Did Spurs star forward Kawhi Leonard cut off his famous braids?

SAN DIEGO, California – Just when NBA fans thought this year’s offseason could not get any crazier, a photo of MVP-candidate Kawhi Leonard apparently without braids has gone viral, leaving fans speechless and in shock.

On Tuesday night, the photo of the San Antonio Spurs superstar was shared on Comedy Central show “Legends of Chamberlain Heights” official Twitter account with the post: “RIP Kawhi Leonard braids 1991-2017.”

NBA and Spurs fans alike immediately responded in the comments section with GIFs themed with “shocking reactions” after Leonard has sported his famous braids for what seems to be his entire life.

One Twitter user even shared his concern for Leonard’s future with the explanation of when NBA star point guard Allen Iverson trimmed off his braids and the following season, “AI was never the same after he cut the cornrows.”

However, after researching more into the “Braidgate,” Leonard may still be sporting his cornrows after all as the original photo was first shared on Chinese micro-blogging site “Sina Weibo.”

China’s Internet censorship policies block popular social media outlets from the United States. 

Weibo is a hybrid of Facebook and Twitter used by hundreds of millions of Chinese.

In the photo, Leonard is seen standing next to San Diego State University men’s basketball strength and conditioning coach Randy Felton, along with Chinese Basketball Association players Xuewen Zhang and Jamaal Franklin.

Zhang, a center with CBA’s “Shanxi Brave Dragons,” initially shared the group photo on his official Weibo account tagging the location of the post as USA-San Diego.

Shortly after sharing the picture, Zhang took to the comment section to respond to his followers about the special moment.

That is when one Weibo user asked Zhang, according to Google Translate from Chinese to English, “Did Kawaii cut the hair?”

Zhang responded, “Their hair’s braided.”

According to Zhang’s Weibo account, he and teammate Franklin -- who is also Leonard’s former SDSU teammate -- are training together in San Diego at the school’s basketball facilities.

It is no coincidence Zhang and Franklin bumped into Leonard as he is known to spend his summers and previous All-Star breaks in San Diego training with Felton at the SDSU facilities, according to SLAM Online.

Also, in recent weeks, ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes reported that Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray will work out with Leonard over the summer in San Diego.

For now, NBA and Spurs fans can rest somewhat easy as all signs point to Leonard’s braids being very much still in place.  

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(SCROLL BELOW TO CHECK OUT FANS REACTION AFTER LEARNING KAWHI LEONARD MAY HAVE CHOPPED OFF HIS BRAIDS)