It seems that the star of the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, may not play again in the Olympics after withdrawing from Team USA and Stephen A. Smith.
Before Kawhi withdrew, Smith was questioning why he was on Team USA to begin with, given his injury history.
“I don't think I've ever been more upset with a boyfriend wearing a Team USA uniform,” Smith said The OG's a podcast. “Do you remember how happy he was when they came to him and Grant Hill and put him on Team USA? Do you know how many games you missed?
“Talking about playing in the summer, you can get injured when you get off the plane to Paris. I don't let you play. If I were Steve Ballmer, I would use every means at my disposal to make sure this man is not on Team USA. For one reason and one reason only, I don't trust you to leave unharmed.
“I promise you, tell me right now, if I tell you, if I tell you UD, M&M you have to bet me your check that this man is going to play this summer and he's going to be healthy for the season.” None of you take that bet.”
Leonard played just two games of LAC's 2023-24 season due to knee inflammation.
In a statement released on Wednesday, USA Basketball revealed that Leonard's decision was influenced by Clippers and Team USA officials who watched Kawhi at camp a few days ago, but did not mention anything about the injury.
“Kawhi has been preparing for the Olympics for the past few weeks and has had a strong practice in Las Vegas. He felt ready to compete,” said USA Basketball. “However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers have decided that it is in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season rather than participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.”
Boston's recent champion Derrick White will replace Kawhi on the team.
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