Do you ever stop to consider how privileged you are as a sports fan?
You have been sharing the planet with some of the greatest athletes in history for the past quarter-century: the best all-around soccer player, the most accomplished football player, the fastest human, a basketball player who generates legitimate debates regarding whether he’s the greatest of all time and a gymnast who does things no athlete ever considered attempting.
And for the past two decades plus, you’ve been able to watch all of them do spectacular things in the comfort of your home on high-definition televisions, computer screens, tablets and phones that genuinely capture what is happening, not some analog interpretation.
We all are so blessed, in that regard.
And in the spirit of reminding you just how blessed, the staff of AllSportsPeople spent the past several months nominating, discussing, voting and debating the identity of the 25 greatest sporting performers of the 21st century. We considered only achievements that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2000.
And the list begins with a soccer player who still is not done changing his game – and the entire sports world.
MORE: SN's top 25 college basketball players since 2000 | Top NBA champions
AllSportsPeople Top 25 Athletes Since 2000
1. Lionel Messi
Sport: Soccer
Career: 2004-present
Championships: FIFA World Cup, Copa America twice, Spain’s La Liga 10 times, France’s Ligue 1 twice, MLS Cup.
Individual honors: Ballon d’Or for world’s best player eight times, Best FIFA Men’s Player eight times, FIFPRO World 11 selection 17 times, MLS MVP
Key stats: 115 international goals (second all-time), 781 club goals (second all-time), 344 club assists (record).
There have been many brilliant performers in the world’s most popular sport, but there has been only one Messi. He has been so good for so long it’s easy to become conditioned to expect his brilliance, but then comes an occasion such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when he was Argentina’s most important player even at the relatively advanced age of 35.
Messi drove himself for decades in pursuit of that title, and occasionally was demeaned by Argentine fans disappointed he could not deliver what the great Maradona had in 1986. But Messi has brought glory to his country far longer – and still might be a threat at the 2026 World Cup this summer in North America.
For 17 seasons at FC Barcelona in Spain’s top division, Messi rewrote the standard of what is possible in his sport. He scored 50 league goals in 2011-12, plus 14 in that season’s UEFA Champions League, plus three in Spain’s Copa del Rey competition. That’s 67 goals in 55 games.
As ridiculous as his statistics can be, it’s the spectacle that separates him from all others, the magical inventions he delivers that perhaps only Pele and Maradona might have considered. Colombian star Radamel Falcao once said, “Is Messi a real player or a PlayStation character?” Germany’s Dietmar Hamann called Messi “an artist, not a footballer.” World Cup champion Franz Beckenbauer described him as “divine.”
Messi essentially began his career as a teen prodigy at FC Barcelona’s esteemed La Masia academy. He was an 18-year-old talent with a burgeoning reputation when he arrived in the Netherlands with Argentina for the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup – and was held out of the starting lineup for the opening game by coach Francisco Ferraro, perhaps because it was presumed Messi wouldn’t be needed to defeat the United States. Argentina allowed a goal to forward Chad Barrett in the first half, and that 1-0 U.S. Lead stood even after Messi entered at halftime and terrorized the American defense for the final 45 minutes. Lesson learned. Messi played in the final six games, Argentina won them all including the final, and he scored 6 goals to win the tournament’s Golden Boot honors.
If you want to understand how amazing Messi has been for so long, Spain’s great David Silva – World Cup champion, four-time Champions League winner – was the third-leading scorer at that youth World Cup. He retired from major club soccer two years ago.
2. Tiger Woods
Sport: Golf
Post-2000 career: 2000-present
Championships: U.S. Open three times, the Masters four times, The Open Championship three times, PGA Championship three times
Individual honors: World Golf Hall of Fame, PGA Tour Player of the Year nine times, Vardon Trophy for Tour scoring average eight times, PGA Tour money list leader eight times.
Key stats: 67 PGA Tour victories, $109.7 million Tour earnings (record), Top 10 finish in 53.1 percent of events (record).
Tiger Woods was No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings on Y2K, and by the time he’d fallen from that position for the final time on May 12, 2014, he’d held that position for 591 weeks of this century – more than 11 years in total.
