💬 Discussion 💬

Who has the bigger legacy in padel, Lebron or Galan?

1054 commentsu/GopSome1w ago

As of today of course. And where would you rank them in your opinions among the sport’s greats? Personally I think the answer is obvious but still I’m curious what everyone else thinks.

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Comments (54)

u/lilgambler1w ago

I don't think it's so clear. Lebron was 4 years number 1, consecutive, he was part of a revolution in the right side player. Of course Galan is an overall better and more consistent player, but I feel that for the sport, Lebron was more important, he introduced a new way of playing Padel from the right side.

u/ThomasShelbyPB1w ago

I’m quite new to the sport. Care to share how he revolutionised the right position?

u/Datashot1w ago

Basically he got world #1 with Paquito Navarro in 2019, then switched teammates to Galan in 2020 and were #1s for 3 years: 2020, 2021, 2022. He was revolutionary in the sense that right handed right side players were seen as almost purely tactical and defensive players, setting up points for left side players to make the winners. Lebrón used to be a left side player but switched to the right side to play with Paquito and ended revolutionising the topspin smash from the right side, making it his signature move and becoming for quite a while the best smasher in the circuit, while also being among the best defenders in the circuit... a perfect combination that no other right side player could match. I would say Sanyo paved the way for this though, during his prime he reached #1 in 2018 after tons of years being #2-#3 player, and he also had a very above average offensive prowess. Lebron's was simply exaggerated though, being able to win points with almost any lob sent to him. Since then Lebron has lost offensive prowess/consistency after his injury in early 2023, hasn't found a teammate as good as Galán or prime Paquito, and then-rookies Tapia and Coello rose up to reach even greater heights in terms of offensive prowess than prime Galan-Lebron managed to achieve...

u/labtecoza1w ago

It's absolutely Lebron, no question. Recency bias has a lot of people saying Galan but Lebron's ultra attacking right sided play style revolutionized padel into the sport it is today I think Galan is the overall better player and will be more succesful in the end (i mean there's no way of Lebron catching up anymore besides partnering with Tapia). But legacy-wise it's Lebron

u/GopSomeOP1w ago

For the moment it’s still Galan that has to catch up though. Lebron was number one 4 times with 2 different partners. Galan was only number one when playing with Lebron.

u/labtecoza1w ago

As number one, sure. Was thinking more in terms of titles

u/FlatulistMaster1w ago

I honestly think that Lebron was #1 because he played with Galan, not the other way around. There are a handful of players at that time that you could switch in for Lebron and Galan would be nr 1 during the same years. The same does not go for Lebron.

u/Gokvak1w ago

Lol. Its not even a question anymore. It was maybe when they were at their peak together. In my opinion though, what you can say about Lebron is; he the 3rd best right side player in the world after Coello and Chingotto.

u/GopSomeOP1w ago

I meant historically in terms of legacy not who’s the better player right now. Of course it is a question still. Being number two for a couple of years counts for nothing in terms of legacy.

u/SANcapITY1w ago

Lebron and Galan won tournaments together and were number 1. In the last few years Lebron has won nothing while Galan is in the #2 pairing and is winning tournaments against the #1s. Galan's longevity at the top of the sport, while winning, absolutely counts for his legacy.

u/efuab0111w ago

2nd best to be honest

u/TacticalStf1w ago

Are you ranking him above: Chingo or Coello? And why? I love to watch him play, his Chiquita's and counters are unmatched, but he is not always consistent throughout a whole match like Chingotto or Coello are

u/Maleficent-State-3961w ago

Lebron is such an interesting case, he looks like the best right-handed right side player out there, he can do things most other right siders can’t. But because of this he tends to make combinations worse. I saw that Galan averages the most smash winners per match with 11 - Leo is second with 9.something, but Lebron is also up there with 7.4. It seems like it’s better to have an absolute rock on the right, especially if your partner is Galan. If padel was played 1v1, Lebron would be much better than he is as a part of a couple. His attitude also absolutely sucks from what I’ve seen. How many partners do you need to fight with before you consider you may be the problem? In my opinion, Galan is much bigger than Lebron. Overall, I think the most important player is Coello, he is the biggest difference.

u/GameOfPadel1w ago

I think they both ruined a greater legacy when they broke up

u/FlatulistMaster1w ago

Maybe in theory, but under the circumstances of a human relationship going awry, there was most likely no way it wasn't going to go sour.

u/GopSomeOP1w ago

Yep, but it makes sense that they did.

u/Percevaul1w ago

The question is about legacy so unless Galán finds a way to be #1 again, right now it's Lebron. As much as I hate the guy, he was #1 before getting together with Galán and revolutionized the right side forever. Even when he switched to the left, there's a discussion to be had about him being the 3rd best left that season depending on your estimation of a bad Paquito and Stupa season. The more you know about padel, the more you can see that the guy is as talented as he is an asshole. Whether Galán or Lebron is the better overall player is besides the point, though I think there's a good argument for Ale. It's also true that both of them can be similarly critized for tarnishing their reputation with their behavior in that infamous WPT final in Santiago. In my eyes, they both made a huge mistake and I have a hard time separating them from that.

u/schadenfreude3451w ago

Just depends by legacy whether it means 1. Who achieved the most in their career 2. Who was the best player over their career 3. Who is most influential on how padel has developed. Seems pretty obvious to me that the answer to 1 is Galan, 3 is Lebron and 2 you can debate but I would say Galan due to longevity.

u/GopSomeOP1w ago

Legacy is everything, all of what you mentioned combined. Personally I think that the answer to 1 and 3 is obviously Lebron. And the answer to 2 is a 60/40 but Lebron still edges it.

u/schadenfreude3451w ago

For #1 I think it's a hard disagree. Currently 41 titles vs 56 titles. Even that extra world #1 in 2019 came very close despite Galan changing partners.

u/MidwestRacquetSports1w ago

Galan is a force but I think Lebron is more skilled. Personally I enjoy watching Lebron more but I miss watching them together. I think a reunion vs tapia and coello would be amazing and great awareness for the sport.

u/PinnPin431w ago

Galan for me, but it's closer than people admit. His consistency across partners and years is what separates him. Lebron is an all-time athlete and changed what physical play looks like at the top level, but Galan's game has translated across more eras and more partnerships. The interesting wrinkle is that a lot of their legacy is intertwined because they built so much of it together. Hard to fully separate them. Where I'd rank them all-time: Bela is still in a tier alone, then I'd put Galan, then Lebron just behind. But that's a top 3 in the sport's history either way.