Anthony Davis spoke at the media day organized at Team USA's training camp. He was asked a question about who he thinks is the funniest member of the 2024 Team USA squad. Without hesitation, Anthony Davis responded that Kawhi Leonard is the funniest member of the squad, and acknowledged that fact may shock reporters and fans.
“The funniest is for sure Kawhi. Kawhi is really funny. Believe it or not.”
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FULL MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Anthony Davis talks about being on Team USA, the Lakers’ moves (and non-moves) this offseason, playing for new head coach JJ Redick and Kawhi Leonard being the funniest player on Team USA. pic.twitter.com/T4uTKEEpdk
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 7, 2024
While this is a little difficult for fans to understand, given Kawhi Leonard's shy and reserved nature, Leonard has produced some very funny moments in his career. Of course, the most popular one will be from his introductory press conference for the Raptors in 2019, where his unique laugh made everyone let out a chuckle.
On top of that, his interactions with Serge Ibaka led to the iconic 'what it do, baby?!' meme from Leonard. Kawhi is a very simple man and doesn't particularly enjoy being in the public eye a lot, so anytime fans get to see a relaxed, laid-back, and joking side of Leonard is always a treat.
As mentioned before, Davis is far from the only player to praise Kawhi Leonard's sense of humor. WNBA star Cameron Brink also spoke about how funny Kawhi Leonard is, talking about her experience working with Kawhi while they were at a New Balance commercial shoot together.
"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?’…”
Leonard's sense of humor is becoming the stuff of legends for fans now. But Leonard's biggest gift is still his ability on the basketball court, something fans are seemingly growing impatient to see regularly. The Klaw's injury problems have become tiresome for Clippers fans especially.
Leonard played 68 games last year, the most since the 2016-17 NBA season, and averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. Fans were thrilled with his consistency last season. But his injury problem reared its head again, as he missed almost the entirety of the Clippers' first-round series against the Mavericks.
The Los Angeles Clippers unsurprisingly got eliminated without Leonard. Now, the Clippers have massively tinkered with their roster, especially in the wake of Paul George's departure. They are asking Leonard and James Harden to carry quite a heavy burden next season.
Leonard will hope to use the Team USA experience at the Olympics as a good pre-season training session ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season. The Clippers are no longer one of the favorites in the Western Conference. But Leonard will want to show why he is still one of the best players in the NBA.
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