Kawhi Leonard is a different breed of cat. He’s known for being a rather mellow, reserved and, in the eyes of some, emotionless person, which is something that has its benefits on the basketball court. He’s a stone cold killer on both ends of the floor, the kind of guy who will take on the challenge of guarding the best players on earth on one end before hitting a game-winning jumper in their eye on the other.
Off the court, well, it makes it so Leonard doesn’t always come off as the most effervescent person on the planet. Is that a problem? Of course not! Everyone has a right to privacy, and while that’s not always a realistic expectation when you’re a professional athlete, you can do everything possible to control what is around you.
Take, for instance, Leonard’s answer to how he manages to tune out rumors about his future, which have taken a bit of a back seat as the Toronto Raptors have mowed through the Eastern Conference this season, but do still exist. Leonard is able to avoid them by being in total control of this by just straight up not watching television all that frequently, instead opting to use apps.
#Raptors Star Kawhi Leonard (@kawhileonard) on how he reacts to rumors and reports on the radio and TV. #Clippers pic.twitter.com/5LtuaNxH4i
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 12, 2018
“I don’t really watch TV too much,” Leonard said. “There’s a lot of different things you can do these days with different apps or websites you can go to and watch TV shows, movies, etc.”
Outside of the fact that he sounds way older than 27 when he answers that question this way, it is a good way for Leonard to not get caught up in the craziness of life in the NBA. Leonard also apparently doesn’t like getting caught up in the craziness that is Christmas, as evidenced by the fact that he had no interest in discussing it when asked about his favorite moment from the holiday season.
Reporter – “Merry Christmas. Can you talk about your favorite Christmas moment?”
Kawhi Leonard – “Not right now.”#Clippers #Raptors pic.twitter.com/2tAlyg7e72
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 12, 2018
So obviously, hopefully this isn’t because something deeply personal happened during Christmas season that makes it so he’s not a huge fan of this time of year. But if this is just another example of Leonard not wanting to give people a window into his personal life because he’s a pretty private person, well, I respect it.
