The Los Angeles Clippers begin their season without Kawhi Leonard. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Leonard has inflammation in his right knee and is expected to be sidelined for the start of the NBA season. He will be out indefinitely as he needs to rehab his injury.

Leonard has been struggling with problems in his right knee for months. He missed a handful of games at the end of last season, as well as four of the Clippers' six playoff games. He had committed to play on Team USA over the summer but withdrew about three weeks before the Paris Olympics.

The swelling in Leonard's knee was “almost gone” by the end of September, but the origin of the swelling was called into question when Charania reported that Leonard had undergone knee surgery during the offseason. He hasn't played in any preseason games and now there's no time frame for when he'll be back at full strength for the Clippers.

Leonard has struggled with knee problems in recent years, all of which seemingly started when he partially tore the ACL in his right knee during the Clippers' 2021 playoff run. He missed the entire 2021–22 season while recovering. He then tore the meniscus in his right knee during the 2022-23 playoffs and re-injured his right knee during the playoffs last year.