MANILA, Philippines – After the Golden State Warriors routed the Cleveland Cavaliers to climb to 2-0 in the NBA Finals, the defending champions had a visit from a superstar in the world of football.
Brazilian Neymar trooped to Oracle Arena on Sunday, June 5 (Monday morning, June 6 in Manila) and met Stephen Curry and the Warriors after Game 2.
Neymar had been in the Rose Bowl on Saturday along such Hollywood celebrities as Justin Bieber and Jamie Foxx to watch Brazil play Ecuador to a goal-less draw in Copa America Centenario, the special 100th anniversary edition of the South American football championship being staged in US stadiums.
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Neymar and Curry swapped jerseys, officially growing Curry's collection of jerseys from FC Barcelona stars to two.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/StephenCurry30">@StephenCurry30</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/neymarjr">@neymarjr</a> swap jerseys after the game <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAFinals?src=hash">#NBAFinals</a> <a href="https://t.co/rk5Ljsfu0f">pic.twitter.com/rk5Ljsfu0f</a></p>— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors/status/739656081434017793">June 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The back-to-back MVP had previously swapped jerseys with Argentine and Barca star Lionel Messi.
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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/-38yCdvM1L/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Muchas gracias al fenómeno @stephencurry30 por mandarme su camiseta firmada con el número 30 para felicitarme por los 30 millones en Insta. ¡ cuando llegues a 10 millones te mando la mía! // Thanks so much to the great Stephen Curry for sending me a signed jersey to congratulate me for reaching 30 million followers on Instagram. As soon as you get 10M I'll send you mine! </a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Leo Messi (@leomessi) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-12-04T15:02:48+00:00">Dec 4, 2015 at 7:02am PST</time></p></div></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BE2HCUuzff8/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Thanks for all the messages and positive energy this past week. This gift was a great reminder of how incredible and supportive the fans are through everything. Thanks for helping me celebrate this milestone, @leomessi!</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Wardell Curry (@stephencurry30) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-05-01T01:02:18+00:00">Apr 30, 2016 at 6:02pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote>
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Neymar gave out jerseys as well to Klay Thompson and Brazilian compatriots Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa.
"It's the first time we've met," Curry said. "L.B. and Varejao talk about him all the time. But obviously a star in the soccer world, and such skill and kind of grace when he's out there on the field, so he's fun to watch."
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/neymarjr">@neymarjr</a> congratulates the Dubs after the game <a href="https://t.co/jAwjwTyXjd">pic.twitter.com/jAwjwTyXjd</a></p>— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors/status/739653016236625920">June 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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"I know he's a basketball head," Curry said of Neymar. "I saw him dribbling two basketballs the other day trying to mimic my two-ball routine.
"I told him I appreciate that and he doesn't want to see me with a soccer ball because I wouldn't know what to do. It's pretty cool to know we've got fans all over and obviously it's inspiring what he does on the soccer field."
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Following tonight's <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors">@warriors</a> win, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBlurBarbosa">@TheBlurBarbosa</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/neymarjr">@neymarjr</a> share a moment! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAFinals?src=hash">#NBAFinals</a> <a href="https://t.co/FwXEZN4DD6">pic.twitter.com/FwXEZN4DD6</a></p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/739655279122341888">June 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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– Rappler.com with reports from Agence France-Presse
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