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    Hoops fan Manny Pacquiao roots for these NBA teams

    Pacman is a loyal Boston Celtics fan. But he also roots for these NBA teams
    Aug 5, 2020

    LONG before he became famous all over the world as an eight-division boxing world champion, Manny Pacquiao has always loved basketball.

    The Pacman grabs every opportunity to play the game with members of his camp and pro players he is close with, whether they're in Manila or Sarangani or training for his bouts overseas.

    And it's no surprise that when the opportunity presented itself, Pacquiao did not hesitate on making the jump to the PBA and acted as the playing-coach for Kia when it entered the league in 2014.

    The NBA, however, remains a far-fetched dream.

    Still, Pacquiao is without question an avid NBA follower, with him having his fair share of teams which he has supported over the years.

    Take a look at them.

    Boston Celtics

    Pacquiao has always expressed his fondness for the Boston Celtics, especially for Kevin Garnett.

    So much so that he invited the Celtics, who were just crowned as the 2008 NBA champions, to his fight against David Diaz in Las Vegas.

    The team did pay the Filipino pug a visit in the locker room after his ninth-round stoppage to retain the WBC lightweight title.

    In 2010, the Celtics gave the Filipino legend a customized Boston jersey and named him an honorary member of the team. In exchange, Pacquiao gave everyone in the Celtics an autographed boxing glove.

    Pacquiao even held off his fight against Timothy Bradley in 2012 just so he could cheer Boston in its Game Seven clash against Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals.

    The Celtics, unfortunately, lost that one to Lebron James and the Heat, 101-88. Pacquiao also suffered the same fate, losing to Bradley in a controversial split division finish.

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    Pacquiao's kinship with the Celtics remains to this day as he even wore a Boston jersey of Kyrie Irving in a pickup game back in 2018 in preparation for his WBA welterweight title defense against Adrian Broner.

    Golden State Warriors

    In 2014, Pacquiao had a chance to cross-train in the Warriors' training facility in his promotional tour for the fight against Chris Algieri.

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    Sporting a Stephen Curry jersey, the boxing champion shot some hoops with his peers and expressed his admiration for the Golden State star sniper and called him one of his favorite players.

    Curry repaid that and sent Pacquiao a signed jersey while also meeting Manny's sons Jimuel and Michael after the Warriors' 110-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in 2015. Pacquiao was unable to come to the game as he was then preparing for his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

    Pacquiao did show his appreciation to Curry and Golden State as he congratulated the team when it won the 2015 NBA title over the Cleveland Cavaliers, posing a photo of him rocking Curry's uniform.

    He also correctly predicted the Warriors surpassing the Chicago Bulls' regular season record as Curry and Co. went 73-9 in the regular season in 2016.

    However, James willed the Cavaliers to come back from a 3-1 deficit and bag the 2016 NBA crown.

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    In 2017, Pacquiao boldly supported Golden State in its NBA Finals duel against Cleveland and was so confident of the Warriors' chances that he said he would walk from General Santos City to Sarangani if the Cavaliers mustered a comeback.

    True enough, the Warriors took the series from the Cavs in five games.

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    The two sports icons finally met face-to-face in 2019 when Pacquiao, coming off his unanimous decision win over Broner, brought his family to attend the Warriors' 130-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. The two had a short chat after the game, with the Pacquiao family getting the chance to pose for photos with Curry and then-Warriors' Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala.

    Heck, he even named the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) team from his old province General Santos to follow the Warriors -- although the name General Santos Golden State Warriors, as in Goldenstate College, (GSGSW?) doesn't quite roll off the tongue.

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    Los Angeles Clippers

    Although not in the same degree of his fandom for the Celtics and the Warriors, Pacquiao did show his appreciation of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019.

    The world champion was the guest of honor for the Filipino Heritage Night at Staples Center in January 2019 and even came to the Clippers' locker room before the game.

    There, Pacquiao shook hands with former Celtics coach and now-Clippers mentor Doc Rivers, as well as players like Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, and Tobias Harris.

    Pacquiao, at that time, was training for his fight against Broner.

    The Clippers treated their guests to a 128-109 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

    Curiously, Pacquiao had a brush with his rival Floyd Mayweather, who was watching at courtside, in that game. It was the first of two interactions between the two in a span of a month, with the second coming in the aforementioned Warriors-Lakers game.

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    During his training for his fight against Keith Thurman in July 2019, he also said that he believes that the Clippers, who just acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, will be better than the Lakers, who just got Anthony Davis to partner with James.

    Leonard, who was coming off a championship and a Finals MVP for the Toronto Raptors and recently signed with the Clippers, smiled for photos with Pacquiao after the Filipino's split decision victory over Thurman.

    Worth mentioning:


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    Los Angeles Lakers

    Pacquiao hasn't publically supported the Lakers - which is no surprise for someone who prides himself as a Celtics fan.

    Yet over the years, he's had a brush with players who wore the purple-and-gold.

    Pacquiao had a brief moment with Kobe Bryant when the latter led an NBA delegation in the Smart Ultimate All-Star Weekend at the Smart Araneta Coliseum back in July 2011.

    Four months later, it was Bryant who paid Pacquiao a visit in the Wild Card Gym while the latter was training for his third fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.

    It was an exciting experience for Pacquiao, who made sure he got his photo with Bryant together with brother Bobby and close friend Buboy Fernandez.

    Pacquiao also gave a touching tribute when Bryant passed away in a helicopter accident in January 2020, writing, "The world lost a legend today but the impact and legacy he leaves behind will last forever! #RIPMamba"

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    Fil-Am guard Jordan Clarkson, who spent his first four years for the LA Lakers, also had a chance to play chess with Pacman when he came to the country in 2015.

    Former Lakers like Michael Cooper and Metta World Peace have also paid a visit to Pacquiao's LA home back in 2019 when he was preparing for his fight against Broner.

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    Miami Heat

    Pacquiao attended Miami's home game at the AmericanAirlines Arena, where the Heat bowed to the Bucks, 109-102 back in January 2015.

    What makes this game standout was this game saw the Filipino fighter interact with Mayweather during the halftime intermission and reportedly exchanged numbers which seemingly put the wheels in motion for the long-awaited fight between the two.

    Come May 2015, the dream match between Pacquiao and Mayweather finally happened, with Money winning via unanimous decision.

    Of course, Pacquiao also has other reasons to support the Heat as they employed Fil-Am mentor Erik Spoelstra as their head coach, with the two meeting numerous times in the past whenever Spoelstra visited the country.

    New York Knicks

    One of the world's best fighters also visited the world's most famous arena as he watched courtside at Madison Square Garden when New York hosted Portland in 2014.

    Then promoting his rematch against Bradley, Pacman sat courtside and was seated beside actress Hilary Duff as they saw the Trail Blazers top the Knicks, 94-90.

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      Oklahoma City Thunder

      Turkish center Enes Kanter, then playing for OKC, had a chance to meet Pacquiao when he visited the country in May 2017 and gifted the senator a Thunder jersey and a signed basketball.

      Curiously, Daniel Orton, the player who infamously launched a tirade and called Pacquiao and the PBA "a joke" in his time with the Purefoods Star Hotshots in 2015, called Oklahoma City his home from 2012 to 2013.

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