Los Angeles Clippers forward Brandon Ingram will miss the start of the 2026-27 NBA season as he continues recovering from surgery that addressed both a right heel injury and a partially torn Achilles tendon.
Clippers interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden revealed the previously undisclosed Achilles injury at Media Day on September 28.
Ingram underwent surgery in May after missing the final two games of Toronto's first-round playoff series because of the heel problem. Doctors discovered the partial Achilles tear and addressed both issues during the same procedure.
Redden said the Clippers did not get a full picture of Ingram's recovery until after acquiring him from Toronto earlier this month.
Ingram will not be ready for the beginning of the regular season and Los Angeles plans to reassess him at that point. There is currently no firm timetable for his return.
The 29-year-old joined the Clippers as part of the trade that sent Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors. Ingram averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season while earning his second All-Star selection.
This changes the picture considerably for Los Angeles.
Until Media Day, the public concern surrounding Ingram was his heel. We now know his May operation also addressed a partially torn Achilles tendon, and the Clippers are beginning their new era without knowing exactly when one of their biggest offseason additions will be available.
The timing matters even more because Ingram wasn't acquired as a secondary piece.
With Kawhi Leonard gone, the Clippers brought in a 29-year-old coming off an All-Star season and seemingly positioned him to become one of the focal points of their new offense.
Instead, training camp begins with Ingram still recovering and already ruled out for the opening of the regular season.
There is an important distinction here. A partial Achilles tear is not the same injury or recovery as a complete rupture, and Redden indicated the expected rehabilitation period is considerably shorter. But the Clippers haven't provided a target return date, so projecting one ourselves would be premature.
The other striking element is how recently Los Angeles gained a clear understanding of his recovery. Redden said it wasn't until the Clippers got Ingram into their building that they could properly assess where he was in the process.
For a team already undergoing a major reset, that's a sizeable unknown attached to one of the players expected to define what comes next.
LEAN EDGE VERDICT
The Clippers knew Brandon Ingram was recovering from heel surgery when they acquired him. What wasn't publicly known was that the same operation also addressed a partially torn Achilles tendon.
That makes today's update much more significant than a routine rehabilitation report.
Ingram will miss the start of the season, there is no confirmed return date and Los Angeles now has to begin building its post-Kawhi offense without one of the players expected to lead it.
The encouraging part is that this isn't being treated like a complete Achilles rupture. The uncomfortable part is that, for now, the Clippers still don't know when their new All-Star forward will actually be back on the floor.
