Kawhi Leonard is getting roasted online after a bombshell report linked him to a questionable endorsement deal, and fans of The Sopranos are having a field day with it.
On his latest podcast, reporter Pablo Torre revealed that Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer may have paid Leonard $28 million through a no-show job with the financial company Aspiration.
A former Aspiration employee alleged the payments were a form of salary cap circumvention. The Clippers have denied any wrongdoing, but the report sparked an avalanche of memes on X (formerly Twitter).
Many of the jokes referenced the iconic HBO series The Sopranos, in which mobsters infamously used “no-show jobs” as fronts for money laundering and influence.
Fans quickly drew parallels between Leonard’s alleged arrangement and Tony Soprano’s fictional construction company, where workers got paid to never show up.
One user posted an image of Tony Soprano overseeing a construction site, joking, “Kawhi showing up for his no-show job.” Another user replied with a gif of Tony winking and text saying, “I’m here to collect.”
While Leonard himself has yet to comment, the internet has already decided to treat him like a character in HBO’s mafia drama. Check out more of the reactions below.