Kawhi Leonard talks about his Clippers teammates calling him ‘Leatherface’ from the horror movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
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Kawhi Leonard finally returned to play last night against the Blazers after missing two straight games. The Clippers did what their city rivals couldn’t, blowing Damian Lillard and the Blazers out 128-105.
Kawhi Leonard missed those two games due to an an injury he sustained on Christmas Day against the Denver Nuggets. Serge Ibaka flailed his elbow and accidently knocked Leonard to the ground. This warranted 8 total stitches and was diagnosed as a mouth laceration.
In his absence, the Clippers suffered the worst loss in Clippers history to the Mavericks but then proceeded to blow out the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After a 5 day absence, Kawhi hit the NBA hardwood.
Kawhi Leonard says he’s being compared to Leatherface by his teammates
The Clippers medical staff gave Kawhi the go-ahed to return to play, but he was required to wear a face mask. A fair share of NBA stars have suited up in face masks before, most notably Rip Hamilton and Kyrie Irving.
Following their blowout win over Damian Lillard and his Blazers, Kawhi opened up his media availability. One of the reporters asked Kawhi, “Did your teammates give you a hard time about the mask?”
Kawhi responded, “Sh-t I can’t breathe in this. They started calling me Leatherface.”
Kawhi’s mask was quite unusual when compared to the standard black or transparent face masks that are in use today. It most certainly does have some semblance to some iconic horror movie villain masks.
How did Kawhi play in his return?
The face mask didn’t seem to bother the 2x Finals MVP one bit. He led the Clippers in scoring and to their 4th win, subsequently leading them to the current number seed in the West with a 4-1 record.
Kawhi had 28 points while going 9-17 from the field. He also recorded 7 assists and 3 steals in just 30 minutes of play.
