Sometimes fans forget that professional athletes have lives outside of their respective sports. While athletes obviously enjoy spending time with their families and relaxing on off days, many of them have picked up interesting hobbies to do in their free time.
Some of the most common hobbies of professional athletes include playing video games, golfing, and starting podcasts — a trend which has become especially popular in recent years. Today, we are going to take a look at the most intriguing hobbies that athletes participate in outside of sports.
Myles Turner: Building Legos
Myles Turner enjoys building legos. The Indiana Pacers big man has an enormous lego collection, but he wants to make one thing clear: Turner does not just play with legos, but he "builds" legos, as he clarified in a recent press conference: "Big, big, big thing… I build legos, I don't play with legos," Turner said.
He added that he spends a lot of his free time participating in the activity. In fact, Turner said he spends three or four hours of his day building legos. Turner refers to it as a "way to take my mind off of things."
Turner is confident in his hobby. He doesn't care if anyone doesn't like it. And it sure is a lot better than simply scrolling on a phone.
He's passionate about building legos, and clearly takes it seriously.
Tiger Woods: Fishing
One of the greatest golfers of all-time enjoys fishing. That's right, Tiger Woods is known as a big fan of the hobby.
In fact, an article from Cork Gaines of Business Insider in 2019 told the story of a time Woods called in sick to a golf tournament so he could go fishing.
Woods has also posted on social media about his love for fishing. There are plenty of different images with Woods holding fish that he caught.
Fishing isn't the most unique hobby. Many professional athletes look forward to spending time on a lake and casting a line. Still, the fact that Woods loves fishing so much that he apparently missed a golf tournament for the hobby stands out.
Austin Reaves: Making Golf YouTube/TikTok Videos
In similar fashion to fishing, golfing is an extremely popular hobby for professional athletes. So singling out one player to discuss their golfing hobby would be nearly impossible. Instead, we opted to go with Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves and his golfing presence on social media.
Reaves made a golfing-based TikTok and later even created a YouTube channel dedicated to the sport. Reaves' YouTube channel, Hillbilly Bogey, has over 7,000 subscribers.
Not only is Reaves a good golfer, but he is capable of hitting some incredible trick shots. He also happens to be finding plenty of success in the NBA with the Lakers. But hey, if the whole basketball thing ends up not working out for some reason, he has a career already set up as a golf influencer.
Mookie Betts: Bowling
Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts is one of those guys who's good at everything he does. There are videos of Betts playing other sports and performing well, but Betts' passion is bowling.
Betts is one of the best players in baseball. When he isn't on the field, though, Betts is often in a bowling alley. It seems as if Betts could carve out a career as a professional bowler if he wanted to, as he previously participated in the 2023 PBA U.S. Open Championship, per Brian Murphy of MLB.com, which wasn't even the first time Betts competed in a PBA event.
Patrick Mahomes: Collecting Sneakers
Collecting sneakers is another common hobby for professional athletes. We will focus on Patrick Mahomes' sneaker collection, however.
Mahomes, a superstar quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, said he had 180 pairs of shoes in 2019, via Bleacher Report. He also has his own shoe, via Adidas.
Between having his own and collecting shoes, it's safe to say that Mahomes is a sneakerhead.
Justin Tucker: Opera Singer
Alright, we've seen a few unique hobbies on this list, but Justin Tucker's hobby will catch your attention. The Baltimore Ravens kicker, who happens to be one of the best kickers in NFL history, is also a talented opera singer.
A video surfaced of Tucker singing in 2015, per the Baltimore Ravens. He also starred in an NFL commercial and displayed his vocal talent in 2022. So how did an NFL star get into opera?
According to the Ravens' website, Tucker learned to sing opera in English, Russian, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Latin and Czech while majoring in music at the University of Texas Butler School of Music.
Perhaps Tucker would have become a famous musician if the football thing did not work out. In the end, though, Tucker reached the NFL and became arguably the best kicker the game has ever seen, potentially denying the opera world its next big star.
Aaron Donald: Ping Pong
Aaron Donald excels at putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. He's a QB's worst nightmare coming from the defensive line.
When Donald, a star for the Los Angeles Rams, isn't terrorizing his opponents on the football field, he's likely dominating at ping pong.
It's known that Donald is a fan of the game. During an episode of Hard Knocks, Donald showed off his ping pong prowess, via NFL.com.
Ping pong is a game most people enjoy, but few would be able to keep up with Aaron Donald.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Bingo
Cristiano Ronaldo is not just a famous soccer player, but one of the most famous people in the world. He can utilize his fame and spend his fortune to get just about anything he wants, but Ronaldo apparently spends a lot of time playing bingo.
Ronaldo reportedly used bingo while learning English, according to Bleacher Report. He also simply enjoys the game.
Who would have guessed that arguably the biggest athlete-celebrity would be a fan of bingo?
Damian Lillard: Rapper
Finally, we saved Damian Lillard for last. It's difficult to refer to Lillard's interest in rap as a "hobby," because he has a legitimate rap career.
Lillard, who goes by Dame D.O.L.L.A. on his rap albums, began rapping as a hobby. He's been releasing music since 2015 and has even collaborated with stars in hip-hop such as Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg.
