Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr has been having one hell of a season with Real Madrid across competitions and his popularity has struck up a friendship with the NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Shai attended the exciting UEFA Champions League semi-final at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu, which finished 1-1 with Vinicius providing the goal for Madrid. After their first leg against Manchester City on May 9, the 22-year-old Real Madrid winger met up with the Oklahoma City Thunder guard.
The NBA all-star met his close friend Vinicius Jr and Eder Miltao on the Santiago Bernabeu pitch, where the stylish winger is seen wearing an Oklahoma City Thunder jersey, and Shai is rocking the Real Madrid whites. Shai shared multiple moments from his trip to the Spanish capital and in one of the clips he is seen hitting the iconic 'SIUUU' celebration after scoring against Vini Jr. He captioned his Instagram post as, 'the kid in Madrid.'
Watch the video here:
Check Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Instagram post:
Vinicius also shared some of his moments with Shai on Twitter where they could be seen hooping together. He captioned the tweet as, "Great moments with All-star."
Shai and Vinicius attend Real Madrid's Euro League basketball game
The duo further attended a Real Madrid basketball game in the city and stepped on the court after the game. After an exciting Euro League playoff game in which Madrid came back from a 2-0 deficit the football star praised the basketball team in a tweet, "Nothing is impossible for someone who is a MADRIDISTA, Let's go!"
The duo mirror each other in their respective sports as they are some of the most talented players but also are fashion icons. Gilgeous-Alexander recently got a lot of attention for his outfit at the Met Gala and was named the most stylish man of 2022 by GQ. The two athletes are actually good friends. Back in January, Vinicius gave Shai a game-used jersey that he autographed.
Oklahoma failed to qualify for the playoffs but Shai was one of their best players as he averaged 31 points, five assists, and four rebounds per game during the 68 games he played last season. Vinicius, meanwhile could play his second Champions League final in a row if they manage to beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.