Celebrities being courtside for Los Angeles Lakers games is a standard thing, but one specific athlete was in the building on Sunday night for the win over the Sacramento Kings that had superstar Luka Doncic in awe. That would be tennis star Novak Djokovic, one of, if not the greatest tennis player of all-time.
The two are from the same region with Doncic’s native Slovenia not being far from Djokovic’s home country of Serbia. Djokovic is also the most decorated player in tennis history with a record 24 career Grand Slam Titles and, like Luka’s teammate LeBron James, is still amongst the best in the world nearly 20 years removed from his first career title.
Needless to say, Doncic was ecstatic to see Djokovic in the crowd at Crypto.com Arena for the Lakers’ victory, calling it unbelievable to have his GOAT watching him play basketball, via NBA on X:
“For me he’s the GOAT… So just for him watching me, it’s unbelievable.” @lukadoncic 🤝 @DjokerNole https://t.co/hCyeoF9URO pic.twitter.com/DljHjWQvcV
— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2026
There is always a level of respect amongst the most elite athletes regardless of what sport they play. Greatness recognizes greatness and Djokovic is truly a legend in every sense of the word. Doncic grew up watching Djokovic dominate on the tennis court and he no doubt wants to emulate that success with the Lakers.
Djokovic is no stranger to the Lakers as he has paid homage to a couple of stars at different points in his career. When he won his record 24th Grand Slam paid tribute to the late, great Kobe Bryant by wearing a ‘Mamba Forever’ shirt. More recently he mentioned LeBron as an inspiration as to why he is continuing to play despite nearing 40 years old.
Luka is someone with the drive and desire to be the absolute best at his sport and seeing someone like Djokovic in the crowd only motivates him even more to dominate every step of the way as he continues to chase his ultimate dreams.
Luka Doncic, JJ Redick exchange words on bench during Lakers victory
Luka Doncic is known as a fierce competitor and sometimes that can boil over. That especially can be the case as Lakers coach JJ Redick can be a bit fiery himself and the two had a brief exchange on the bench during the Lakers’ victory over the Golden State Warriors.
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