It's not rare to see NBA and soccer players watch each other games or mimic celebrations, but it is quite unique to see one of the best athletes ever pay homage to another. And that's exactly what Lionel Messi did during Inter Miami's latest match, as he tapped into his inner Stephen Curry.

Curry has broken out his famous ‘night, night' celebration a few times, with the latest possibly being the most notable. After taking over the Olympic gold medal game vs. France for Team USA, Curry broke out the ‘night, night' taunt while running down the court in Paris. His late-game heroics sealed the gold for the Americans, earning Curry his first Olympic medal.

Well, Messi was watching apparently, and the footballer did his version of the celebration after scoring one of his two goals in his MLS return vs. the Philadelphia Union.

Messi and Curry have long admired each other, with the two stars having wished each other luck on a few occasions, including when Messi left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.

“Messi has some good taste I see. Good luck at PSG my guy,” Curry posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Messi returns to MLS, dominates in Inter Miami win

Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday's match marked a return months in the making for Lionel Messi. More than three months after playing his last MLS match, Messi returned to Inter Miami and put on a show, scoring two goals and assisting another in a 3-1 home victory vs. Philadelphia.

Messi had previously suffered a gruesome ankle injury during the Copa America final while representing Argentina back in July. The injury kept Messi out of action for months, although that fortunately did not slow down Inter Miami, which won all four MLS matches in his absence and have won all but one league match in the last three months.

Inter Miami currently sits atop the Eastern Conference and all of MLS with a 19-5-4 record and a league-best 62 points. Messi has 14 goals and 11 assists in 15 MLS matches this season.

Messi and Inter Miami are set to face Atlanta United on Wednesday.