It’s no secret that several of the biggest stars in basketball have an affinity for soccer. Some of them have been fans of the sport since childhood, others may have business interests which overlap, or friendships across the two sports. Some of the biggest names playing in the league right now might find themselves looking for Hesgoal streams between games to find out how their favourite teams are doing.
Some are more serious about their fandom than others but here are five of the biggest soccer fans playing in the NBA right now.
LeBron James – Liverpool
Arguably the biggest NBA superstar of all time, the endorsement of one LeBron James goes a long way and Liverpool FC of the English Premier League are blessed to have it. Not only can they rely on the support of LeBron in spirit, but also financially, as he owns a 2% stake in the club, due to his co-operation with Liverpool’s owners FSG (Fenway Sports Group)
The Lakers legend has been spotted multiple times wearing a Liverpool jersey and is a vocal supporter of the club on social media. He will no doubt be tuning in and rooting for his beloved reds during this weekend’s UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Luka Doncic – Real Madrid
Speaking of Real Madrid, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic will most certainly be rooting for Los Blancos this weekend. The 23-year-old Slovenian rising star played for the Real Madrid basketball club as a youth, having come through the EuroLeague. He fell in love with the club at that time and remains a stalwart Madridista.
He’s one of the players on this list with the strongest connection to his favourite soccer team, having played for its brother franchise and spent a lot of time around the players. He even won EuroLeague MVP playing for Madrid in 2018.
Giannis Antetokounmpo – Arsenal
The ‘Greek Freak’ Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a soccer fan since his youth, and despite confessing his fondness for PSG during the Zlatan Ibrahimovic era, he has declared his favourite team to be London club Arsenal on multiple occasions.
The Milwaukee Bucks star cleared up any possibility of split loyalties in an interview when he said:
“Deep down I’m still an Arsenal fan”
Josh Hart – Chelsea
Josh Hart, like many NBA players, has made multiple appearances and done plenty of photo ops at several English Premier League clubs. He claims to be a fully fledged Chelsea fan, and his vocal support for the club on Twitter would back that up.
However, there is video and photo evidence out there of him showing support for their London rivals Spurs too. Nonetheless, Hart seems to have put his Spurs-loving days behind him and committed to roasting the Lilywhites’ fans on social media all the time, much to the pleasure of Chelsea supporters.
Steph Curry – PSG (but also everyone)
When it comes to NBA players playing the field with soccer clubs, Steph Curry is certainly the MVP. It feels like PSG is his number one but he certainly has allegiances with multiple big European clubs.
His bond with PSG often comes from his budding friendship with their Brazilian star forward Neymar Jr, with whom he has often swapped jerseys and appeared for photo ops at the club’s Le Parc des Princes stadium.
Neymar has even returned the favour appearing at several Golden State Warriors games to support Curry.
This article was submitted by Craig Hanson, Sports Journalist.
