Blinksportsnews247
Team USA forward Kawhi Leonard will not participate in the Paris Olympics, USA Basketball confirmed on Wednesday. Derrick White, a Boston Celtics guard, will play for Team USA in place of the Los Angeles Clippers’ star, who withdrew to prepare for the 2024-25 NBA season.
“Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas,” according to USA Basketball.
“He felt prepared to compete. However, he understands that USA Basketball and the Clippers decided it was in his best interests to spend the rest of the summer preparing for the next season rather than competing in the Olympic Games in Paris.” Leonard would have made his Summer Games debut, having missed 12 of the Clippers’ final 14 games last season due to tendinitis in his right knee. The Americans’ first game is against Serbia on July 28.
A two-time NBA champion, six-time All-Star and seven-time All-Defensive team selection, Leonard’s 68 starts in the 2023-24 season were his most since 2016-17. He missed all of 2021-22 with an ACL injury. Leonard, 33, has career averages of 20 points, 6.4 rebounds, three assists and 1.7 steals in 696 games with the San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors and the Clippers. White, 30, played on Team USA at the 2019 World Cup. He signed a four-year contract worth approximately $118 million last month.
White made the All-Defensive second team for the second straight season in 2023-24 and averaged 15.2 points, 5.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 73 starts. He shot 40.4% from 3-point distance in the playoffs and averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 19 postseason starts as the Celtics captured their record 18th title.
Blinksportsnews247
