LeBron James is GOAT, beating Michael Jordan?

By Al S. Mendoza

 

WHO is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) in tennis and in basketball?

In tennis, it’s a tossup between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

In basketball, between Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Federer, from Switzerland, and Nadal, from Spain, are now tied for the most number of wins in Grand Slam tournaments with 20 apiece.

A Grand Slam is a major event where the winner is automatically ranked as one of the greats in the sport.

There are four Slams played each year: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Federer and Nadal are multiple Slam winners, way ahead in their collection of trophies over their rivals.

The closest to them is Novak Djokovic, the Serbian with 18 Slams.

In the just-ended French Open, Djokovic was aiming to defend his crown.

But luck wasn’t on his side as he faced Nadal in the title clash.

As expected, he was routed by Nadal—in three lopsided, embarrassing sets—to miss a 19th Slam that would have tied him with the Spaniard.

Nobody was surprised, though.

Before their meeting, Nadal’s 12 of 19 Slams were won in the French Open.

Before their meeting, Nadal was 99-2 (win-loss) in his French Open outings.

So devastating is Nadal in the French Open that he has long earned the moniker, “King of Clay.”

The surface in the French Open is made of powdered red clay.

The Australian Open is played on cement-hard surface, Wimbledon grass and the U.S. Open synthetic.

The Big 3 in tennis—Federer, Nadal and Djokovic—have won them all.

Between Federer and Nadal, I pick Nadal as the GOAT—for now, that is—simply because of his 13 wins in the French Open. To see that toppled, even equaled, is like saying Timbuktu will defeat the U.S. in a military fight.

And to think that Federer is now also 39, hobbled with a knee injury.  Age is not on his side, indeed.

Maybe Djokovic can still catch Nadal, the Serbian being only 33?

However, at 34, Nadal still looks, plays and gallops like a 24-year-old stud.

Now between Jordan and James, Jordan is still up—but slightly.

Retired and the owner of six NBA titles, Jordan leads James by two.  Just two.

In winning his fourth NBA crown by recently spearheading the Los Angeles Lakers’ 4-2 Finals victory over the Miami Heat, James appeared bull-strong despite legs of 35 summers.

If James equals Jordan’s six NBA rings—not farfetched, I tell you—he’d be the runaway GOAT.

Already, James has overtaken Jordan in virtually all departments of the game, records-wise—like most points scored, most triple-doubles, most games played, most minutes played, most assists, most rebounds and many more most.

One strong argument for James is he won his four titles with three different coaches having different systems—and with different teammates each time.

Jordan had only one system under only one coach, and had practically the same teammates in his six-crown haul with the Chicago Bulls.

The debate will rage on, surely, but it will only enrich basketball lore.

A boon to the game in the long run—absolutely.

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