NBA players have often been unafraid to share their love of anime, with professional athlete Zion Williamson recently taking the opportunity to share how Naruto impacted his life and helped push forward his career. Also during the interview, the NBA star revealed the percentage of athletes he believes are currently anime fans and the overall number might be far more than you were expecting, proving just how influential the medium of anime continues to be outside of Japan.
Williamson’s love of all things Konoha helped in launching a unique partnership between the Shonen franchise, Naruto, and Nike, creating ninja-themed Air Jordans that would mimic the aesthetics of some of the biggest warriors of the ninja world. On top of this partnership, the creator of the Shonen series, Masashi Kishimoto, drew Zion in a style similar to that of Naruto, imagining what the professional NBA player would look like if he were to follow in the footsteps of the Seventh Hokage.
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During his interview with GQ, Zion discussed his love of Naruto and the anime series had influenced him and his career within the National Basketball Association:
“For a while nobody took Naruto seriously and then he went and trained with [master shinobi] Jiraiya for three years, right? And he came back at 16 years old, goated. Sure enough, I’m 16 years old and suddenly all of the attention starts coming. I remember thinking, Yo, that’s crazy. That’s exactly when it happened for Naruto, and it’s when it’s happening for me.”
While anime finds itself influencing professional athletes, so to do sporting events impact the medium of anime, with countless series being released in the past that focus on stories within the world of professional athletes. Anime series like Haikyuu, Blue Lock, Prince of Tennis, Hajime no Ippo, and Slam Dunk to name a few fully represent a number of sports and there are sure to be a continuous stream of sports anime that will arrive in the future.
Do you believe that eighty percent of professional athletes are anime fans? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of sports anime.
