Kawhi Leonard prides himself on being a funny guy. He recently made a subtle joke in reference to LeBron James following his famous Hennessy commercial. A reporter asked Leonard what was in his cup during a Clippers media scrum following their preseason game against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions.
“Hennessy!” responded Leonard to that question, as per The Athletic’s Law Murray. “Nah, I’m just playing,” he clarified in the same breath. Leonard seemingly was just joking about how LeBron James’ fans will start consuming the brand’s cognac much more as a result of that commercial.
The cognac brand partnered up with the NBA in 2023 on a multi-year deal as part of their global marketing campaign at the time. Now, it seems they are capitalizing on the NBA market fairly well.
The NBA was stunned when LeBron James teased a ‘Second Decision’ just a day before confirming it was a Hennessy commercial. Ticket prices for the Lakers game skyrocketed as millions of fans were worried that the Lakers’ superstar was announcing his farewell tour for retirement or a decision to leave Los Angeles.
Although many anticipated that it would be a Prime Day commercial since he had pulled off a similar commercial previously. Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick even called the people “idiots” for believing it was anything other than a commercial. Amid all the backlash, James was even named in a lawsuit following this commercial. But on some level, fans were just hoping that it’s not what it seemed to be initially.
It is a nice change in Leonard’s demeanor to see him joking after he coldly shut down the rumors about his alleged involvement in circumventing the salary cap rules through Aspiration earlier during the Clippers’ media day. But considering that a lot of the accusations are based on circumstantial evidence, the investigation on that matter will likely be elongated, and Leonard will likely receive a slap on the wrist at best if nothing substantial or concrete is found implicating him and the Clippers.
Leonard was addressing the media after the Clippers’ 142-95 win against Victor Oladipo and the Guangzhou Loong-Lions. He was very happy with what he saw from his team on the court.
“It went well. These games are always pretty tough. You don’t know who you’re guarding, and these teams come out pretty aggressively and want to make a stamp. But I thought we did some great things out there collectively, and we just got to keep building forward, moving forward… We’re just getting better at everything,” said Leonard after the game.
Leonard had an efficient performance in the game, dropping 18 points and two assists in 18 minutes, while shooting 60% from the field (six of 10) and 62.5% from beyond the arc (five of eight). The former NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo led all scorers and posted up 24 points, five assists, two steals, and one block. The Clippers are now set to face the Nuggets on Sunday night (October 12).
