In professional sports, confidence is the defining trait of champions. It’s that unwavering self-belief that propels them to achieve the extraordinary. Great athletes always take inspiration from other athletes and Novak Djokovic recently has been taking some from the NBA greats. 

LeBron declared himself as the best basketball player before breaking the all-time record. Novak could relate to that right before he clinched a record for himself while also openly declaring his win and crediting it to Mamba Mentality. 

Novak can relate to LeBron’s bold words 

In February, James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record. Just before breaking that record, LeBron admitted that he felt like he was the “best basketball player that ever played the game”. He continued by dominantly asserting, “That’s just my confidence, that’s just what I bring to the table.” The rest is history and he is still at the top of the league, ready to enter his 21st season. 

Novak said he could relate to this mentality. It’s not just about the mere arrogance but the sheer dominance in the game. He said, “I don’t see anything wrong in that. And I congratulate LeBron for his historic achievement. He absolutely deserves it because at this age, he works as hard as anybody really out there. And that’s a great role model and a great example to all the young guys.”. 

Novak unleashed ‘mamba mentality’ in his historic win

Djokovic went on to win his 21st Grand Slam title at the French Open in June, tying Rafael Nadal for the most in men’s history. And at the US Open in September, he paid tribute and channeled Bryant‘s “Mamba Mentality” to win his 22nd Grand Slam title, breaking Nadal’s record. The number 24 was Bryant’s jersey number for most of his career, and it is also the number of Grand Slam titles Djokovic won at the time. On the front of his T-shirt “Mamba Forever” printed on it. 

READ MORE: Kobe Bryant Admitted That He And LeBron James Agreed On What Makes The “Killer Mentality”