Kawhi Leonard is not a fan of Gatorade and does not think kids should be consuming the beverage.
Gatorade is a huge sponsor of the NBA. It has long been the official sports drink of the basketball league, and it even sponsors the NBA G League, which was formerly known as the D-League. Bottles of Gatorade are placed on the table when coaches and athletes speak with the media after playoff games — unless Leonard steps in.
Leonard scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds and 6 assists in his Los Angeles Clippers’ 117-83 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series on Thursday night. Leonard was asked to speak with the media after the game. When he got to the table, he wanted the Gatorades moved.
“Take those gatorades down… kids don’t need to be drinking that,” Leonard said.
Kawhi Leonard started his postgame media by taking the Gatorades off the podium.
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) April 25, 2025
“Kids don’t need to be drinking these.” pic.twitter.com/GkFhvJKZcl
What might Leonard have against Gatorade? The current version of the popular sports beverage is much different from the one that made it a popular drink when it was founded in 1965. Most flavors of Gatorade contain harmful dyes, and they also have negative additives. In other words, the ingredients are no longer pure, which is Leonard’s issue.
Leonard’s Clippers teammate, James Harden, took advantage of the moment and used it to promote his alternative hydration drink — Recover.
Yall heard Kawhi 😂 @Drink_Recover pic.twitter.com/dPTLGmgESS
— James Harden (@JHarden13) April 25, 2025
Something tells us Leonard will be hearing from the league over this. They probably don’t like players messing with a big sponsor that has spent lots of money to get that sort of product placement.
