Naomi Osaka hoped Allen Iverson would see the tribute.
He did — and “The Answer” had an answer of his own.
After Osaka channeled the Basketball Hall of Famer with an Iverson-inspired look before her first-round win at the US Open, the former Philadelphia 76ers star responded on Instagram with a message that sounded equal parts surprised and appreciative.
“Wow, what a honor!! BIG FAN can’t wait to meet you,” Iverson wrote, tagging Osaka.
The response completed a crossover moment Osaka had deliberately built into her New York entrance.
Before beating Anastasia Zakharova, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3), at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Osaka walked onto the court in a custom Who Decides War gown covered with newspaper clippings from her career. Underneath the hood was the unmistakable homage: cornrows, a headband, an arm sleeve and a sweatband inspired by Iverson’s signature look during his 14-year NBA career.
Osaka later made the reference explicit.
“It’s my, I guess, my tribute to Iverson. I really like him a lot,” she said after the match. “I mean, Nike said basketball, so I said, ‘OK, you want basketball, I’ll give you basketball.’”
Naomi Osaka Calls Allen Iverson a ‘Trailblazer’
The tribute was not simply about recreating an old basketball look.
Days before her opening match, Osaka appeared at media day wearing a shirt featuring Iverson’s 1999 Slam magazine cover and explained why his influence extended beyond the court.
“For me, he’s a trailblazer,” Osaka said. “He’s also someone that I look up to a lot, because he’s done a lot in fashion, whether it’s on purpose or not, but he’s shifted the way that NBA players dress.”
Iverson’s cornrows, tattoos, jewelry and oversized clothes helped make him one of the defining style figures of his generation. His impact went far beyond basketball aesthetics, becoming intertwined with the NBA’s larger debate over individuality and its 2005 dress code.
That history helps explain why Osaka chose him.
Few tennis players have embraced personal expression as aggressively as Osaka. Her Grand Slam entrances have become events of their own, and the four-time major champion has repeatedly used fashion to tell a story before the first ball is struck.
This time, she borrowed from an athlete who helped make that kind of self-expression possible.
Iverson Was Already Watching Osaka
Perhaps the best part of the exchange was that Osaka had no idea whether Iverson would ever respond.
Asked before the tournament whether the two had communicated, Osaka said they had not.
“Hopefully he’ll see this,” she said.
Iverson did more than see it.
His Instagram response revealed that the admiration apparently goes both ways.
That gives Osaka something else to look forward to beyond her U.S. Open run: an eventual meeting with the player whose look she carried onto Arthur Ashe Stadium.
She entered the tournament paying tribute to one of her heroes.
By the end of her first match, she learned he was a fan, too.
Naomi Osaka Gets ‘The Answer’ From Allen Iverson After US Open Tribute