Vinicius Jr has been having one hell of a season recently. The Real Madrid superstar banged in a super goal in the UEFA Champions League semifinal against Manchester City. Los Blancos conceded an equalizer from Kevin De Bruyne later in the game. It is all to play for in the second leg, as Inter also hold a commanding lead over their noisy neighbors, AC Milan.
Just hours after the game, Vini Jr attended a Real Madrid basketball game, along with Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Not many are aware that Real Madrid’s basketball team is also one of the most successful teams in the country.
Vinícius Jr. watching Real Madrid Basketball make history in Euro League. 🏀⭐️ pic.twitter.com/Mz5HuumGXO
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) May 10, 2023
The team even has a history of molding world-class talents, and Luka Doncic will be a huge example of that. Vinicius attended the game where Madrid played against Partizan Belgrade.
Nada es imposible para quien es MADRIDISTA 😅🤍Vamooooos!!
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) May 10, 2023
The Spanish giants came back from a 2-0 deficit in the EuroLeague playoffs, which are played in a best-of-five format. This was the first time any team has achieved this feat in the history of the league. After the game, Vinicius tweeted, “Nothing is impossible for someone who is a MADRIDISTA,” highlighting that comebacks have been quite frequent in Real Madrid’s history.
Vinicius Jr steps onto the basketball court with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
After the basketball game, Vinicius took to social media to show the “Great moments” he shared with Shai, who managed to bag an NBA All-Star appearance this year.
Great moments with All star 🤝🏿🤍 pic.twitter.com/jHtFqHkSsM
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) May 11, 2023
Although Shai was not able to lead the Thunder to the playoffs, it must be noted that he was arguably the franchise’s best player. He averaged 31.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds. Only Josh Giddey comes close to Shai in terms of scoring, with 16.6 PPG. Shai and Vinicius put up a few shots, which could be seen in the compilation clip that the latter posted.
Vinicius has been Santiago Bernabeu’s star boy in recent years, even leading them to a Champions League trophy last year. The Brazilian scored against Liverpool in the final, and Real Madrid also had Thibaut Courtois to thank for his sensational performance. This time around, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have a harder task at hand.
They will be facing Pep Guardiola’s Man City, including an in-form Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker recently broke Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record. He sits on the throne right now with 35 goals for the season. Real Madrid will surely keep an eye on him for the second leg, and it would be safe to claim that Shai will be rooting for his Brazilian friend to put in a shift in the second leg as well.
