Los Angeles Lakers All-Star LeBron James has proven to be a fan of many sports disciplines besides basketball.
James often tweets about NFL and college football games and has previously said the Super Bowl feels like Christmas to him. The four-time NBA champion has a major interest in soccer, being a part-owner of English team Liverpool — and recently acquiring a stake in A.C. Milan, the reigning Italian champions.
Recently, the 37-year-old showed he also follows tennis, congratulating Frances Tiafoe on his Round of 16 win over the legendary Rafel Nadal at the 2022 U.S. Open:
KEEP GOING!!!!! #StriveForGreatness?
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 5, 2022
Tiafoe discussed James’ message of support after the match, saying he was “losing it” when seeing the tweet, via L.A. Times columnist Helene Elliott:
Frances Tiafoe was thrilled when Lakers star @KingJames congratulated him on Twitter for reaching the U.S. Open quarterfinals. "I was losing it in the locker room. I was going crazy. That’s my guy."
.— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) September 6, 2022
Tiafoe has reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for just the second time in his career, previously making it this far at the 2019 Australian Open. He will face Andrey Rublev in the semis, taking on the world’s No. 11 on Wednesday.
Last week, James had a few kind words for Serena Williams after the 23-time Grand Slam singles winner officially retired from the sport. “You’re a goat. I mean, what you’ve done for the sport of tennis, what you’ve done for women, and what you’ve done for just the category of sport, period, is unprecedented,” he said in a video.
Among his other ties to tennis stars, James has been collaborating with Naomi Osaka on her new digital media company, Hana Kuma.
James works out with Troy Brown Jr. and Phil Handy on Labor Day
Apart from watching other major sports events, James has been putting in the work with the 2022-23 season’s tip-off looming large. On Labor Day, he got in the gym with Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy and new teammate Troy Brown Jr.
The 18-time All-Star shared photos and videos from the workout on Instagram, captioning the post: “My friends asked me earlier if I was BBQ’n for the holiday. I said I am, ask the ones in attendance!”
The Lakers will officially start training camp on Sept. 27, six days before their first game of the 2022 preseason against the Sacramento Kings.
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