Basketball stars are big sports fans, too. Upon the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup, where France won against Croatia, NBA stars voiced out their respective reactions on social media.
Tony Parker of the Charlotte Hornets, a French native himself, congratulated his country for a job well done:
CHAMPIONS DU MONDE !!! 🇫🇷INCROYABLE !!@equipedefrance ⭐️⭐️
— Tony Parker (@tonyparker) July 15, 2018
Fellow French men, some of which were Parker’s teammates in the national team, also congratulated the football squad.
CHAMPIONS DU MONDE ⭐⭐️ pic.twitter.com/RWMkbx4lRN
— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) July 15, 2018
Champions du monde. ⭐️⭐️🇫🇷 #ToBeContinued pic.twitter.com/O4HvbqjSbB
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) July 15, 2018
But it wasn’t just French players who congratulated the winning team. Joel Embiid, whose first sport is actually football and has entertained the idea of playing for France as a naturalized citizen, sent out his reactions on Twitter. Pau Gasol, too, joined in the fun.
What a #WorldCup!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks to #France and #Croatia for this wonderful final!
Félicitations à la France!!! 🇫🇷 #WorldCupFinal— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) July 15, 2018
Allez la c’est fini… La France est CHAMPIONNE DU MONDE
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 15, 2018
However, not everyone had high spirits upon the World Cup’s conclusion. Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Lakers, a Croatian native, admitted that the loss hurt.
Damn this hurts…
— Ivica Zubac (@ivicazubac) July 15, 2018
But he tweeted out another message, this time with a more positive message for the Croatian national team.
What a run!! Nobody expected us to be here. You made all Croatians around the world very proud! Hvala vam legende 🇭🇷🇭🇷
— Ivica Zubac (@ivicazubac) July 15, 2018
The FIFA World Cup provided great entertainment for basketball fans caught in limbo in the summer. It’s a totally different sport but it possesses the same thrill and competition basketball fans crave for. Who knows, some basketball fans might have caught the football fever themselves. In 2022, in the next FIFA World Cup, can we expect more basketball fans proudly professing their loyalty to their own football national teams?