Kawhi Leonard is a very good basketball player. He is also certainly part of a government experiment to see if humans would notice when an alien was quietly integrated into society.
Leonard soundbites, while painstakingly droll, have taken on a life of their own during the season, from his “I’m a fun guy” comment and “this is what a laugh sounds like, right?” laugh at his introductory presser for the Toronto Raptors to saying “ni hao” out of nowhere when asked by a Mandarin reporter if he’d like to say anything to his Chinese fans. You never know what Leonard’s going to say, and it will almost certainly be brief and far too literal, but that’s become part of the joy of his persona.
Turns out, Leonard has been like this all his life. In an oral history for The Athletic about his two years at San Diego State, Leonard’s college teammates revealed that the Raptors star liked to engage in some good old fashioned smack talk, and it’s exactly what you’d expect.
From the piece:
Tyrone Shelley, guard: Most people say it like, “Oh, I’m about to get buckets on you.” He was just like, “Buckets. Layup.” Just one word.
Shelton: He’d be like, “You’re not scoring. You’re not doing anything.” Or he’d be like, “No, no, no.” He’d just move his feet and say, “No.”
Gay: You couldn’t score on him, so that’s what he would say: “Nope, nope, nope.” And when he would score on you: “Bucket. Bucket.”
LaBradford Franklin, guard: If he was grabbing a rebound, he’d say, “Give me that” or “Board man” or “Board man gets paid.”
Coach Hutson: If I heard it once, I heard it 50 times. “Board man. I’m a board man.” That’s what he said. Absolutely. “I’m a board man. Yeah, I’m a board man. Board man gets paid.” He spoke in phrases like that.
It is absolutely delightful to imagine Leonard skipping down the court, grinning as he informs his teammates that he’s a “board man, baby” as if it were a devastating form of slander. It’s also legitimately terrifying to think about Leonard sticking with your every move as you try to dribble past him, whispering “no” in your ear while he locks you up.
Give Leonard this: the guy remains the same person in any environment he’s in. We’re just along for the ride with the board man.
