Novak Djokovic's L.A. sports tour: LeBron James, Luka Doncic, UCLA football
Ahead of the BNP Paribas Open, which he is attempting to win for a sixth time, the former world No. 1 was happy to just be a fan.
Novak Djokovic: big L.A. sports fan.
Ahead of the BNP Paribas Open, which he is attempting to win for a sixth time, the former world No. 1 was spotted with and around several big names in the local sports scene before taking the trip down Interstate 10 to Palm Springs.
On Sunday, Djokovic sat courtside to watch the Los Angeles Lakers blow out the Sacramento Kings, 128-104. Afterwards, he snapped photos with two of the team's biggest stars, LeBron James and Luka Doncic, and kept the party going when he went out to celebrate Doncic's 27th birthday.
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In post-game comments, Doncic was star-struck by Djokovic's presence, and hailed him as "the greatest of all-time."
"Just for him being here watching me was unbelievable," he said.
Additionally, Djokovic paid a visit to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he met with the Bruins' football team.
The 24-time Grand Slam singles champion, who has trained at UCLA in the past, reportedly even dispensed some sage advice to the co-eds.
“It’s [about] right now,” Djokovic said, according to the ATP website. “This is the time because 10% of life happens to us and 90% of life is how we react to what happens to us.”
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Djokovic is bidding to stand alone as the most prolific men's singles champion in Indian Wells history at this year's event.
He currently owns five titles in the California desert, tied with Roger Federer—though he has failed to reach the quarterfinals in his last five appearances, and missed the event completely from 2021-23. Seeded third, he was drawn in Carlos Alcaraz's half.