Basketball Came Naturally To Lilo The TikTok Famous Corgi!

Lilo, the basketball-loving corgi, has entertained NBA fans with her predictions during the semifinals and now the finals.

Despite being considered an underdog with short legs, she's a talented baller, and her owner said it only took her about "25 minutes to perfect" her basketball skills.

Lilo's owner, Denny Ku, recently spoke to ESPN about the 8-year-old pup's basketball skills and NBA game predictions.

Ku said that Lilo picked up the sport during the pandemic, and it didn't take long before she mastered it. It only took her about 25 minutes to be a pro!

"I think one of the best things and something that I've related to is this underdog story of Lilo. If you imagine the stereotypical dog playing basketball, you'd probably imagine a golden retriever. And it's quite the opposite, you know, it's just this little corgi with stubby legs, no tail - undersized in all possible ways," Ku told ESPN.

"And she's out here just making the most breathtaking buckets. And I think for me, as an Asian American and also being a minority in sports as well, I connect with her in that way."

Finding her exceptional talent in hitting shots was an accident that turned into something unique.

"My wife had a birthday party, and there were a bunch of balloons everywhere, and Lilo was just fascinated just hitting them up in the air," he explained. "One of the balloons fell into this basket, and then we all thought, 'It would be crazy if we could teach her to do this on command and teach her how to play basketball.'"

And that's just what happened. Lilo quickly learned how to be a baller. And even better, she began predicting who would win certain games. Ku estimates that Lilo's predictions have been about 70% right throughout the NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs. Ku said, "She gets the teams right, but when it comes to the number of games, that's a little bit more on and off."

In a recent video shared on social media, the adorable pup predicted that the Denver Nuggets would be the 2023 NBA Champions over the Miami Heat. "In corgi, we trust" that it will be the Nuggets in six!

Although, during this prediction video, the pup seemed to have an off day missing quite a few shots. Fans had a lot of jokes in the comment section.

"Since corgi missed so many times for the third game, game three will be hell crazy, haha," one person hilariously wrote. Another added, "Quadruple Overtime Game 3 confirmed."

Lilo accurately predicted that the Nuggets would advance to the NBA Finals, but she chose the Boston Celtics over the Heat. So, she was half right. She also predicted that the winner of the Eastern Conference finals would be decided in Game 7, and she was correct about that.

Now we wait to see how this Finals series plays out. Will the Nuggets win like Lilo predicts?

A book about the adorable TikTok famous corgi named "An Underdog's Tail," written by Ku, was released in late 2022.

A description of the book on Amazon reads, "Merriam Webster defines a Corgi as a short-legged, long-backed dog with foxy head. None of those words describes a future basketball PAW-dingy, but Lilo Furry is ready to break down all barriers."

The description continued, "As basketball tryouts are just around the corner, Lilo Furry must decide whether she will be defined by how the world sees her or create her own story. Join Lilo on her journey to being the Most Valuable Puppy of all time."

For more information about Lilo and her book, visit her website, TikTok and Instagram.