"LeBron James is the biggest star in the Paris Olympics; Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal are not far away" - Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud recently engaged in a discussion with a fan as the latter claimed that NBA superstar LeBron James was the biggest star at the Paris Olympics 2024. Ruud countered that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were the superstars at the event.

The biggest sporting spectacle, the Paris Olympics 2024 opened on July 26 with a grand opening ceremony, that brought together this generation's biggest sporting superstars, such as LeBron James, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Simone Biles, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Katie Ledecky, and many more.

A debate arose on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the sportsperson with the biggest star power. One fan chimed in that four-time NBA Championship Ring winner LeBron James was the biggest star at the event. He was also one of the flag bearers for the USA, along with Coco Gauff.

"The biggest star in the Olympics and it's not even close. I really don't think we understand the dimension here in Norway. Team USA with LeBron (39) pushing all boundaries of what we thought was possible - on a team with his archenemy(s) Curry (36) and Durant (35). It is the Olympics' biggest show," the fan wrote along with the picture of James with the American flag at the opening ceremony parade (translated from Norwegian).

Casper Ruud replied:

"Djokovic and Nadal?"

The fan then argued his case, saying:

"Will be allowed to fight for the podium places behind LeBron with Curry. But LeBron is probably clear if you measure in most metrics that are not Grand Slams."

Ruud then said they could compare the year-end World No. 1 to winning the NBA Finals as a metric and the tennis legends would still come on top.

"If you don't want to measure with Grand slams, can we measure year end number 1 then? So he who ends the year ranked number 1. maybe a bit like winning the nba finals? Djokovic has done it 8 times and Nadal 5. LeBron and Curry have 4 rings each?"

The fan said that the NBA superstar was the better marketable star among the three, taking into account social media numbers and brand deals. For context, LeBron James ranked second in the Most Marketable Athletes 2023 list by SportsPro Media, while Novak Djokovic was 11 and Rafael Nadal was 41.

"It probably won't be quite the same. LeBron has probably been regarded as the best player in the NBA for at least 10 years. Without having the check, I'm betting a lot on leBron beating them well on social media and brand deals etc - which is surely the best indicator of who is the biggest star?"

Ruud maintained that Djokovic and Nadal were the best sports stars based on a purely sporting record basis.

"I don't know what to emphasize the most, but I can agree that lebron is the biggest star in the Olympics. Djoko, Nadal, Curry, McIlroy are not far away in my eyes, and I think what Djoko and Rafa have done purely sportingly is better than everyone else, but it's not objective," Ruud said.

Casper Ruud to make his Olympic debut

Casper Ruud at Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Source: Getty)

Casper Ruud is set to make his debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The former World No. 2 could not compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to COVID-19. The Norwegian accompanied his country's best athletes during the opening ceremony boat parade.

Ahead of his campaign, he also trained with Sumit Nadal, India's sole tennis player in singles. Casper Ruud will begin his campaign against Japanese Taro Daniels. Daniels slightly edges the Norwegian 1-0 in their head-to-head.