Nick Kyrgios flaunts his Kobe Bryant tattoo that he inked after the basketball great’s demise

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has always been known to be a very big basketball fan. His allegiance to Kobe Bryant is especially unshakable, and the now-gone Lakers legend has been his childhood inspiration. As a result, he was very moved by the 5-time NBA winner’s tragic demise and inked Kobe on his right arm after that. 

That’s not all; as per the tennis professional himself, although he never met Kobe, basketball has always been a positive driving force in his life. Kyrogos further opened up about the day and how he got emotional upon hearing the tragic news. 

I never met Kobe, but basketball is practically my life. I watch it every day. I've been following it for as long as I can remember. When I woke up to the news, it was pretty emotional. It was pretty heavy all day. It's just tough. It's horrible news. 

Nick Kyrgios said after Kobe Bryant’s demise via Sky Sports

He further added:

If you look at the things he stood for, what he wanted to be remembered by, I felt like, if anything, it helped me tonight. When I was down a break in the fourth, I was definitely thinking about it. I fought back.

Nick Kyrgios recently flaunted his Kobe Bryant tattoo once again on his Instagram story. He wrote “Kobe” with the emoji of a drop of blood in the caption. Basketball legend Kobe Bryant passed away on January 26, 2020, with his daughter Gianna in a tragic helicopter crash.

He was hands down one of the best and most influential basketball players of this era and was often referred to as the ‘MJ of our generation’ by many fans. 

Many other tennis players were highly moved by Kobe Bryant’s demise, including Serbian professional Novak Djokovic. He even paid tribute to the legend recently after winning the 2023 US Open (his 24th Grand Slam title), as he won a t-shirt featuring a photo of himself alongside Kobe Bryant, and written across it was “Mamba forever”. The Serb said that he felt a special connection with Kobe during the 2023 US Open as they were close friends.  

Nick Kyrgios wanted to become a basketball player as a kid 

Nick Kyrgios recently revealed in Mike Tyson’s podcast ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike’ that he actually wanted to be a basketball player as a kid. He was good at both basketball and tennis and in the end, his father decided that they should give tennis their best shot. 

He further revealed:

Until the age of 14, I trained and regularly put the ball in the basket, and then my father told me that I was done with basketball and that I should devote all my energy to tennis. That broke my heart. 

He has said countless times before that he used to love basketball more and draws inspiration from it to date. 

In case you missed it:

• Martina Navratilova believes Novak Djokovic controls the rivalry against Carlos Alcaraz as she compares the competitiveness between the ATP and WTA Tour
• WATCH: Novak Djokovic demands the supervisor after ferocious argument with the chair umpire at the Paris Masters 2023

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW