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Friday’s Hot Clicks: Kawhi’s Awkward Answer to a Reporter’s Question Was Actually Perfect

Kawhi’s approach here—while dull at first glance—is actually endearing.

Dan Gartland

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBA/Getty Images

Kawhi Leonard, fun guy

Kawhi Leonard (rightfully!) has a reputation for being stiff in interviews. After all, while introducing himself to Toronto, he said in the most monotonous voice possible “I’m a fun guy.”

So it’s not surprising that, after dominating the Bucks again to take a 3–2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, Kawhi was subdued during his on-court interview with TNT’s Kristen Ledlow. He talked about how good Milwaukee is at offensive rebounding, and then came the classic Kawhi performance. 

“How do you beat the Bucks four times in a row?” Ledlow asked. “I don’t know,” Leonard replied. “I haven’t done it.”

Alright, fair. That’s true. But maybe he’s taking the question a little too literally. I think Ledlow is trying to ask, what do you have to do to beat the Bucks four times in a row? His response to the next question was similarly dry. 

“With one win away until a trip to the NBA Finals, what’s this team’s mentality with history on the line?” Ledlow asked.

“I mean, I haven’t even gotten to the locker room yet. We just finished the game,” Kawhi said. “We wanted to come out here and get the win. We weathered the storm early. I’m gonna see what we’re gonna be talking about in the locker room.”

Any other player would say something like “We’re definitely excited to have the opportunity to keep our season alive and play for a ring.” But Kawhi isn’t any other player, and his response here is actually really refreshing. He doesn’t want to speculate about his teammates’ mentality until he’s spoken with them, and he sounds like he intends to report back to Ledlow what the mood in the locker room is. In an era where players and coaches either give canned, boilerplate answers or ones that are intentionally vague and terse, Kawhi’s approach here—while dull at first glance—is endearing. He really is a fun guy. 

Aaron Rodgers drinks responsibly

Packers lineman David Bakhtiari challenged Aaron Rodgers to a beer-chugging contest at the Bucks game last night. It’s honestly scary how quickly Bakhtiari can down an entire beer. Rodgers, meanwhile prefers to sip leisurely. 

After seeing Rodgers’s performance, Matthew Stafford decided to show him some quarterbacks can chug as well as linemen. 

Remember this guy? 

Two years ago, UCF kicker Donald De La Haye decided to quit the team because the NCAA wouldn’t let him monetize his YouTube videos about his football career. (His YouTube channel now boasts over 1.4 million subscribers, so he probably made the right call.) Now he’s back playing football, having been signed this week by the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. 

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Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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