1 of 3 | Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (L) is set to make his Olympic debut for Team USA at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Photo by C.J. Gunther/EPA-EFE
Boston Celtics guard Derrick White will replace Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard on the Team USA roster at the 2024 Summer Games, USA Basketball announced Wednesday.
“Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas,” USA Basketball said. Advertisement
“He felt ready to compete. However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers determined it’s 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.”
Leonard, 33, averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists over 68 starts last season. He missed the entire 2021-22 season because of a torn ACL. Leonard averaged 23.8 points. 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game over 52 appearances in 2022-23.
He has played through knee soreness and inflammation over the last several seasons.
Leonard, who missed 12 of the Clippers’ final 14 games in 2023-24 because of right knee issues, was set to make his Olympic basketball debut.
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Steph, LeBron & Kawhi get shots up together #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/roZDSFS7Yc— NBA (@NBA) July 9, 2024
White, 30, averaged 15.2 points, 5.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game over 73 starts last season for the NBA champion Boston Celtics. He is on track to make his Olympic debut in Paris.
Team USA will start Olympic group play against Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and Serbia at 11:15 a.m. EDT July 28 at the Decathlon Arena-Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France.
