Vinicius displays his exclusive collection of signed NBA jerseys with a surprise absence

It is no secret that Vinicius Jr. is a big fan of the NBA. Frequently, when the football season ends, he travels to the United States to watch some playoff games in the front row, and maintains a good relationship through social networks and in person with some NBA players.

As a result of these contacts, the Real Madrid forward has been building an exclusive collection of jerseys signed by NBA players, as he has shown on his Instagram.

In his small NBA museum, Vinicius has a great mix of players' shirts. You can see jerseys signed by some of the League's biggest stars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jimmy Butler, Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, DeMar DeRozan and LaMelo Ball.

But there is also room in his curious collection for other jerseys signed by more 'middle class' players. This is the case of former player Leandro Barbosa, understandable because both are Brazilian. And also those of Clint Capela, Harrison Barnes and Jayson Richardson, somewhat more extravagant, as they are minor players in the best league in the world.

Strange is the absence of Doncic's jersey

What is surprisingly missing from his exclusive collection, or at least in the images shown by the player himself, the absence of the jersey of former Madrid player Luka Doncic, a huge star in the NBA, and icon for Los Blancos.

The Mavericks player praised Vinicius on social media for his great game in El Clasico against Barcelona last January. And when the Slovenian scored 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks a little later that same month, the Brazilian returned the praise and applauded their feat.

No room for Madrid fan Embiid

It is only a matter of time before Doncic's signed jersey is in Vinicius' private collection, which also lacks that of another illustrious Madridista in the NBA, that of Sixers center Joel Embiid, who does not miss a chance every time he can to show his support for Los Blancos through social networks, and even wearing the jersey of the team.

And while Vinicius has had plenty of football icons to look up to in Brazil growing up, he was also inspired by LeBron James, whom he idolizes as revealed by Tania Ganguly of The Athletic: "Vinicius said in an interview that he didn't follow basketball growing up in Brazil, but that LeBron 'was a bit of a superhero for me as a kid' and served as inspiration for his own athletic exploits..."

Vinicius got to meet his hero last Christmas after watching the Lakers-Celtics game live. The two met outside the locker room, exchanged jerseys and had a short conversation. Vinicius has also stated on occasion that he hopes to play as long as LeBron, who will turn 40 on December 30 and will play his 22nd season in the NBA.