Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard wasn’t scheduled to play Wednesday night in a much-anticipated nationally televised showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the NBA doesn’t have a problem with it, according to an ESPN report.
The Clippers listed Leonard on the injury report with a knee injury, meaning the club is within its rights to rest Leonard on the front end of a back-to-back.
Leonard has yet to play both games of a back-to-back this season and last played in a set in April 2017, when he was a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
Leonard played in just nine games for the Spurs in 2017-18 due to a quadriceps injury and played in just 60 of 82 regular-season games for the Toronto Raptors last season.