“King James X Big Foe,” Frances Tiafoe seen sharing a warm moment with basketball legend LeBron James at a NBA game
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With the curtains closing over the official 2022 tennis calendar, players are trying to enjoy their off-season and devote time to their other interests and hobbies. From taking long vacations with their partners to treating themselves to some exciting NBA and World Cup matches, many prominent tennis professionals are having the best time of their lives.
An American player Frances Tiafoe, who ended the year with an impressive 35-25 win-loss record, was seen enjoying an NBA game in his off-time, where he shared a warm embrace with the legendary LeBron James.
Tiafoe, who was born and raised in Maryland – a suburb of Washington D.C, is a big supporter of local teams. He supports the Washington Commanders in NFL (National Football League), the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League, and the Washington Wizards in the NBA (National Basketball Association). However, despite his loyalty to his home teams, Tiafoe has always expressed immense admiration for Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James. And recently, the duo was seen sharing a warm moment, giving their fans a viral moment to cherish for years.
On Monday night, the Washington Wizards played the LA Lakers in the Capital One Arena in D.C., and Frances Tiafoe was in attendance. The action-packed event ended with James scoring for his team and the Lakers securing a 130-119 win over the Wizards. Despite his favored team losing, Tiafoe was seemingly pumped to meet the legend he had long admired.
The World No.19 took to his official Instagram handle to share a video of him getting a hug from LeBron, eliciting a plethora of reactions online. The basketball player was in the iconic purple jersey of the Lakers and appeared on the sidelines to greet the tennis player. Tiafoe captioned the post “@kingjames X Big Foe ✊?✊?✊?. Nothing but love OG. #striveforgreatness”.
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King James and Frances Tiafoe: a bond of respect
The 13-year age gap and different sporting areas aside, Frances Tiafoe and LeBron James have much in common as both are African Americans who made it big in their fields, breaking the barriers of poverty and racism. Tiafoe is the son of Sierra Leonese immigrants who arrived in the US and took minimum-wage jobs.
He was introduced to tennis when his father took him along to the tennis center where he worked as a construction worker. And LeBron James was born into a poor family and had a father with an extensive criminal record. His mother did her best to make ends meet and raise him, but eventually made the decision to let him live with a foster family where he was eventually introduced to basketball. While the older sportsman is arguably much more accomplished in his career, one can assume that he recognizes the similarities between struggles of his own and Tiafoe’s.
Earlier this year, Tiafoe defeated Rafael Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to secure his first-ever quarterfinal spot at the US Open. This was followed by a congratulatory message from James: “CONGRATS Young King!!! You earned it!” James tweeted, before adding, “KEEP GOING!!!!! #StriveForGreatness.” Tiafoe later revealed that he was “going crazy” when he realized that one of his idols have acknowledged his achievements.
“Man, I was losing it in the locker room. Bro, I was going crazy. I mean, that’s my guy. So to see him post that, I was like, ‘Do I retweet it as soon as he sent it?’ I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to be cool and act like I didn’t see it and then retweet it three hours later,” Tiafoe had said.
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Aradhana Nayak
(189 Articles Published)