Kawhi Leonard, also known as Kawhi Leonard, can be said to be the most representative offensive and defensive integration player in the current NBA league in the forward position, and he is also one of the few NBA active superstars with a retro but skillful back kung fu and face frame singles. On the court, Kawhi Leonard's aura of non-anger is strong; off the court, Leonard can be said to be taciturn and always worried, and he is a man in the NBA league who is as difficult to be guessed by the outside world.
Any star always has its own anecdotes or anecdotes, and Leonard is no exception. In this article, I will select ten anecdotes about Leonard that may not be widely known, so that interested fans can get a more comprehensive understanding of this mysterious star. Of course, if there is any discussion or supplement, the author also welcomes you to leave a message in the comment area to add and share your opinions.
First, about Leonard's family and upbringing
Leonard grew up in Los Angeles, California, ran a car wash in the family, and came from a well-to-do family. Leonard has four older sisters and is the youngest in the family. When Xiao ka was less than 17 years old, Leonard was shot and killed in his own car wash, and the murderer is still at large.
After the death of Leonard's father, Leonard's uncle Dennis (pictured above, first from the left) took care of Leonard. In addition, Leonard's uncle is not an idle person, and he is also a good basketball player in college, and he has a deep understanding of basketball and the cultivation of Leonard. After graduating from college, Dennis served as a middle manager at American Express, Carver Federal Savings, and JPMorgan Chase, and was a black intellectual who had seen the world and knew basketball.
Leonard and his uncle Dennis are extremely close and almost obedient, which is why his uncle Dennis is almost already Leonard's agent, representing players in frequent transfer negotiations, and Leonard disappeared as soon as he arrived in the offseason or in his recovery, because his uncle helped him dot.
Leonard only started playing basketball in high school
Leonard has a pair of super big hands, whether it's playing football or basketball, so the talent has room to play. Before high school, Leonard had been practicing rugby, playing in an outside player who was very talented in palm size.
After high school, Leonard began to play basketball. So, relatively speaking, there is not much time left for him to prepare to train the basics of basketball before the draft, which is why he did not reach the lottery area in the 2011 draft and was designated as a senior blue collar when he first entered the NBA.
Leonard's number one idol is Iverson
Every basketball player should have the number one idol in basketball, and Leonard is no exception. Leonard is a Los Angeles native, but he doesn't have a "child lake dream", in large part because of his idol Iverson.
Once upon a time, before the game for the Lakers on behalf of the Raptors began, the reporter asked Leonard whether he was a Lakers fan and whether it was possible to join the Lakers next year. Leonard flashed his signature mechanical smile after hearing the news, saying: "I have family members who are Lakers fans, but I never said I was a Lakers fan, because I am a die-hard Iverson fan."
How big Leonard's hand really was
Leonard's hands were big and well known. As a forward player, Leonard has been longer than O'Neal, only a little bit behind O'Neal. In fact, O'Neal is already a very high-handed monster in the history of the NBA, the maximum spacing length of the palms is about 31.2cm, and Leonard, who is about 29.2cm in height and sharks, so that everyone can intuitively compare their hands with how exaggerated Leonard's hands are.
Five, about Leonard's car
Unlike many NBA players who change their luxury cars as soon as they get a big contract or even just get a rookie contract, Leonard, whose salary and commercial endorsement contract totals about $40 million a year, has a very low desire for luxury cars.
After entering the industry, Leonard drove a Chevrolet SUV sedan from the factory in 1997 for a long time. It wasn't until later that Leonard received a new high-end scooter sponsored as a gift, but Leonard had no plans to drive a new car, he planned to drive the old SUV until it couldn't be driven. The reason for being so attached to the car was simple, it was a relic left to him by Leonard's father.
Leonard never played social media
Is your old pocket watch still spinning, and can your old leather shoes still be worn? New era, new trend, new humanity, now has been the explosion of network information, information transmission speed far exceeds the old era, most of the NBA stars will operate personal social media on the Internet, the outbreak of war of words between various big coffee and the anecdotes that occur on the Internet surfing, can be described as offseason and non-game day to provide NBA fans with entertainment talk.
