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Nick Kyrgios recently met NBA player Kevin Durant at a CNBC event on Wednesday, July 26. The Australian said he teased Durant about the Boston Celtics’ chances of reaching the NBA Finals.
Kyrgios, a massive NBA fan, is often seen wearing Boston Celtics jerseys during his practice matches. Durant, who plays for the Phoenix Suns, is a two-time NBA champion and a two-time Finals MVP. He is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time.
Kyrgios took to Instagram on Wednesday, July 26 to post snippets from the CNBC event, including a photo and vidoe clip of him and Durant posing for photos.
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“Pleasure speaking at the conference today 🙏🏽 told KD the Celtics are gonna be waiting in the final ☘️☀️,” Kyrgios wrote on Instagram.
Kyrgios was one of the featured speakers at the event, along with Durant. The Wimbledon finalist spoke about his rise to tennis stardom, his off-court endeavors, and his views on the pay gap and the lack of a players union in tennis.
"Tennis players have been pretty underpaid for the last, how many years? Forever. I had an amazing year last year and I look at some of the numbers that were generated and Carlos Alcaraz gets the 274th NFL salary and he's the best player walking on the planet. So it starts with having a players union, coming together so we can start opening ideas to how we can get that going," Kyrgios said.
The Phoenix Suns are currently leading the Western Conference standings with a 45-37 record, while the Boston Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference with a 57-25 record. Both teams are expected to make deep playoff runs and possibly meet in the NBA Finals.
"We need to come together a bit more" - Nick Kyrgios calls for NBA-like team environment in tennis
Nick Kyrgios recently expressed interest in bringing an NBA-inspired team attitude into the world of tennis.
The 28-year-old recently joined the Professional Tennis Player Association (PTPA), a venture initiated by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, and expressed his excitement about being a part of this remarkable initiative in an interview with the association.
During the interview with the PTPA on July 12, Kyrgios was asked about the lessons he's learned from the NBA and its players association.
"Yeah, I mean, as a kid basketball was my first passion. So I've you know, pretty much grown up watching them play as a team and obviously the association," he said.
Nick Kyrgios shared his personal experiences of feeling isolated during tournaments, prompting him to advocate for tennis to adopt a team-oriented environment similar to the NBA.
"But, you know, I think that's what tennis needs. We need to come together a bit more. And I feel like that's the biggest thing about tennis. Like we are competing against each other but I think it needs to more of that team environment," he added.