He challenged the record for career major victories established by Jack Nicklaus, who finished with 18, but Woods stalled at 15 as injuries and personal matters weighed on his career. During his 2008 U.S. Open title, won in sudden death after an 18-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate, Woods was severely and visibly impaired by a left knee injury. That became his last major title before his comeback win at the 2019 Masters, at age 43.
Woods early in the century earned what became known as the “Tiger Slam” by becoming the first golfer ever to win four consecutive pro major tournaments, although it wasn’t a traditional “grand slam” because it began in 2000 with victories at the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship and ended with the 2001 Masters.
Woods has been phenomenally powerful with his drives but still precise with his shot-making and putting. In the 2000 season, he ranked No. 2 on the Tour in driving length and No. 1 in greens hit in regulation, birdies and eagles. He was first in scoring average per rounds 1, 2 and 3 and second in fourth-round average. He was first in scoring regardless of the hole type: par 3s, par 4s and par 5s.
About the only thing he did not do well was performing with the United States Ryder Cup team. He played in six Ryder Cups this century without winning one, and his match record was 10-15-2. He won consistently in singles events, but struggled in team competitions.
It could be said that among golfers, Woods stood alone.
3. Tom Brady
Sport: Football
Career: 2000-2022
Championships: Super Bowl seven times, AFC champion nine times, NFC champion, Division champion 19 times.
Individual honors: NFL MVP three times, Super Bowl MVP five times, Pro Bowl 15 times
Key stats: 89,214 passing yards (record), 649 touchdown passes (record), 251 wins as starting QB (record)
Whereas the talent of those ranked ahead of him was obvious at early ages, Brady rose from relative obscurity to become the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history. Selected in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, he became the starting quarterback early in his second season after accomplished starter Drew Bledsoe was injured. Brady never gave back the job.
He won six Super Bowls after taking command of the offense, then left the New England organization in 2020 at age 43 and won another, as if to prove all that success was mostly about him.
Brady was not the swiftest runner, and he did not possess the most powerful arm, but no one at his position ever read defenses more acutely, processed information about changes and disguises more rapidly and delivered the ideal decision more accurately.
Brady won Super Bowls in three of his first four seasons as a starter between 2001 and 2004, then three more with the Patriots between 2014 and 2018. His one title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came in the COVID-impacted season of 2020, when he threw for three touchdowns and the Bucs blew out the Kansas City Chiefs.
4. Michael Phelps
Sport: Swimming
Career: 2000-2016
Championships: Olympic gold medalist 23 times, 28 Olympic medalist 28 times, World Championship gold medalist 26 times
Individual honors: World Swimmer of the Year eight times, American Swimmer of the Year 11 times, USOC Sportsman of the Year four times, Associated Press Athlete of the Year twice.
Key stats: 39 World records set (29 individual, 10 relay), 3:08:24 4x100 freestyle relay time (current world record set in 2008), eight gold medals at single Olympics (2008).
Phelps arrived at the 2004 Athens Olympics well established as a promising 19-year-old, and he delivered a six-gold-medal performance that somehow did not transform him into a superstar outside the swimming world.
That came four years later, when he showed up in Beijing and dominated the Games like no swimmer before, winning an eighth gold medal as part of a scintillating 4x100 meter freestyle relay in which the United States edged France by.08 seconds, thanks to Jason Lezak’s astounding anchor leg. Mark Spitz had set the record for a single Olympics with seven golds for the U.S. 36 years earlier in Munich.
Phelps became one of the most prominent figures in world sports as a result of that effort, and the typical course for a swimmer with that degree of accomplishment would have been to retire before an inevitable decline. Phelps set a record for a U.S. Swimmer merely by returning for a fourth Olympics at London in 2012, where he won four gold medals and two silvers, then said he was done for good.
His inactivity didn’t last even two years.
He was back by 2014 and ready for the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he won five more golds: for the 200 meter butterfly and 200 meter individual medley, as well as three relays.
5. LeBron James
Sport: Basketball
Career: 2003-present
Championships: NBA champion four times, Eastern Conference champion nine times, Western Conference champion, Olympic gold medalist three times
Individual honors: NBA Most Valuable Player four times, NBA Finals MVP four times, NBA All-Star 21 times, All-NBA 21 times, NBA All-Defensive Team six times, FIBA Olympics MVP
Key stats: 42,260 NBA points (record), 11,620 assists (fourth all-time), 2,349 steals (sixth), 292 playoff games (record).
