The year 2020 was the time when the world came to a standstill and the NBA was also in a bubble. Life in the NBA Bubble was so odd that it prompted Kawhi Leonard to pick up a new hobby. During an episode of Podcast P, Los Angeles Clippers superstar Paul George and former teammate Lou Williams discussed how the two-time Finals MVP would cook food while living alone in his hotel room at Walt Disney World. George said,
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“Kawhi’s room was right across from my room. And he used to cook.”
As per Williams, Leonard had an affinity for cooking Mexican food. He named his cooking adventures and called it ‘Klaw’s Kitchen’, even validated his skills,
“You could count on Kawhi Leonard with the Mexican Food”.
The revelation isn’t surprising as Leonard is a Mexican food aficionado. In an interview with AllClippers in 2021, the five-time All-Star opened up about his favorite cheat meal. The usually reserved Leonard revealed his food choices, “My favorite food is Mexican food. Whenever I have a cheat day or something, I’m trying to get something at a taco shop, majority in San Diego.”
Leonard attended San Diego State University and fell in love with Mexican cuisine when he lived in the city. He is also allegedly a regular customer at Trujillo’s Taco Shop in San Diego.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kawhi was asked if he celebrates ‘Taco Tuesday,’ a viral trend birthed by Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. He replied that he doesn’t eat tacos every Tuesday but does indulge in them and reiterated his love for Mexican food. Even though Leonard doesn’t reveal much about his private life, he is open about his love for his favorite cuisine.
Lou Williams and Doc Rivers opened up about the Clippers’ Bubble trouble
Heading into the NBA Bubble, the Los Angeles Clippers were the favorites to win the NBA title. They looked the part as they beat the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs and were up 3-1 in the second round against the Denver Nuggets.
However, they blew double-digit leads in Games 5 and 6 and lost by 15 in Game 7, with Leonard and George combining for only 24 points, and were eliminated. During an appearance on ‘From The Point podcast’, Lou Williams gave a bizarre excuse for the Clippers’ trainwreck finish to the season,
“I think I was in the ‘bubble’ for 97 days and on day 67, I was like let’s get out of here. Mentally, we were not in it for the long game. We didn’t really see the pot of gold at the end of it. We started to hear the rumblings that nobody is going to respect this ‘chip so we kind of just took our foot off the gas.”
Lou Williams talking about his best chance to win was with the Clippers bubble team. He says, “We started to hear the rumblings that nobody is going to respect this chip so we kind of just took our foot off the gas”
This was our BEST chance man, hurts to hear it pic.twitter.com/lPcmPGvtsk
— Jacob (@Jacobtheclipper) November 13, 2023
Doc Rivers, the Clippers head coach in the NBA bubble, also reiterated the same excuse in an interview with USA Today, “Half the players didn’t want to be there. The bubble almost depended on the teams that committed to being there and teams that didn’t. I had a team that obviously was not happy with being in the bubble.”
Williams and Rivers’ claims sound like poor excuses for the Clippers’ implosion. The players who had aversions could’ve opted to stay at home or leave the bubble once they didn’t feel comfortable. The Clippers were one game away from the Western Conference Finals before they decided to take their “foot off the gas”.
They wouldn’t have pushed the series that far if they didn’t believe the championship held any value. Safe to say, even though Leonard cooked in his room in the bubble, he flamed out on the court.
