| If we were to do a Sports "Quarter"Century ranking so far through 2024, I think Tiger Woods is my easy #1 choice. Messi/Bolt/Phelps/Brady/LeBron/Djokovic/Serena and a bunch of others are in the convo. But besides maybe Messi, I don't think anyone really can compare to Tiger in terms of greatness. |
Interesting idea. Thought it needed its own thread. Using his names:
Tiger: Could be #1 except for flaming out post 2008 and having 3 of his years not in this Century.
Messi: Dominant, but only 1 World Cup. Pele had 3.
Bolt: Dominated 3 straight Olympics, but PED rumors linger.
Phelps: Won a lot of Golds, but swimming is watered down so that's possible #Mark Spitz
Brady: Hard to find fault here. 7 Rings and could have had a couple more with consistent high level play. But I can't get out of my head his lack of elite athleticism.
LeBron: 10 Finals, including 8 straight with JAG coaching and teammates for the most part. Average Basketball IQ, however (among great players), as he simply dominated physically.
Djokovic: What's impressive about Joker is that he had to compete his entire career with 2 of the other great players ever and still put up 24 Majors. Not much to fault.
Serena: Like Joker, had to compete against good competition, especially her sister, and put up big numbers. Her sportsmanship left a lot to be desired, however, and that maters to me.
So I would rate the list like this:
1) LeBron
2) Djokovic
3) Brady
4) Bolt
5) Serena
6) Tiger
7) Phelps
8) Messi
Measuring Messi solely by his World Cuo wins and Tiger by his shortcomings after his issues seems dumb imo.
Measuring Messi solely by his World Cuo wins and Tiger by his shortcomings after his issues seems dumb imo.
I downgraded Tiger because we can't use the 90's as a data point. Did not factor in his off course issues other than his results. Injuries are a part of sports and should be considered.
He’s absolutely the man who dominated more than anyone else. We kinda all know this. Messi being a soccer God is why you can argue him.
I love LeBron. I’ve defended him so much and continue to do so because as a “pure” athletic specimen, he’s that guy. The “IQ” thing is hilarious because he’s insanely smart too. Never seen so much “dumb hate” as with the idiots who say he’s not MJ as if that’s some sort of insult. He’s truly amazing.
He’s not above Messi or Tiger or Bolt. Bolt is the only argument to be had because of how quick his success was. But him embarrassing the world in terms of “fastest” stands out A LOT.
It’s Tiger or Messi. Don’t think 3rd place is particularly close. Maybe LeBron ahead of the Olympic guys because of his nonsensical longevity, but Bolt simply peaked as “that guy” in a way we hadn’t seen since Tiger at least.
Barry Bonds is probably the most unfair athlete I’ve seen in this century though. Unfortunate he was so stupid.
Woods would be 3, but I can see the argument of him being top 2. Lebron is not number 1. My first three had absolutely no rivals and dominated their sports like no one has ever seen.
1.) Tiger
2.) Brady
3.) Messi (or Rinaldo?)
4.) LeBron
5.) Serena/Djokovic
6.) Phelps
7.) Bolt
Not irrelevant. We're talking about 25 years, not 10. If you're including the 90's with his 6 Am Titles as well, sure, he's #1/2, but that's not the case the way it's framed. You have to fit into the timeline.