Kobe Bryant’s Legendary Teammate Snubs Roger Federer to Name Another Tennis Legend as “GOAT”

The debate about who is the greatest of all time among Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic will continue as long as they remain active.

Currently, Nadal is sitting at the top with the most number of Grand Slam titles while Djokovic and Federer are at 20 majors. Even players outside of tennis voiced their opinion on who is the best amongst the three. Recently, former LA Lakers star and the teammate of Kobe Bryant joined in on the debate.

Pau Gasol snubs Roger Federer and chose Rafael Nadal as the Goat

Pau Gasol rose to fame when he played in the NBA alongside Kobe Bryant in the Los Angeles Lakers jersey. Although he was a basketball player, he is an avid follower of tennis. Recently, ATP’s official Twitter handle posted a question for all the fans, as they wrote, “Rafael Nadal is __________.”

Interestingly, Gasol replied to that post with the goat emoji as he made his opinion clear on who he thinks is the greatest of all time. 

Watch This Story: ATP players choose sides in the Goat debate between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic

Both Nadal and Gasol are great friends off the court. As COVID-19 wrecked havoc across the world, they joined forces to raise money to fight against the pandemic. The basketball player also congratulated Nadal after his Australian Open triumph earlier in the Summer. He tweeted, “21 Grand Slams, which are nothing compared to the legacy that you enlarge day by day. Congratulations, @RafaelNadal !!!” (Google Translate)

Nadal is eying for his 4th straight title in 2022

With the absence of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the tour, Rafael Nadal is having an incredible 2022. First, he won the Melbourne Summer Set event before the Australian Open and went on to clinch the ‘happy slam’.  Later, he won at Acapulco as well to win his third consecutive trophy this year.

Currently, the Spaniard is all set to play the BNP Paribas Open final and is all set to compete for his fourth title against Taylor Fritz. After suffering a serious foot injury last year, the resurgence of Rafael Nadal has to be one of the highlights of this season.

The absence of Novak and Roger could also be another factor working in Nadal’s favor. However, we could see Novak at the French Open, as the government eased out restrictions on the vaccine mandate. As for Federer, he recently posted a practice video and is slowly gearing up to make a comeback soon, possibly at Wimbledon. 

Read More: ‘Biggest Impact Going to Be In Wimbledon’- Rafael Nadal Weighs in on New Tie Break Rule for Fifth Sets