Team USA’s Grant Hill Claimed It Was Team Decision To Send Kawhi Leonard Home

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers (Photo: Getty)

Team USA executive director Grant Hill confirmed Wednesday that it was the team’s decision to replace Kawhi Leonard with Derrick White ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The team reportedly coordinated with the Clippers and ultimately decided to send Leonard home.

In a press conference before a U.S. exhibition game against Canada on Wednesday, Hill said that there was an intense effort by all parties to allow Leonard to stay. The Clippers star missed most of the team’s first-round playoff series in May and was seen walking with a slight limp during Team USA training camp.

“We just felt that we had to pivot, and not to get into the particulars, in terms of what went into the decision, but we just felt it was in our best interest, but also in the Clippers’ and Kawhi’s best interest, to move into a different direction,” Hill said. “We tried. I think we all tried and we gave it a valiant effort, and unfortunately, we have to move forward.”

NBA stars naturally have limited opportunities to represent their countries in the Olympics. Leonard has never competed before, and a resurgent movement within the United States’ program likely motivated him to attempt to play as well.

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After an embarrassing fourth-place showing in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Team USA has assembled a monstrous Olympics team already being compared to the 1992 Dream Team and 2008 Redeem Team. Leonard could have had an opportunity to re-establish American dominance alongside the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Anthony Edwards and countless other NBA stars.

“I think he wanted to be here, like all these guys want to be here, and we don’t take that lightly at all,” Hill said during the press conference. “It speaks to the program and the opportunity, and so, personally speaking, I know what it’s like to want to do something and your body’s just not right. … Ultimately, it didn’t work out.”

While Leonard will not get the opportunity to make his Olympic debut, White will now receive the chance just a few months after playing an integral role in the Celtics’ championship run. White previously competed for Team USA in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where the team finished seventh.

Last month, Hill told uInterview exclusively: “Every USA basketball team has a target on their backs. We know we will be targeted, and teams will want to beat us.”