Kawhi Leonard sidelined with knee injury, which means he'll miss his return to Clippers' Intuit Dome

Kawhi Leonard will miss at least one week with swelling in his left knee. The Toronto Raptors said on Tuesday that the star will go through a treatment and rehabilitation plan for his knee and be reevaluated in a week. 

The positive note in the release is that an MRI "revealed no acute injury" but given Leonard's injury history, him missing time this early in the season with knee discomfort and swelling is a concern for a Raptors team that had hopes of contending in a stout Eastern Conference. 

Leonard played in the first two wins of the season for Toronto against the Bulls and the Wizards, averaging 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in those two starts but was off with his shooting to start the year. Then on Sunday he sat out with knee discomfort in a loss to the Timberwolves, and now he will miss at least a week of action and potentially more. 

With a timetable of one week from Tuesday for his reevaluation, Leonard will miss at least the next four games for the Raptors. That includes Toronto's lone trip to Los Angeles this season, where they'll play a back-to-back against the Lakers on Sunday and the Clippers on Monday. So this injury means Leonard will not be playing at the Intuit Dome this season.

Leonard was traded to the Raptors from the Clippers this summer. The deal did not officially go through until the league finished its investigation into the Clippers and salary cap circumvention involving Leonard. The Clippers were severely punished by the NBA (losing five first-round picks, getting hit with a $30 million fine and seeing owner Steve Ballmer and other executives suspended), while Leonard got traded and only had to pay a $700,000 fine. 

Leonard's return to the Intuit Dome figured to be greeted with plenty of animosity from the Clippers faithful for how his tenure there ended. But fans will have to keep waiting to greet Leonard back.

Kawhi (knee) will be sidelined for return to Clippers' Intuit Dome Robby Kalland 1 min read

Winners and losers of first week: Ugly start for Giannis' Heat Sam Quinn 13 min read

Why the Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum feud is good for the NBA John Gonzalez 5 min read

What Williams' injury means and why a trade isn't so simple Sam Quinn 15 min read

NBA Sure Things: Nine guarantees for the 2026-27 season John Gonzalez 9 min read

Brown's rep: Reported trade request from Celtics is '10,000% a lie' Sam Quinn 2 min read

Thunder reveal injuries for Williams, and he's not OKC's only concern Jack Maloney 4 min read

LeBron explains why he doesn't want to play much center for 76ers Sam Quinn 2 min read

Magic hit by another injury as Suggs goes down late vs. Knicks Brad Botkin 3 min read

Nikola Jokić on booing Nuggets fans: 'Not welcome anymore'

Sam Quinn 2 min read