Rafael Nadal, LeBron James and Lewis Hamilton were for obvious reasons the biggest winners in sports in the just concluded week
The trio were celebrated and would be for a very long time after achieving individual remarkable feats in their various sports over the weekend.
Their achievements have in-fact brought back the discussion of these athletes being called the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in their respective sports.
In this article, NetBet Nigeria takes a look at their remarkable feats over the weekend and how it has impacted on where they ranked in their sports.
1. Rafael Nadal (Tennis)
Rafael Nadal was invincible against Novak Djokovic in the Roland Garros final on Sunday. The Spaniard with ease beat the world number one to claim his 13th French Open title.
He defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-0 6-2 7-5 for his 100th win at Roland Garros and for his record equalling 20th grand slam.
In fact, Rafael Nadal has played 102 games at the French Open and only had defeats in two games against Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic.
Of those 100 wins for Nadal, an incredible 81 have come without him dropping a set, 17 have come in four sets, and on two occasions he has won in five.
He has had 27 victories against players ranked inside the top 10 during his century of French successes and has never lost when he has reached the semi-final stage.
Nadal has now moved to 999 career wins across all tournaments, with 201 defeats, and has captured 86 titles.
In the titles reckoning he sits fourth in the Open Era (behind Jimmy Connors’ 109, Federer’s 103 and Ivan Lendl’s 94). A startling 60 of those titles from Nadal have come on clay.
Rafael Nadal has been a fixture in the top 10 on the ATP Tour since first breaking through to that level in April 2005 and has spent 209 weeks at world number one, a position he last occupied before last year’s Australian Open.
He has won one Australian Open title, 13 now in Paris, two at Wimbledon and four at the US Open.
His remarkable achievements in tennis has made a few section of fans to name him the tennis GOAT.
Actions continue in tennis with ATPs and you can bet on tennis our our platform.
2. LeBron James (Basketball)
The Los Angeles Lakers completed a 4-2 series win against the Miami Heat with a 106-93 win in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to claim their first championship since 2010.
LeBron James who joined the Purple and Gold two seasons ago from Cleveland Cavaliars helped Lakers to another in Orlando, Florida on Sunday.
The 35-year-old who broke the record for most playoff appearances with 260 – captured a fourth NBA title after posting his 11th Finals triple-double of 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the win.
Lebron James who won his fourth finals MVP award is now the first player in NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL history to win the Finals MVP with three different teams, having also received the honour with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
In his 17th season, James moved clear of Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan with a fourth MVP – now only trailing Michael Jordan (six).
James also set another NBA playoff record, appearing in his 260th postseason game.
He moved into first place on the all-time list for playoff appearances, surpassing Derek Fisher.
Of the 4,489 players to have participated in an NBA regular-season contest, 63 per cent have not reached 260 games.
He before now has been in the GOAT conversation but seems with his feat for La Lakers he now has more people on his side who think he not Michael Jordan is the Basketball GOAT.
3. Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1)
Lewis Hamilton won his 91st F1 win on Sunday at the German Grand Prix to equal the great Michael Schumacher’s record haul.
The Brit who already surpassed the German on the most pole position wins ensured he equals his idol on Sunday when he took the chequered flag before Red Bull’s Max Versteppen and Daniel Ricciardo who finished second and third respectively.
