It is extremely refreshing to see stars from across different sports acknowledge one another’s accomplishments. This defines that spirit which the sports fraternity takes pride in. Tennis sensation Naomi Osaka and future NBA Hall of Famer LeBron James recently gave one such example of high-level mutual respect.

Just a couple of days ago, the Associated Press announced their Athlete of the Year awardees. Last year, the award in the male category went to Kawhi Leonard (LA Clippers) and in the female category, it went to Simone Biles (US Olympics gymnast). But this time around, the award made its way to the hands of a Lakers champion and a Lakers follower.

LeBron James and his appreciation of the rising tennis star

Just as the winners of 2020 were announced, Bron took to Instagram to share his euphoria. The Akron Hammer won this prestigious recognition for the fourth time in his career. He must have been all the more pleased and excited to see his friend Naomi Osaka win it. 

The 3-time Grand Slam champion Naomi was also quick to respond and share LeBron’s IG story on her handle. This was the same picture that Naomi had earlier captioned, “Lebron’s getting jiggy with it”. 

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LBJ was way too thrilled to be happy with sharing just one post, and so he posted one more. 

This year was filled with records and awards for the legendary small forward. Prior to this, he had won his 4th NBA ring and also the TIME’s Athlete of the Year 2020.

Naomi Osaka and her unquenched Lakers fandom

The 23-YO Naomi isn’t a new Lakers fan. Her IG post from April 6, 2019, is proof of her continued love for the franchise. That was the same night at the Staples Center when the Lakers had beaten the Clippers 122-117 even without Bron. 

Naomi had also wished late Kobe Bryant on his birthday this year, writing, “Happy birthday Mamba 💛💜 at the US Open right now and I practiced on Armstrong so I had a lot of memories of you in my box…”

It was also amazing to see how the AP panel of Sports Editors recognized a non-American and awarded her for her recent impact. The Japanese star won hearts by raising her voice for social justice by making creative use of her face masks.

She is most definitely going to be the LeBron James of WTA Tennis. Do you agree with this?