Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. is a big NBA fan and has linked up with some of the biggest names in the game over time. Vinicius appears to have gotten his hands on a fair few signed jerseys as a result and showed off his collection on Instagram recently.
Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior shows off his signed NBA jersey collection 🔥
(via @vinijr / IG) pic.twitter.com/hHxqArXMf2
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 3, 2024
Vinicius has got quite the mix there. He has received signed jerseys from LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jimmy Butler, Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, DeMar DeRozan, LaMelo Ball, Clint Capela, Harrison Barnes, Josh Richardson, and Leandro Barbosa.
While Barbosa’s jersey being there is somewhat expected as they’re both Brazilians, Capela, Barnes, and Richardson’s being there is surprising. What also surprises me, is that there is no Luka Doncic jersey there.
Doncic played for Real Madrid’s basketball team and is a big fan of the soccer team, to this day. He often takes to X to show his support for them and back in January earlier this year, Doncic gave a shout-out to Vinicius for his El Clasico heroics. It was only fitting then, that when the Dallas Mavericks star erupted for 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks later that month, the Brazilian returned the favor.
“73 points. Legend!”
73 puntos 😅😅😅😅 LEYENDA!!!! https://t.co/iHcUAZMgCe
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) January 27, 2024
I would assume it’s only a matter of time before Doncic’s signed jersey is on that wall. Another notable missing jersey here is that of Joel Embiid, another Real Madrid fan. It is funny I suppose, that he doesn’t have these two jerseys but has so many others.
Vinicius Jr. Revealed LeBron James ‘Was A Bit Of A Superhero’ For Him
While Vinicius had plenty of soccer icons to look up to in Brazil growing up, he was also inspired by LeBron. According to The Athletic’s Tania Ganguly, he considered James as a bit of a superhero.
“Vinicius Junior, the star soccer player for Real Madrid, said in an interview that he didn’t follow basketball when he was growing up in Brazil but that James ‘was a bit of a superhero for me,’ and served as inspiration for his own athletic exploits…”
They say you should never meet your heroes, but Vinicius did after the Los Angeles Lakers’ Christmas Day game against the Boston Celtics last year. That was when he got that signed jersey you see on the wall and it’s safe to say he certainly didn’t regret meeting James.
Vinicius has also stated that he hopes to play for as long as LeBron has. The 39-year-old will be playing in his 22nd season in the NBA in 2024-25 and might well play a season or two after that too. I’d say it’s unlikely that Vinicius plays soccer for that long, but who knows, he might pull it off. Only time will tell.
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