When it comes to NBA stars who run personal social media, how can there be less of the following big guys? James, who loves to do justice and likes to label himself GOAT, Owen, a great philosopher who thinks about life, Du Xiaoshuai, a netizen who forgot to switch sizes and keyboard heroes, and Green, who frequently chases dreams.
Compared to these stars, Leonard can be described as an alien being. In an interview, Leonard had publicly stated that he never played these social media, and the account was taken care of by the team. To this end, on various social media about Leonard, they will specifically indicate on the hashtag profile: it is not Leonard himself who is using it.
Leonard is the third star in NBA history to hold both DPOY and FMVP honors
The DPOY+ FMVP award combination has very few NBA stars in the history of the NBA. Before Leonard, the only players who achieved such achievements were Jordan and Big Dream, both of whom were superstars of historical offense and defense. Leonard's addition filled the vacuum on the front line about the group's achievements.
Leonard has had a lawsuit with Nike
In terms of sneaker endorsements, Leonard first signed a contract with Nike's Air Jordan brand, and the contract expired in 2018. From all indications, the relationship between the two sides and the renewal negotiations at the time were not pleasant, and Leonard switched to New Balance, which was relatively weak in basketball after the fact.
A year later, Leonard broke out a lawsuit with Nike, because Nike privately registered the "Klaw" personal logo designed by Leonard in advance, and continued to sell some related products. Recalling the original cooperation, the design sketch and concept of this LOGO was provided by Leonard to Nike, representing Leonard's name and iconic big hand, Nike's designers were subsequently processed and born, and the copyright ownership dispute of the lawsuit appeared here.
As a result, Leonard lost to Nike and eventually lost. In the case of losing Leonard, Nike still retains this Leonard logo, which was previously recognized in North America, worthy of the old jianghu. After losing the case, Leonard tried to negotiate with Nike, and then planned with new rice class owner New Balance to buy it back from Nike without money, but the price negotiation was fruitless. Up to now, it seems that Leonard has no hope of returning this logo, and for the time being, he has re-pushed a palm-shaped LOGO instead. As for Nike, which put him together, Leonard did not expect to work with them in the future.
Leonard's opening line for recruiting players is "Brother, what have you been up to lately?" ”
Don't look at Leonard's reticence, but he is very active in privately recruiting helpers and acquiescing to the team to pressure the team for privileges. In the summer after the Raptors won the championship, no one expected george and Leonard to directly meet in Los Angeles to get on the ship to conspire for big things. After getting George, West, then-Clippers adviser, said that George's addition was due to Leonard's recruitment.
The following year, Leonard's former interior partner, Ibaka, boarded the Raptors on a westerly trip. In the interview, Ibaka talked about Leonard's process of recruiting him, that is, he suddenly received a text message from Leonard: Brother, what have you been busy with lately?
Seeing this news, Ibaka revealed that in fact, he immediately understood what Leonard was going to do, the so-called nothing to climb the Three Treasures Hall, Leonard would not take the initiative to reminisce with him at all. Subsequently, Ibaka replied: I am on vacation; after that, Leonard replied directly and simply: Come or not? It can be said that Leonard is indeed a word of gold to the extreme, and even recruiting acquaintances is so simple.
Ten, about Leonard's nickname
In North America, Leonard's most recognized nickname is "The Klaw", "Claw" means claw, and fans and the media have given Leonard this nickname, symbolizing his death entangled defense. Leonard himself was happy with the nickname, otherwise he wouldn't have designed a similar logo and wouldn't have lost it to Nike.
As for China, Leonard's nicknames are too many. In Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, fans generally call him "cute" because his name "Kawhi" is pronounced similarly to "kawaii". In the mainstream Chinese network topic area that we are familiar with, nicknames such as "small card", "face paralysis man", "heart machine card", "secret card" and so on have a certain audience, and the reasons for this are mostly related to Leonard's lonely personality and the style of the dragon.