When it comes to Roger Federer, the only sport that one could associate him with is tennis. Throughout his life as a professional tennis player, the Swiss tennis star has made an impeccable impact on the sport. But, what if the tennis star has interests other than the game as well? As it seems, the 20-time Grand Slam winner is also a great basketball fan as well.

But how did his affection for basketball come? As it seems, two major basketball legends were the main reason behind this. But, who were they? Here’s what you need to know about the stars that made Federer a huge fan of the game.

Who were the major stars that made Roger Federer fall in love with basketball?

Roger Federer recently paid a visit to San Francisco to promote the  2025 Laver Cup that will be held at Chase. He’s excited about upcoming events there, like the NBA All-Star Game and the start of the new WNBA team’s first season. Speaking in an interview there, Federer revealed the real reason behind his love for the sport.

Tennis legend Roger Federer shared that he became a big basketball fan in the early ’90s. He added that it was mainly because of watching Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. These two stars were purely the dominant forces during their time as professional tennis players and made many fall in love with the game.

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Interestingly, Roger Federer was no different from the rest as he did not shy away from naming them as the main reason behind his liking for basketball. “But I’ll still enjoy the game. I was a big basketball fan back in the early ’90s, watching Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal,” said Federer in the interview.

Thus, Roger Federer, who mostly dominated the tennis courts due to his on-court skills and gameplay is also a huge basketball fan. Not only this, he also revealed his love for the sport while giving his insight about Stephan Curry and Kobe Bryant.

Federer talked about Kobe Bryant and Stephen Curry as well

In the same interview, he also gave his insights about how closely he follows the game. He suggested that he started following the LA Lakers as well, however, it was at the end of Kobe Bryant‘s career. He further added that he would like to see Stephen Curry playing. While he is struggling with injury issues, Fededer added that he might have bad timing which could result in this.

“I saw the Lakers toward the end of Kobe’s career and he missed the game,” Federer said in the interview. “So I hope that Curry is playing tomorrow. But I know he might not. Bad timing for me.”

Thus, Roger Federer, who made his name in the world, courtesy of tennis, is also an avid basketball follower. However, that is mainly due to two major tennis names that made most of the players fall in love.

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