One of the things that keeps popping up when discussing Kawhi Leonard‘s mysterious quad injury is that Tony Parker had a quad ailment last year. Parker got hurt at the end of the 2016-17 campaign, and was able to make his return to the Spurs earlier this year. Leonard, meanwhile, continues to be up in the air, and no one seems to have any idea of when he’ll make it back or what is even wrong in the first place.
Parker was asked about Leonard’s injury on Friday and provided some insight that stemmed from his own experience with a quad injury. Strangely, the quote almost seemed to come off as him challenging his teammate on the road to recovery.
In the course of talking about coming back from an injury like this, Parker said that the ailment he suffered — a torn quad — was “a hundred times worse.”
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
Parker also talked about how he received counsel from the Spurs’ medical staff, which he called the “best medical team in the world.” This goes against Leonard’s desire to get a second opinion on how things are going down on his path back to the team.
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
It’s such a strange situation, and while Parker didn’t explicitly say he’s unhappy with how things have gone for the Spurs’ superstar, that message comes across pretty strongly in these two comments.