That one can start an argument about whether James was the greatest player in the history of the sport may be the only item necessary to justify his placement on this list. Because he came along soon after Michael Jordan had completed a career that seemed beyond anyone’s reach, with his six NBA titles and record career scoring average of 30.1 points per game.
Upon seeing LeBron at the 2001 ABCD Camp for basketball prospects following his sophomore year in high school, I compared the experience to those who saw the Beatles make their American breakthrough four decades earlier on the Ed Sullivan Show. And maybe that was an understatement.
He entered the NBA directly out of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High and scored 25 points in his debut game, dragged an overmatched group of Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals just four years later and hasn’t stopped dominating since.
His 10 NBA Finals appearances is tied for third in the league’s history with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, behind only Bill Russell and Sam Jones from the Boston Celtics 1950-60s dynasty. At age 39, LeBron was the most important player for a USA Basketball squad that claimed a fifth consecutive gold medal for the United States. At age 40, he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds and finished sixth in MVP voting.
I saw Paul McCartney put on a brilliant concert a month ago. He’s 83 now.
It feels like James still might find a way to play – yeah, basketball – when he hits that age.
6. Serena Williams
Sport: Tennis
Post 2000 career: 2000-2022
Championships: U.S. Open singles five times, Wimbledon seven times, French Open three times, Australian Open seven times, U.S. Open doubles, Wimbledon doubles six times, French Open doubles, Australian Open doubles four times, Olympic singles gold medal, Olympic doubles gold medal three times.
Individual honors: National Women’s Hall of Fame, Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year four times, Tennis Channel greatest women’s player, AP Female Athlete of the Year four times.
Key stats: 23 Grand Slam singles titles in Open era (record), 10 years as world No. 1 player, 67 WTA singles titles
Before she turned 18 at the turn of the century, Serena spent a lot of time in the shadow of her older sister. Venus was supposed to be the player who revolutionized women’s tennis – and she kind of did. Venus wound up with 10 Grand Slam singles titles, but was frequently was second in her own family.
Serena defeated her older sister in four consecutive Grand Slam finals in a period covering 2002 and 2003. Venus was an all-time great. Serena was even better.
In her career, which stretches to the previous century, Serena has earned more than $94 million in WTA Tour prize money – more than twice as much as the player in second place.
Williams held all four majors singles simultaneously twice and narrowly missed a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 when she lost a one-set lead and was eliminated in the U.S. Open semifinals. She also teamed with her sister to form an overwhelming doubles team that won 12 Slam titles and three Olympic golds in this century.
7. Simone Biles
Sport: Gymnastics
Career: 2013-present
Championships: Olympic gold medalist seven times, Olympic medalist 11 times, World Championships gold medalist 23 times, World Championships medalist 30 times, nine U.S. All-around championships (record).
Individual honors: Laureus World Sportswoman of the year four times, USA Olympic Female Athlete of the Year, Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
Key stats: Two Olympic all-around gold medals (record, tied), 62.198 score in Olympics all-around (record).
If not for her issue with disorientation at the Tokyo Games in 2021, would Biles have been more highly regarded in these rankings?
A healthy Simone Biles probably would have become the first athlete ever to win the all-around gold medal in three Olympic Games. We know this because she won the all-around at the World Gymnastics Championships five times in six opportunities from 2013-19 – and she did not enter the one claimed by American Morgan Hurd in 2017.
At Tokyo, she was impacted by what gymnasts call the “twisties”, which causes one to lose a sense of space while tumbling. As a result, the athlete is at considerable risk of a dangerous landing. She withdrew from the team and all-around competitions and competed only in the balance beam, earning a bronze medal. Many in the media and the public who didn’t understand the issue – or didn’t care to – excoriated Biles for withdrawing from so much of the competition.
