Despite Kawhi Leonard’s quiet nature, he is apparently really funny, according to LA Sparks forward Cameron Brink. Brink, who shot a New Balance commercial with Leonard recently, spoke on his teammate Paul George’s podcast about how funny she finds Kawhi Leonard, and how she was able to make him laugh on multiple occasions on set. Cameron Brink: “The funniest part though was Kawhi. And he is funny as sh*t. He is funny. And all the New Balance guys, like our head marketing guys (was) like we haven’t seen anybody make him laugh more than you. So I was like give me my flowers. Kawhi if you’re watching this. I don’t even remember what I was saying but he was doing like the (mocks Kawhi laugh)… He’s so funny. He’s like the male version of Aubrey Plaza – blunt, dry humor. And he kept saying ‘When is this going to be over?… When do we get to go home? Are we done yet?’…”
Despite him being known as one of the quietest and most reserved players in the NBA, Leonard seems to have a reputation among his peers as a very funny individual. Fans have gotten a glimpse at this side of Kawhi, primarily during his time in Toronto.
Whether it was his first press conference as a Raptor where his signature laugh went viral, or his infamous ‘What it do, baby!’ clip with Serge Ibaka, Leonard has given the fans some truly hilarious moments.
Leonard is very much a fascinating figure to NBA fans. Due to him staying away from the spotlight whenever he isn’t on the basketball court, fans don’t get to see him interact with a lot of figures. His endorsement deals with New Balance give us a brief look into that. While Leonard is really funny off the court, on the court, there is nothing funny about what The Klaw is capable of. On any given day, Leonard is one of the best players in the NBA. However, his injury problems have become quite serious, and he has barely played for the Clippers since signing with them in 2019. Since joining the Clippers, Leonard has missed 161 games due to injury, including one entire season in 2021-22.
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were brought together in LA to win a championship for the Clippers. But a look at their playoff record together will show just how far they have been from that goal. Since teaming up together, the duo have not even reached an NBA Finals and only made one Western Conference Finals.
Leonard played 68 games last season, the most of his time with the Clippers. During the season, he averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 3.6 assists. But his injury problems got the better of him in the Clippers’ first-round series against the Mavericks.
The injury concerns with Leonard have gotten to the point where there have been doubts about keeping the LA Clippers super-team together. Now with James Harden and Russell Westbrook also on the team, there are doubts about whether both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard will stick around in LA, especially as George is a free agent this summer. The Clippers’ organization believes that they need to surround Leonard with an elite roster in order to offset his injury problems and get the best out of him in the long run. Perhaps that might happen this offseason, as the Clippers look to retool their roster.
