Despite Roger Federer’s retirement 2 years ago, there still lies an unsolved question regarding him. Guess what, it is also one of the most talked-about topics in the tennis world, the GOAT debate. The center of attraction in this regard has been the Big Three, namely Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. While the latter has dominated statistically, many argue that Federer was naturally gifted and Nadal is undoubtedly the King of Clay. Although this debate is far from settling, NBA legend, Dirk Nowitzki, further added some spice to this topic.

Earlier today, a clip of Tennis Channel’s A BIS Z podcast was shared on Instagram. It featured Alexander Zverev alongside Nowitzki as they combined tennis with basketball. While there was an interesting mix of the two sports, Nowitzki made his bias clear when it came to the GOAT debate in tennis.

Comparing tennis icons to the ones in the NBA, he said, “Novak Djokovic has to be either LeBron or Michael Jordan. Jordan was my GOAT. Six championships during the 90s. For me, still the GOAT even though LeBron broke all the records but if you loved Jordan as a kid, you can’t lose that love.” 

Like Djokovic, Jordan is also considered one of the greatest to play in the NBA. He won 6 NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls and six NBA Finals MVP awards. On the other hand, LeBron James has had 4 NBA Championships under his belt and 4 NBA Finals MVP awards. Additionally, he also holds the record for being the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Similarly, the stats are in favor of Djokovic as far as the GOAT debate in tennis is concerned, as he has gone on to win an astonishing 24 Grand Slam titles.

Talking about Nowitzki, he is no stranger to tennis and the sport was in fact his ‘first love.’ “I watch tennis a lot. I love tennis. I grew up playing tennis, so I’ve followed the sport my entire life,” he once said. While Nowitzki seems to consider Djokovic the greatest of all time, is the Serb really his favorite player? Let’s find out.

When Dirk Nowitzki left Novak Djokovic for Rafael Nadal

Nowitzki is a big fan of tennis and has been following the sport since his childhood. The NBA legend once made his views clear on which tennis player he liked the most and interestingly, it was Nadal instead of Djokovic. Talking about it, Nowitzki said, “I’m a Nadal guy. In his prime, nobody has ever seen a forehand like his with that power and amount of spin, and the way he swings it over his head it is like a frikkin lasso. It is just amazing. I am a huge Nadal fan.”

However, Nowitzki didn’t shy away from heaping praise on Djokovic either, as he further revealed, “He really knows how to create from the return and go get the point from there. He doesn’t have any weaknesses and his movement is incredible. He is probably one of the first to start sliding on hard courts. He’s the one of the best defenders tennis’ has ever seen.”

It is heartening to see that two major sports cross paths as NBA legend, Nowitzki, is a die-hard fan of tennis. Do you agree with what Nowitzki seems to suggest though? Is Djokovic the greatest to have ever played the racquet sport? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.