It's media day in the NBA on Monday, and that means we finally get to see players in their new uniforms. For our neighbors to the north, seeing Kawhi Leonard in Raptors purple meant that summer fever dream was real! The Raptors are obviously squeezing this for all it's worth, after unceremoniously dealing the popular DeMar DeRozan to take a flier on Leonard, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. But when we saw Kawhi's first couple of photos, his deadpan expression felt like he was still in San Antonio:
However, seemingly out of nowhere, Leonard laughed. Or, at least attempted to approximate what he's heard others do in fits of joy and good humor:
It's pretty obvious he's out of practice with the whole laugh thing. Here's the full exchange after his first words to Raptors fans were an un-ironic "I'm a fun guy."
Twitter users obviously responded:
Kawhi hasn't really turned over a new media-friendly persona, though, as this footage of him ducking out of the spotlight shows:
Kawhi often feels like a Dada art exhibit, where he just sits on a stool and silently broods as the rest of us extrapolate some made-up meaning for his posture and countenance. In this metaphor, his laugh would be an exclusive exhibit they make the public pay double to see.
