Nick Kyrgios is a huge Celtics fan because of video games

Nick Kyrgios explains how he became a Celtics superfan in a new essay for The Players Tribune

Get breaking news and SI’s biggest stories instantly. Download the new Sports Illustrated app (iOS or Android) and personalize your experience by following your favorite teams and SI writers.

In addition to being one of the world’s top tennis players, Nick Kyrgios is also a massive Celtics fan, which is a little confusing since the hot-headed star is from Australia and has never been to Boston in his life.

In a new Players Tribune article, Kyrgios explained how he went from rarely watching the NBA, thanks to a 14-hour time difference and his family’s lack of satellite TV, to becoming a superfan of one of the league’s most storied franchises thanks to a cool logo and some video games.

Back in 2006, when I was 11 years old, I got my first 

NBA Live

 game on PSP—that’s the PlayStation Portable if you’re not a big gamer. I was just starting to travel a lot for tennis all over Australia, and I needed a way to pass the time between tournaments ... Video games were my window to the league from the other side of the world. So when I got 

NBA Live

 I started flipping through all the teams trying to decide who to play with, and I ended up picking the Boston Celtics.

I thought the logo looked cool.

• Stephen Curry left Blazers’ owner Paul Allen dumbfounded

You can find out more about Kyrgios' connection with the team, including his attempts not to wake up everyone in his hotel while watching the team’s recent playoff series against the Hawks, by reading the whole story at The Players’ Tribune. You'll also learn why Roger Federer is just like Ray Allen.