Tennis star Nick Kyrgios has expressed his deep admiration for Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum. Kyrgios, a Boston Celtics fan, was talking to Barstool Sports about the team's prospects. He was also asked to comment on his fears about the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks, both of whom he dismissed as inferior to his favorite team.
Barstool Sports is an online multimedia site providing a range of content for sports fans across the world. Kyrgios has graced the ATP circuit for 12 years, attracting attention to the game for his quality tennis and his unpredictable temperament. He's a former Wimbledon finalist who was once ranked No. 13 in the world.
Kyrgios was being interviewed for the Barstool Sports Instagram page. True to form, he was forthright in his views about the Celtics, Knicks and Cavaliers. It was the Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum that Kyrgios was most enthusiastic about, insisting that Tatum is "hot":
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Kyrgios was first asked if he was concerned about the Knicks or Cavaliers. He said:
"No. I think the Cavs are knocking on the door. I think they've got a great team, good depth, I don't think they can beat the Celts four times out of 7. And the Knicks are absolutely horrendous."
Changing the subject, Barstool Sports turned their attention to Jayson Tatum, and asked the 29-year-old Australian:
"What do you have to tell the people about Jayson Tatum's aura?"
Kyrgios, a lifelong Celtics supporter, was effusive in his praise for Tatum:
"I don't think he's swaggie as. Tatum is handsome. I actually don't care about anything, I think he's hot. Dude, he's clean as. Tatum is clean as, bro...I'll never speak a bad word about that guy at all. Easy guys."
Despite being just 27 years of age, Tatum (who has a net worth of $80 million via Celebrity Net Worth) has seven NBA seasons behind him. He's won two Olympic gold medals and is a 6x NBA All-Star. He was the Celtics' key player en route to the 2024 NBA championship.
Nick Kyrgios grew up in Australia watching the NBA and played basketball as a boy
Nick Kyrgios was interviewed by The Independent a few years ago and reminisced about his childhood, when he was as interested in basketball as he was in tennis. He even suggested he preferred the hoops:
"I love basketball. I don’t really like the sport of tennis that much. I don’t love it. It was crazy when I was 14. I was all for basketball and I made the decision to play tennis. I got pushed by my parents and to this day I can still say I don’t love the sport," Nick Kyrgios said in June 2015.
Kyrgios' tennis career seems to be winding down. Beset by injuries, he returned to action at the Brisbane International where he suffered a first-round loss to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Thereafter, he took part in the Australian Open where again he was dispatched in the first round by Jacob Fearnley.
In his latest appearance at the Indian Wells Masters, he lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round. Nick Kyrgios has suggested that 2025 may be his final year as a singles player on the tour.
