Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka pay tribute to Kobe Bryant at US Open mixed doubles exhibition, don late basketball legend’s Lakers jerseys

Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios paid tribute to late basketball legend Kobe Bryant during the 2024 US Open's 'Mixed Madness' event. The duo teamed up for the exhibition, which also saw the Aussie's return to the tennis court after a long time.

The Mixed Madness featured four teams Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios, Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz and Amanda Anisimova, and Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton in a one-set knockout match format with the first semifinal having Osaka and Kyrgios take on the team of Fritz and Anisimova.

The American duo of Fritz and Anisimova managed to comfortably knock out the Aussie and the Japanese 6-2. Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios, who are both huge fans of Kobe Bryant donned his iconic No. 8 LA Lakers jerseys for the exhibition event.

The basketball legend tragically died in a helicopter crash on 26 January 2020 at the age of 41.

Nick Kyrgios, who is a huge basketball fan, donned Bryant's jersey as he arrived for his fourth-round match against Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open that year. He later got a tattoo in Bryant's honor shortly after his death and posted it on Instagram.

"I wore his shirt the day he died at the Australian Open and cried during that day. I watch basketball every day and it is an important part of my life. I can never imitate what Kobe did, but there maybe times in my life when I try." an emotional Kyrgios said in the video.

Naomi Osaka has also spoken about the impact of Kobe Bryant on her career on multiple occasions, most notably in her Netflix docuseries where it is also mentioned that it took the Japanese a long time to recover from Bryant's death.

Osaka has also talked about how the basketball legend was like a brother or an uncle she could turn to for advice.

"I would say he was like the older brother/uncle that I wish I always had. He was someone that, no matter how busy he was, for some reason he always picked up the phone when I called him," she said in an interview with GQ.

"That's like my brother from a different universe" - Naomi Osaka on feeling an 'alliance' with Nick Kyrgios

Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios at a Lakers game (Image Source: Getty)

Speaking on 'GOOD TROUBLE with Nick Kyrgios' which is a series of her media company Hana Kuma, Naomi Osaka told Nick Kyrgios that he was like a brother from a different universe. She mentioned how there weren't a lot of melanated players in tennis which made her feel like she had a bond with the Aussie.

"I've seen you on TV and around the scene and stuff... and I've always thought to myself, like, 'That's like my brother from a different universe,' you know? Because there's not a lot of melanated folks in tennis? So, I just kind of feel an alliance, sometimes?" Osaka said.

Kyrgios was also the first client of Naomi Osaka's talent agency Evolve. While the Aussie is set to return to singles at Uitimate Tennis Showdown in New York on August 22 against Casper Ruud, Osaka has received a main draw wildcard for the 2024 US Open which begins on 26th August.