"We need to come together a bit more" - Nick Kyrgios calls for NBA-like team environment in tennis after joining Novak Djokovic's PTPA
Avid basketball fan Nick Kyrgios has expressed his interest in seeing tennis incorporate an NBA-inspired attitude with regard to players associations and fostering a team environment.
On June 30, Kyrgios announced his decision to join the Professional Tennis Player Association (PTPA), which was founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil. In his announcement, the Australian expressed his excitement at becoming a part of the "amazing initiative."
In an interview with the PTPA on July 12, the Australian was questioned on what he has learned about player unity from following the NBA and the NBA players association.
In response, Kyrgios spoke about his childhood passion for basketball and shared details about how he has derived inspiration from the NBA.
"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. I modeled like myself, you know, my fashion, the way I play the sport of tennis on the NBA," Nick Kyrgios said.
After disclosing his experience of feeling isolated at tournaments, the World No. 33 advocated for tennis to emulate the NBA and inculcate a team environment in the sport.
"But, you know, I think that's what tennis needs. We need to come together a bit more. I mean, I feel very isolated at tournaments. Sometimes I feel a bit, I'm overstepping if I'm approaching another player. 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.
The 28-year-old also expressed his love for the Boston Celtics and reiterated that tennis players need to work together like players on the Celtics team do.
"So, for the NBA, like I'm a Boston Celtics fan, I just love the whole team. I think they kind of work together with pretty much everything. So, I think that's how tennis needs to be," he said.
"I think that's what tennis needs - we need to come together a bit more."
@NickKyrgios shares what he's learned about collective power and growing the game from the @NBA x @TheNBPA, plus a 2024 NBA Champs predictionđź‘€ https://t.co/PaIbKnKZYG
"LeBron James didn't bring a ring until he was 27; Jayson Tatum's 26 so next year, guaranteed champs" - Nick Kyrgios
When asked if Jayson Tatum would lead the Boston Celtics to an NBA championship, Nick Kyrgios responded with complete surety that the 25-year-old would do so after citing the example of basketball legend LeBron James.
"Most definitely. Most definitely. I think the stat was LeBron didn't bring a ring until he was 27 or something. Tatum's 26 so next year, basically, guaranteed champs. Mark my words," Nick Kyrgios said.
In the 2022-2023 season, the Boston Celtics entered the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, currently the longest streak in the NBA. The Celtics defeated the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers before falling to the Miami Heat in the Conference finals.
In other news, last year's runner-up Nick Kyrgios pulled out of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships due to a wrist injury. Meanwhile, four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the semifinals of the grasscourt Major where he will face Jannik Sinner in a blockbuster clash on Friday, July 14.