Kawhi Leonard has quickly emerged as one of the best players in the NBA over the past couple of seasons, and the San Antonio Spurs paid him accordingly last summer. However, unlike other superstar athletes who sign massive contracts, it doesn’t appear that Leonard is spending much of his new money.
Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated put together a fantastic feature on Leonard’s life, and in it he describes a 24-year-old who looks more “like a man with a mortgage heading to the graveyard shift” than an NBA player. After hearing that description, you won’t be shocked to learn that Leonard doesn’t drive a fancy car like many of his peers.
He often drives a rehabbed ’97 Chevy Tahoe, nicknamed Gas Guzzler, which he drove across Southern California’s Inland Empire as a teenager. “It runs,” Leonard explains, “and it’s paid off.”
But wait, there’s more. Leonard has an endorsement deal with Wingstop. In addition to paying him, the company also sends him coupons to get free wings. Jenkins says Leonard once “panicked” when he lost the coupons, and that was after his five-year, $94 million max extension kicked in. Thankfully, Wingstop was generous enough to send him some more.
“He wants the greatness badly,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He doesn’t give a damn about the stardom.”
Leonard is not on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or any other form of social media. He’s too busy averaging 21 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and being considered the best two-way player in the NBA to concern himself with any of that.
As for the car, we can only think of one other pro athlete who drives something more modest. And that guy doesn’t make nearly as much as Leonard. No wonder Popovich loves Kawhi so much.
