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It certainly doesn't suck to be Sasha Vujacic. After hitching his star to Kobe Bryant, he and the rest of his teammates became the envy of the NBA, helping the Lakers win their 15th championship in franchise history. And now? After reportedly hooking up with Maria Sharapova, he's become the envy of men, period.




Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I should note that Sharapova has yet to be seen at a Staples Center courtside seat wearing a Vujacic jersey (they sell those, right?), but the two were seen "cuddling up" in public at a recent U2 concert, as reported by CNBC's Darren Rovell. Clearly, that's enough to go on, right? OK, maybe not, but whatever is going on, Vujacic is in no hurry to set the record straight.

From Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register:

Vujacic, 25, danced around the topic of his dating tennis star Maria Sharapova, 22, for several minutes without any suggestion of a denial on his part. Vujacic did not explicitly confirm, but he was grinning revealingly through most of my conversation with him - and other sources verified the relationship is legit. Vujacic said he wasn't sure he could answer a "highly personal question" from me, but later did say with a smile: "I like tennis. It's a good sport."
Quick aside: it's a good thing Ding received confirmation from other sources, because what heterosexual male wouldn't play coy with such allegations? Even if it weren't true, the rumor raises his stock with the rest of the ladies, no?

In any case, while the two athletes don't make the most obvious pairing -- Sharapova likely could have her pick of most single NBA players (and, ahem, a few of the married ones, too) -- Ding notes that they both live in Manhattan Beach, so at least it's convenient. Plus, Vujacic was born in Slovenia and, before being drafted by the Lakers, played professionally in Italy, so he's got that whole "worldly" thing that girls tend to dig. Even if he's gotten off to a slow start on the court this season, he's certainly keeping pace with his teammates in the gossip pages.