WATCH: Frances Tiafoe meets LeBron James, shares warm embrace with basketball legend at NBA game

Frances Tiafoe is making the most of his time off from tennis, catching up on his other sporting interests. He experienced a special moment before the NBA game on Monday night between the LA Lakers and the Washington Wizards in Washington DC, meeting basketball icon LeBron James, and sharing a warm hug with his sporting idol.

Tiafoe is a huge basketball fan and actively supports the Wizards, the team from his hometown of Washington. However, he hugely admires the Lakers' LeBron James, who is regarded as not just one of the all-time basketball greats but one of the greatest athletes of all time.

On Monday, Tiafoe was right in the thick of the action, watching James score and celebrate in the Lakers' 130-119 win over the Wizards. The American tennis star later took to social media to express his excitement after meeting and interacting with James and watching him play live.

"@kingjames X Big Foe ✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿. Nothing but love OG. #striveforgreatness," Frances Tiafoe wrote on Instagram.

Last week, Tiafoe also spent some time at the NBA headquarters in New York City, before meeting with other NBA stars such as Kevin Durant and Delon Wright ahead of a Brooklyn Nets game. Tiafoe regularly attends the Washington Wizards' home games at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC.

LeBron James reached out to Frances Tiafoe after US Open win over Rafael Nadal

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Frances Tiafoe admitted to "losing it" in the locker room after his special win over 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the 2022 US Open in September. More than the victory itself, Tiafoe's excitement came from the fact that he received a message from LeBron James, who congratulated the 24-year-old American tennis star for the biggest win of his career.

"CONGRATS Young King!!! You earned it!" James tweeted, before adding, "KEEP GOING!!!!! #StriveForGreatness."

Tiafoe opened up about the same during his post-match press conference and admitted that he was unsure how to react as soon as he saw James' tweet.

"Man, I was losing it in the locker room. Bro, I was going crazy," Tiafoe said.

"I mean, that's my guy. So to see him post that, I was like, 'Do I retweet it as soon as he sent it?' I was like, 'You know what, I'm going to be cool and act like I didn't see it and then retweet it three hours later'," he added.

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