Kawhi Leonard is the NBA superstar we know the least about as a person, which seems to be by design. The Raptors star is on the brink of a second championship (and almost assuredly a second Finals MVP award), but very rarely does he open up to show us much about the man off the court. He has no real social media presence and says very little in interviews, which has led to a perception of him as simply being a basketball robot.
Because of this, many have speculated about what Leonard is like off the court for years. Is he just a very serious person? Is he, secretly, a “fun guy” as his New Balance ad campaign now suggests? According to Raptors teammate, Kyle Lowry, Leonard isn’t the super serious person he can often come off as. Lowry calls him one of the funniest players on the team and compares his dry sense of humor to Vince Vaughn.
A reporter asked Leonard about that, leading to a very funny exchange in which Leonard briefly wasn’t sure who that actually was, via ESPN.
“He’s funny as s—,” Lowry said. “He’s got a dry sense of humor. He’s got a Vince Vaughn-like [sense of humor].”
This statement was later relayed to Leonard.
“Vince Vaughn? Who’s that?” Leonard asked.
One of the stars of “Old School” is described to Leonard, who shows a glimpse of recognition.
“Oh, yeah, yeah. I know who you’re talking about,” Leonard said, breaking out in a smile.
I can’t speak for him personally, but that’s the kind of response I give when I have no idea who someone is talking about but don’t want them to know that I have absolutely no clue what they are talking about. It’s possible Leonard just forgot who Vince Vaughn was, but if not, I’d love to have him watch Old School and Wedding Crashers and offer reviews for each. “Kawhi Leonard Reviews Comedy Movies” could be some phenomenal summer NBA content, if anyone could ever convince him to do it.
