made after Tuesday’s practice.
Leonard was informed before USA Basketball held its 50th-anniversary celebration in Las Vegas, which included remarks by former President Barack Obama.
The LA Clippers (and the NBA) certainly agreed with the decision. They held concerns that Leonard could do further damage to his knee this summer and put his status for the start of the regular season in jeopardy when the Clippers open their $2 billion Intuit Dome Arena. However, teams are not permitted to prevent players from competing for their countries in the Olympics, so this was ultimately a decision made by Team USA.
“Ultimately, we (decided). He was sent home, but we were in conversation with the Clippers on that,” Hill said.
Leonard’s coach on the Clippers, Tyronn Lue, is an assistant coach for Team USA.
Leonard’s knee caused him to miss the last eight games of the regular season and most of the Clippers’ first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. He deals with chronic inflammation from the multiple surgeries he’s had and played in just two playoff games in 2023 due to a torn meniscus.
Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season after tearing his ACL during the 2021 playoffs.
“I think he wanted to be here like all the guys want to be here,” Hill said.
White, 30, a 6-foot-4 guard who can defend taller players and just signed a $125 million contract extension, is coming off an NBA championship run with the Boston Celtics and was on the 2019 U.S. World Cup team. White is the only player on Team USA never to have been an All-Star. He averaged a career-high 15.2 points and shot nearly 40 percent from 3 for the Celtics, and was named a second-team All-Defense player.
Shortly after The Athletic first reported the USA roster move, Jaylen Brown — the 2024 NBA Finals MVP and White’s teammate on the Celtics — took issue with being overlooked to replace Leonard and suggested that Nike, a key sponsor of USA Basketball, prevented Brown from being added (Brown is not a Nike-sponsored athlete; White is). Brown is a three-time All-Star and was second-team All-NBA in 2023.
“One of the many things that I really love about Derrick, and particularly with this team, is I don’t feel like his role changes much with our team from what he does with the Celtics,” Hill said. “He plays alongside two incredibly great young players, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (in Boston). … To have someone who can come in and play off guys, be complementary to some others, but then also stand out and be a dynamite defensive player, knock down shots, it just impacts winning.”
Hill did not say specifically why White was chosen over Brown (who, like White, was on the 2019 World Cup team), but he said, “The responsibility that I have is to put together a team and a team that complements each other, a team that fits a team that will, give us the best opportunity for success.”
“And, so, you know, whatever theories that might be out there, they’re just that,” Hill said.
Team USA is also missing star forward Kevin Durant due to a calf injury. Hill said Durant would accompany the team to Abu Dhabi and is expected to be on the court next week.
