Casper Ruud shares the ‘hot take’ he has about Novak Djokovic and LeBron James as athletes 

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It is not often that NBA legend LeBron James gets brought into the tennis conversation alongside Novak Djokovic.

That being said, James was an Olympic flag bearer alongside Coco Gauff at the Paris Games last year.

It appears that he was also keeping a keen eye on the action in the tennis matches, as James actually congratulated Novak Djokovic after he won Olympic gold for the first time.

Three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud was also involved in the Paris Olympics last year, and he has now made a bold claim when comparing Djokovic to James.

Casper Ruud says LeBron James might crush Novak Djokovic in some physical tests

Ruud, who is the current world number 13, was asked for a ‘hot take’ when speaking to Overtime Tennis.

It did not take the Norwegian long to come up with an answer, as Ruud was full of praise for 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and called him ‘the greatest athlete of any sport’.

As he continued his assessment, Ruud claimed that Djokovic would ‘crush’ NFL legend Tom Brady, before weighing back a bit and suggesting that James could also crush the Serbian in some disciplines.

“Novak is the greatest athlete of any sport in history, yeah, in the history of sports,” said Ruud. “I don’t want to compare because it’s stupid, but if you take Novak’s athleticism next to Brady, Brady’s the GOAT don’t get me wrong, but I think Novak would crush him in most of the physical tests that you can do.

“And then again LeBron would maybe crush Novak in certain physical, so I don’t know, but for me Novak is the greatest athlete that ever lived.”

Casper Ruud vs Novak Djokovic Head-to-Head

Coming from two completely different sports, it is almost impossible to compare the careers of James, Brady and Djokovic, who are all legends in their respective disciplines.

The only one of those who Ruud has experienced competing against is Djokovic, and their head-to-head would explain why he holds the 38-year-old in such high regard.

Ruud has played Djokovic on six occasions before and won just one match, which was actually their most recent at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2024.

One of their matches was actually a Grand Slam final, where Djokovic beat Ruud at Roland Garros in 2023.

The next time both players can go head-to-head is at the US Open, with the singles draw beginning on Sunday, August 24.

Both Djokovic and Ruud also feature in the revamped mixed doubles tournament, and could play if their respective teams both reach the semifinals.