Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard made his way back to the court to start his first game of the season for the Clippers as they defeated the Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night.
Leonard has been working his way back from a torn ACL, a process that he said can be a “two year process” and played 25 minutes of action, scoring 6 points, hauling in five rebounds and dishing four assists.
Leonard spoke about the work he has put in, following the game. Leonard did not comment on why he missed 12 straight games after beginning the season playing in two of the Clippers first three games off the bench.
“Just rehabbing, getting ready,” Leonard said, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I’m not going to explain it because I’m not a doctor, and nobody in here is one. So just getting back, ready to get on the floor.”
“Like I said before, at the start of the season, it’s going to be a long journey,” Leonard said. “ACL recovery isn’t just one year. Everybody thinks that, but it’s a two-year process, so I know that and I’m going to keep going and going through the process.”
“After I played those first two games, it was dead already,” Leonard said of coming off the bench. “T-Lue wanted me to start the games and get us going in a flow. So, before I sat out [12 straight games] I knew I was gonna be starting.”
“Like I said, it’s a two-year process,” Leonard said of whether he is back to his form. “Everybody thinks it’s a one-year process, but we don’t know. We’ll see what happens once we keep moving forward.”
