San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard will miss the entire preseason with a thigh injury, the team announced Saturday morning via Twitter.
INJURY UPDATE: pic.twitter.com/CjZmb7HTFs
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) September 30, 2017
This is significant news for Leonard, who also had to miss the end of the Spurs' playoff run with an injury after Zaza Pachulia came under him after a jump shot in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, causing Leonard to hurt his ankle.
This injury appears to be a separate case. The regular season officially begins Oct. 17 so Leonard is essentially missing a little more than two weeks here. It's of course possible the Spurs are just keeping him out for the entirety of the preseason as a precautionary measure, and possible that he could be able to return sooner if the games mattered more.
No injury news is good news, even if it is minor. Leonard developed into a legitimate MVP candidate for the Spurs last season, taking his offensive game to the next level while remaining the premiere perimeter defender in the league.
With the Western Conference getting another jolt of All-Star-level talent for next season, any time Leonard could miss could be costly. The Thunder and Rockets seem better prepared to compete for the top seeds in the conference than they were a season ago, with seeding in those top four spots in the West being more important than ever next season.
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