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| The greatest athlete of the 21st century? That's easy. It has to be Tom Brady, the quarterback of the greatest dynasty America's favorite sport has ever seen, a seven-time Super Bowl champ and five-time Super Bowl MVP. Yep. Tom Brady. Except. Except it has to be Lionel Messi, the best player in the world's favorite sport, an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as the footballer of the year. Yep, definitely Messi. Except ... no ... LeBron James, right? Four-time NBA champ, four-time Finals MVP, four-time regular-season MVP, 20-time All-NBA, most points scored in NBA history. No athlete has dominated the public conversation like LeBron has. He has to be No. 1. Except, what about Serena Williams? Winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, the Serena Slam (holding all four major titles at the same time) and four Olympic gold medals. And she got her final Grand Slam event win while pregnant, putting her career on hold while she was at her most dominant. Except, if you are going to pick a tennis player, what about Roger Federer? He transformed an entire sport with his artistry, his chess game on the court, his blazing forehand. He won 20 Grand Slam titles and became the most beloved tennis player of all time. Gotta be Fed. Yeah, except Rafael Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles and Novak Djokovic has won 24. You have to pick one of them over Federer. Hmm. Maybe this isn't so easy. We didn't even mention the Olympians: Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles. Or Kobe. Gotta throw Kobe Bryant into the discussion. Or Lewis Hamilton. Or Peyton Manning. Or Floyd Mayweather. Or Tiger. Geez, almost forgot about Tiger Woods. Yes, ranking the top 100 most accomplished athletes since 2000 wasn't quite so easy after all -- but it sure was fun. Twenty-five years ago, the ESPN SportsCentury project ranked the top 100 North American athletes of the 20th century. Michael Jordan came in first, followed by Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Wayne Gretzky. (Ruth should have been No. 1, but hey, I'm a baseball writer.) We also ranked a horse: Secretariat came in at No. 35. With so many transcendent athletes over the past 25 years, we thought it was time to do another ranking. I promise you there are no horses this time (sorry, American Pharoah). In considering the best athletes of the 21st century, however, we have expanded our choices beyond North America. ESPN editions from around the globe contributed to the nominations and voting process, as well as the individual sport list rankings that will follow. Voters were instructed to consider only an athlete's performance since 2000. So, for Barry Bonds: He won seven MVP awards, but only four of those came after 2000, as did 317 of his 762 home runs. Or Ken Griffey Jr.: He played until 2010, but all of his best seasons came in the 1990s. Tiger won 13 of his 15 majors from 2000 on, so he's in good shape. Other athletes, such as Patrick Mahomes or Nikola Jokic or Shohei Ohtani, obviously have more greatness ahead of them, so we'll see how high their accomplishments so far get them on the list. |
Lewis Hamilton??
Aaron Rodgers in the 90s is embarrassing. Guy should be ahead of at least 40 other people.
I have Messi by a mile.
My first thought when I saw the thread title is Tiger and I'll stick with my first instinct.
Yes, he was. 23 gold medals (and was rarely challenged) and 28 medals total. He was in five Olympics and took 5 golds in that 5th Olympics and in the 4×100 relay that year he had the fastest split of his career at age 31 (Bolt ran slower times in his third Olympics). Phelps also was, in 2000, the youngest swimmer represent the US since 1932.
And, on a side note, Ledecky has been the most dominating women's swimmer over the last three Olympics.
And I'm not even a swimming fan. What they have done, and these numbers are just for the Olympics, and for how long they did it, is just incredible.
My first thought when I saw the thread title is Tiger and I'll stick with my first instinct.
It's a list for athletes since 2000.
I actually think that's a close call between those two.
Why the hell is Garnett so high at 23? From a basketball standpoint, I'd put Wade over him...easily.
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but Jordan over Ruth is silly. In fact anyone over Ruth is silly for the 20th century IMO.
My first thought when I saw the thread title is Tiger and I'll stick with my first instinct.
It's a list for athletes since 2000.
I know I read it and if you did too you would see the author mentions the ESPN list for the 20th century where Jordan was #1 and Ruth was #2.
As for KG being as high as he was, I agree. Him being ahead of The Joker, Durant, & Giannis...a total joke.
#1 is either Messi or Tiger.
I’d also take Bolt over Phelps, with both in the Top 5 mix and possibly as the #3. Brady comes next and then LeBron/Djokovic/Biles/Serena/Mayweather and a few others in mix after that.
I can’t believe I have to defend this asshole but it’s criminal how disrespected TO has become after his retirement. He was a diva but also nothing short of an all-time football great. He was disgustingly forced to wait to the 2nd ballot to make the Hall because of how bitchy the media is. He is always ignored on Top 100 lists for football and sports in general like this.
