It's no secret that Nick Kyrgios is a massive basketball fan. The Aussie, a die-hard Boston Celtics supporter, can frequently be seen wearing an NBA jersey or tweeting about the sport.
So after earning a first-round doubles win at the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday evening alongside Jackson Withrow, Kyrgios got some shots up on the basketball court in the players' lounge. While speaking with ATPTour.com, Kyrgios even knocked down eight consecutive three-pointers.
Watch Kyrgios' Shooting Session
"I’m LeBron James," Kyrgios said. "I’m the best basketball player of the tennis players, hence I’m LeBron.
"Honestly, there are only three or four guys who can really play basketball on Tour. So I don’t like comparing it that way. But [in playing style] I’d probably compare myself to Tobias Harris."
Harris plays for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is a 6'8" forward who has scored an average of just more than 20 points per game this season. As Kyrgios put it, he is a "borderline All Star".
Here are other ATP Tour players who Kyrgios compared to an NBA player:
Ivo Karlovic: Boban Marjanovic, Philadelphia 76ers.
Jack Sock: "He is a bit like a Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. He’s a sharpshooter."
Gael Monfils: "He's a guy who’s really athletic, but can’t really shoot. I feel like maybe he's a Giannis Antetokounmpo-type figure."
Jamie Cerretani: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics.
Stefan Kozlov: "He’s like a Marcus Smart, a bulldog, gets boards, makes defensive plays."
There are some NBA players who are tennis fans. One of them is Dirk Nowitzki, who hosted the third edition of the Dirk Nowitzki Pro Celebrity Tennis Classic in September at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Former ATP Tour players Andy Roddick, Tommy Haas, Taylor Dent and Mark Knowles were among those who were there to support the cause.
"I haven’t met him before, but I met his wife at a Dallas Mavericks game because he got tickets for us. She came and met us at the suite, which was awesome," Kyrgios said. "I chat with him a little bit on Twitter, because he’s a massive tennis fan."
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Kyrgios had his eye on Nowitzki as the German played his 14th and final All Star Game on Sunday. Nowitzki is retiring after this season.
"It’s sick. My best friend’s favourite player is Dwyane Wade, so to see D-Wade and Nowitzki have one more game like that is pretty special," Kyrgios said. "They’re two of the greatest of all-time. It was pretty cool to see them do that."
Kyrgios' favourite player is Rajon Rondo of the Los Angeles Lakers. Rondo won an NBA championship with the Celtics in 2008. But the 32-year-old hit a game-winner against his former team on 7 February.
"I love Rondo. When he hit the game-winner, I honestly wasn’t even mad."
Kyrgios' ATP Tour Basketball Lineup:
Point Guard - Nick Kyrgios
Shooting Guard - Jackson Withrow
Small Forward - Jack Sock
Power Forward - Gael Monfils
Centre - Reilly Opelka
Coming off the bench, which Kyrgios says is important...
John Isner
Stefan Kozlov
Taylor Fritz
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2Nh7Jb7
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