Tony Parker: My quad injury was ‘hundred times worse’ than Kawhi Leonard’s
Tony Parker seemingly took a shot at San Antonio Spurs teammate Kawhi Leonard when discussing his own quadriceps injury.
Parker suffered a rupture of his left quadriceps tendon during last year’s playoffs, which caused the Spurs point guard to miss the start of this season, having only returned to action in late November.
Leonard, meanwhile, has been limited to only nine games this season due to quadriceps tendinopathy. Numerous reports indicating Leonard was about to rejoin the Spurs were dashed, either by the team or because the superstar still required clearance from his own doctors and medical advisers.
Parker on Friday made some perceptively pointed remarks about Leonard, one in which he says his injury was much more severe and the other about how Leonard is relying on outside medial personnel when determining the timing of his return.
Tony Parker on his return from the career-threatening quad injury he suffered last May: I’ve been through it. It was a rehab for me for eight months. Same kind of injury (as Kawhi), but mine was a hundred times worse. But the same kind of injury. You just stay positive."
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) March 23, 2018
Tony also said he never considered getting a second-opinion after he tore his quad: "I could have gone anywhere, but I trust my Spurs doctors. They have been with me my whole career. They know my body better than anybody…I feel like we have the best medical team in the world."
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) March 23, 2018
Parker did not explicitly call out Leonard, but it’s a relatively simply exercise to infer there’s a point he’s trying to make. Parker reportedly was the ringleader of a players-only meeting last weekend in which the team “implored” Leonard to return.
While two other Spurs players took issue with the notion that the meeting was “tense,” remarks from Manu Ginobili would seem to indicate Leonard could be in the doghouse with his teammates over his extended absence and apparent reluctance to return to the lineup.
That said, the Spurs are in prime position to qualify for the postseason for a staggering 21st consecutive year. And with each passing day, Leonard’s continued unavailability makes it all the more likely he will not contribute to the push.