Randy Moss at 27 and TO not on the list at all? Garbage. Moss was the best deep threat ever and if you want to say he was a little better than TO that’s fine. But it wasn’t by much. TO was a far more complete player and played much harder on the field. He also had a heroic SB performance after serious injury that people continue to ignore because of their loss to the Pats.
A lot of things wrong with this particular list. But it does bug me how Owens gets overshadowed so much by Moss when he was arguably better.
#1 is either Messi or Tiger.
I’d also take Bolt over Phelps, with both in the Top 5 mix and possibly as the #3. Brady comes next and then LeBron/Djokovic/Biles/Serena/Mayweather and a few others in mix after that.
I can’t believe I have to defend this asshole but it’s criminal how disrespected TO has become after his retirement. He was a diva but also nothing short of an all-time football great. He was disgustingly forced to wait to the 2nd ballot to make the Hall because of how bitchy the media is. He is always ignored on Top 100 lists for football and sports in general like this.
Randy Moss at 27 and TO not on the list at all? Garbage. Moss was the best deep threat ever and if you want to say he was a little better than TO that’s fine. But it wasn’t by much. TO was a far more complete player and played much harder on the field. He also had a heroic SB performance after serious injury that people continue to ignore because of their loss to the Pats.
A lot of things wrong with this particular list. But it does bug me how Owens gets overshadowed so much by Moss when he was arguably better.
Didn't Renaldo score more goals in international play than Messi? Hard to be no. 1 overall when you aren't even no. 1 in scoring in your own sport.
Didn't Renaldo score more goals in international play than Messi? Hard to be no. 1 overall when you aren't even no. 1 in scoring in your own sport.
You're kidding, right? Goals?? JFC.
Messi won the biggest sporting even in the world (World Cup - where he was the man), 2 Copa Cups, 8 Ballo D'Ors, 4 UEFA championships, 10 La Ligas, etc, etc.
Ronaldo is a great player. Messi is from another galaxy...
It caused an international uproar for Messi to miss a game because the demand is soley for him
There is a $210 walk in price at face value to see Inter Miami at Yankee Stadium in September
InterMiami vs NYFC before Messi had a $30 walk in price with only 18K tickets sold before Messi
Not to mention the shere amount of more people worldwide who play soccer compared to football, swimming, tennis, golf etc so the competition to be the best in soccer is much more
1.6 billion people watched the World Cup finale
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Phelps No. 1 ??? Cmon. Was he more dominant than Bolt? Or Messi? Or Brady?
Yes, he was. 23 gold medals (and was rarely challenged) and 28 medals total. He was in five Olympics and took 5 golds in that 5th Olympics and in the 4×100 relay that year he had the fastest split of his career at age 31 (Bolt ran slower times in his third Olympics). Phelps also was, in 2000, the youngest swimmer represent the US since 1932.
And, on a side note, Ledecky has been the most dominating women's swimmer over the last three Olympics.
And I'm not even a swimming fan. What they have done, and these numbers are just for the Olympics, and for how long they did it, is just incredible.
Not to knock swimming at all but there are vastly more swimming medal opportunities than any other sport
For example in tennis player like Djokovic could only compete for max 3 medals in singles & doubles and mixed
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In comment 16556141 JoeyBigBlue said:
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Phelps No. 1 ??? Cmon. Was he more dominant than Bolt? Or Messi? Or Brady?
Yes, he was. 23 gold medals (and was rarely challenged) and 28 medals total. He was in five Olympics and took 5 golds in that 5th Olympics and in the 4×100 relay that year he had the fastest split of his career at age 31 (Bolt ran slower times in his third Olympics). Phelps also was, in 2000, the youngest swimmer represent the US since 1932.
And, on a side note, Ledecky has been the most dominating women's swimmer over the last three Olympics.
And I'm not even a swimming fan. What they have done, and these numbers are just for the Olympics, and for how long they did it, is just incredible.
Not to knock swimming at all but there are vastly more swimming medal opportunities than any other sport
For example in tennis player like Djokovic could only compete for max 3 medals in singles & doubles and mixed
Sure, just like team sports only have one. But Phelps dominated in freestyle, butterfly and individual medley (4 strokes), which makes his accomplishments even more impressive. Imagine Federer winning Wimbledon righthanded and lefthanded. And Phelps dominated Worlds, Nationals and other events from about age 17 to 31. He was world swimmer of the year 8 times. And he retired after the 2012 Olympics and then made a comeback for 2016 and was still the best men's swimmer at the Olympics.
He might not be number 1, but he is one of a very few that should be in the discussion.
You can argue Bolt, Tiger and Messi. But Phelps absolutely deserves to be in the mix.
I also do not understand how so many women basketball players made it to the list. It seems as if every female basketball player who made an All-Star team was included.
Were they the top athletes?
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By a mile and a half.
Ruffian was better.
I am a big horse racing enthusiast. Secretariat was in a class by himself.
