Kawhi Leonard on Darius Bazley’s impression: ‘People love me, I guess’
Kawhi Leonard is about as averse to seeking the spotlight as any NBA superstar ever, but the Los Angeles Clippers standout unsurprisingly garners as much attention as any player in the league, for obvious reasons.
The fact that Leonard shuns the spotlight has not stopped him from becoming one of the most memeable NBA stars, however. His eccentric mannerisms have made him something of a hit on social media, as evidenced by how his infamous laugh at Toronto Raptors Media Day ahead of last season sparked an outbreak of amusing memes on Twitter and elsewhere.
Another memeable bit inspired by Leonard was his “hey hey hey” line from opening night last week. For some reason, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Darius Bazley recently busted out his best Kawhi impression in that regard.
Thunder rookie Darius Bazley did his best Kawhi impression pic.twitter.com/0EN30DjFsR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 26, 2019
Leonard was asked Monday night about Bazley’s mimicking his delivery of the line, and the Clippers superstar clearly is taking the playful mockery all in stride. Not only that, Leonard acknowledged such sendups are a sign of love.
Asked what he thought about OKC’s Darius Bazley doing his best Kawhi “hey, hey, hey” impression when on the mic thanking fans before the home opener, Kawhi Leonard said, “I just take it as love. You know what I mean? People love me I guess and like the things I say." pic.twitter.com/BmOpa8Arc7
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) October 29, 2019
There’s a good chance that Leonard, in light of his quirky personality and extremely low-key demeanor, might actually be one of the few superstar athletes who pays virtually no attention whatsoever to how he’s perceived or portrayed. In the long run, that’s not a bad way for Leonard to handle the spotlight and scrutiny that goes with being one of the best basketball players on the planet.
