Novak Djokovic: "I even considered leaving tennis, Kobe Bryant encouraged me"

24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic recently talked about late NBA legend Kobe Bryant's contribution to his life.

Bryant lost his life in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. He and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were headed to Thousand Oaks-based Mamba Sports Academy in California for the latter's basketball game. The helicopter crashed near Calabasas in the morning hours, killing Bryant, Gianna and seven others on board.

Djokovic, competing at the Australian Open at that time, paid his tribute to Bryant by wearing a special jacket for his on-court interview following a win over Milos Raonic in the quarterfinal. The Serb went on to win the tournament.

The 36-year-old, who was recently crowned Champion of Champions by L'Equipe for the year 2023, recounted talking to Kobe Bryant while struggling with his elbow in 2017. Djokovic was forced to end his 2017 season after quitting his quarterfinal tie against Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon. Later, in February 2018, he went under the knife after a two-year-long trouble with his elbow.

"Kobe always helped me when I needed it the most. When I had elbow surgery, mentally I was not well. I even considered leaving tennis. He encouraged me, shared his experience, gave advice," he told French media house L'Equipe.

Most recently, Djokovic paid another homage to Bryant at the 2023 US Open. After defeating Russia's Daniil Medvedev in the final at Flushing Meadows, he donned a custom 'Mamba Forever' t-shirt.

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Novak Djokovic: "24 is the jersey Kobe Bryant wore when he became a legend, so I thought it could be a symbolic thing to acknowledge him"

Novak Djokovic pictured at the 2023 US Open

After winning the US Open title in September 2023, Novak Djokovic revealed that he had started planning for the custom Kobe Bryant t-shirt a week before the scheduled final.

"Mamba, yeah… I thought of doing this t-shirt eventually if I get a chance to win the tournament, it was about seven days ago. I didn't share it with anyone upto few days ago when I asked my people to help me out to make these shirts," the Serb said at the trophy presentation ceremony.

Djokovic chose to commemorate the moment of securing his 24th Grand Slam title by giving a shoutout to Bryant's jersey number 24 at LA Lakers. He said:

"I thought, 24 is the jersey he wore when he became a legend of the Lakers and world basketball. So I thought it could be a nice, symbolic thing to acknowledge him. I thought of doing this T-shirt eventually if I got the chance to win the tournament."