Lewis Hamilton??
Aaron Rodgers in the 90s is embarrassing. Guy should be ahead of at least 40 other people.
I have Messi by a mile.
To me, Federer's rival was Nadal. Nadal/Djokavic would have been an amazing rivalry if Nadal could've stayed healthy.
It’s certainly impressive that Phelps also won in IM , which is pretty unique for a freestyler/flyer
Messi however seems to be not just the best goal scorer but also the best passer and dribbler
He has the most Balloon d’ ors with 8. The next is 5 by Ronaldo
At this point, he has led Argentina to a historically unprecedented run with 3 international tournament wins in 4 years and maybe the best club team ever with Barcelona in the late 00s. Both teams qualify as what we would call dynasties.
Messi also has the most ever international trophies ever - 45
Sorry-he isn't even in the top 10,000
With all due respect to Ronaldo, Messi is pretty clearly a better overall soccer player. I get why the comparisons were always there because they're pretty equal in terms of their historic goal scoring and excellent longevity, but Messi's skill-set is just on another level.
Main argument Ronaldo has is goals scored but if you analyze that deeper, Messi is a more accurate shooter and relies less on penalty kicks for goals. So even that's a questionable "advantage" for Ronaldo, which is tough when Messi is way ahead in other facets of the game.
I'd put Ronaldo in the Top 10 mix but there's a gap between him and Messi imo.
Sorry-he isn't even in the top 10,000
You provided some good rationale as to why, thank you!
Sorry-he isn't even in the top 10,000
Why? Golf is clearly a sport. And Woods was a transcendent player. For a game that is extremely difficult to play, especially competitively to win, Woods made it look easy for nearly a decade and impacted prize money, participation, and viewership.
who is a better athlete than Tiger?
Any professional basketball player
Any professional soccer player
That is just the beginning of said list
who is a better athlete than Tiger?
Any professional basketball player
Any professional soccer player
That is just the beginning of said list
So using that logic, give us your top 5.
I get you’re talking “athletic ability” or “athleticism based achievement” but if you’re going to do that, then do it and rank them.
I feel like this could be its own individual thread. But I feel like I’m more impressed by Bolt’s more specific achievements as a runner than Phelps’ more all-encompassing swimming.
Ledecky has already rivaled Phelps in many ways and most Phelps records have been broken.
Noah Lyles is the best sprinter we’ve seen since Bolt. He ran a career high 9.81 very recently. It was celebrated as an incredible achievement.
Bolt has ran 9.58, 9.63, and 9.69… the top 3 times of all-time spread across 4 years.
And the way he did it… just wow. The 9.69 (3rd best personal) was also by far his most memorable performance. Just murdering dudes and laughing at them at the line in front of the world. And his 200m record is almost as insane.
What Phelps did is nothing short of incredible and I’m proud of his legacy as an American. But I’m gonna take Bolt over him. 3/4 on this list for me with Brady really the biggest argument against that.
The competition around her disqualifies here imo. She had a great career but she doesn't sniff #1 in the last 25 years for me. An incredibly weak field outside of her for basically her entire prime and most of her career.
who is a better athlete than Tiger?
Any professional basketball player
Any professional soccer player
That is just the beginning of said list
Just curious. Do you feel similarly about F1 racing?
Four rounds of professional golf are very taxing physically AND mentally. You are really underestimating that.
Hitting a stationary ball accurately may be just as difficult as hitting major league pitching.
Need I say more?
But Cmon they sit in a car for 2 hours
But Cmon they sit in a car for 2 hours
And yet you still can’t provide a list.
LeBron
Messi
Brady
Serena
Phelps
Mayweather honorable mention
LeBron
Messi
Brady
Serena
Phelps
Mayweather honorable mention
That's a fair list with all of them being names I mentioned in my Top 10, but if you're judging by athleticism then Tom Brady was a pocket passer who didn't really display much raw athleticism in comparison to a lot of his own peers. If you think Tiger as a golfer is a lesser athlete than any NFL player, couldn't you say Tom Brady isn't as good of an athlete as Champ Bailey? An NFL CB is certainly on another tier of athleticism from an NFL QB (outside maybe Vick/Lamar).
I think the best argument for golf is the fact that so many other great athletes have tried to go pro in it, but have failed. MJ was called the GOAT of the 1900’s on the ESPN SportsCentury list and yet he got closer to being a pro baseball player than pro golfer.
It’s not chess where you don’t need any physical skills, the precision and torque required to drive and putt is pretty significant.
over this guy?
However,the game of football at the highest level requires traits an athlete must possess.
Whereas Golf does not...see my example earlier about Tom Watson almost winning the British Open at 52...
How about John Daly....
I am mor fine with knocking Brady down than bringing Tiger up..that said Brady turned himself into a finely tuned athlete in the 2nd half of his career...