It’s been months since that sweet, sweet moment the Toronto Raptors brought home the 2019 NBA Championship. And while the fervour has died down, who among us hasn’t thought to ourselves: I wonder what Kawhi Leonard is doing right now?The answer (aside from beating the LA Lakers in his debut with the Clippers), is apparently filming cheesy commercials about the latest Terminator movie.A new ad (I really hope it’s not a trailer) for Terminator: Dark Fate features the soft-spoken Leonard and Arnold Schwarzenegger randomly bumping into each other at the gym. Arnie tells Leonard he’s “another Terminator” because “you have zero emotions; you feel no pain, have no mercy.”They soon run into Linda Hamilton, who plays Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise, and Leonard’s Clippers’ teammate Paul George. All of them proceed to make painfully obvious references to the best bits from Leonard’s year with the Raptors: the “crazy robot laugh” “Fun Guy,” “what it do, baby?”I really wanted it to be one of those things that’s so corny it’s funny. But it wasn’t; it legit sucked.In our group chat, one of my friends noted that the problem with the commercial is it feels forced.
“Looking back on the 2018-19 Raptors will be so special. It was an underdog story that really wasn't contrived at all. From Serge's batshit crazy cooking show to Kawhi's laugh to all the other authentic bits and bites, everything came organically and was so fun,”he said. “Now it's all being cannibalized.”Leonard also got booed at the game Tuesday night in L.A. Meanwhile the Raptors received their championship rings at the season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans, which they went on to win 130-122.Here’s hoping the Clippers find their own viral moments with Leonard instead of desperately trying to recreate the magic of last year.But if he ever wants to come back to Toronto, we promise to let him eat at mediocre Bay Street chain restaurants in peace.Follow Manisha on Twitter.
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