Her ailment became the source of controversy because it was not as obvious as, say, a leg injury, such as the one that impacted her performance at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Biles strained a calf muscle during qualification for the floor exercise. Despite obvious discomfort, she still won the all-around competition, was a huge contributor to the team title and also took gold in the vault apparatus final. The injury did compromise her performance in the individual floor exercise, where she customarily dominates; she was limited to a silver medal. She had conquered the twisties, though, and once again, the world.
8. Usain Bolt
Sport: Track & Field
Career: 2004-17
Championships: Olympic gold medalist eight times, World Championships gold medalist 11 times, World Championships medalist 14 times, 6 Golden League victories, 24 Diamond League victories.
Individual honors: IAAF World Athlete of the Year six times, Laureus World Sportsman of the Year four times, Jamaica Sportsman of the Year five times.
Key stats: 9.58 in 100 meters (record, current), 19.19 in 200 meters (record, current), 36.84 in 4x100 relay (record, current).
It must be extraordinary to be able to walk around and say, “I’m the fastest man who ever lived” – even if one is not inclined to say it aloud. There may be a time when Bolt no longer will be able to make that claim, but it’s been nearly 20 years, and he’s still the one.
Bolt dominated the Olympic sprint races for a decade, winning the 100-200 double at Beijing 2008, then following that up in London 2012 and Rio 2016, and he was doing much the same at the every-other-year World Championships, losing only in the 100 final at the 2011 World meet when he false started and was disqualified.
Bolt is the only man ever to win three gold medals in the Olympic 100 meters, The only person to have two golds in that event, Carl Lewis, was presented his second after a competitor was later disqualified for PEDs. Nobody ever went across the finish line first in an Olympic sprint final against Usain Bolt.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo
Sport: Soccer
Career: 2002-present
Championships: Euro 2016, England Premier League three times, Spain La Liga twice, Italy Serie A twice, UEFA Champions League five times
Individual honors: Ballon d’Or five times, Best FIFA Men’s Player three times, FIFPRO World 11 selection 15 times.
Key stats: 143 international goals (record), 811 club goals (record), 140 Champions League goals (record)
It has been Ronaldo’s misfortune to play in the same era as the greatest ever to kick a ball. Because if Ronaldo had spent the past two decades on the stage alone, he’d be viewed much differently. Pele and Maradona had eras all to themselves. Messi and Ronaldo have gone against one another frequently, especially in the period between Ronaldo’s arrival at Real Madrid in 2009 and his departure for Juventus in 2018.
Their battles in the El Clasico rivalry were so intense it feels impossible they lasted less than a decade. Ronaldo is a different player, more a high-scoring forward who relies on his astonishing dynamism and stamina to generate goals. But he is skilled enough to have generated a significant number of assists, as well.
10. Roger Federer
Sport: Tennis
Post-2000 career: 2000-2022
Championships: U.S. Open five times, Wimbledon eight times, French Open, Australian Open six times, 103 ATP titles, Davis Cup, Olympic doubles gold medal
Individual honors: ATP Player of the Year five times, Gazzetta dello Sport World Sportsman of the Year four times, Laureus World Sportsman of the Year five times
Key stats: $130.36 million prize money, 1,236 match victories,.842 winning percentage
When Federer dueled Andy Roddick in an epic final at Wimbledon in 2009 -- which required five sets and 30 games in that last set for him to claim the title – it seemed he was close to the end of an astonishing run of success. He was soon to turn 28, not far from the age when Pete Sampras stopped regularly winning majors, well past when John McEnroe won any at all. As well, young talents Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were obviously on the rise.
Federer survived Roddick that day, and then he launched what amounted to a second career that alone would have placed him among the top players in the sport’s history: five more Grand Slams, two ATP Finals victories, 12 ATP Masters titles, 23 standard ATP titles. Federer wound up reaching the French Open semis at Roland Garros in 2019, and Wimbledon final soon after, just a few months short of his 38th birthday. He reminded the entire sport the lessons once taught by Ken Rosewall and Jimmy Connors, that the expiration date for excellence is not as early as it can seem.
11. Novak Djokovic
Sport: Tennis
Career: 2003-present
Championships: U.S. Open four times, Wimbledon seven times, French Open three times, Australian Open 10 times, 101 ATP titles, Olympic gold medal, Davis Cup
Individual honors: ATP Player of the Year eight times, ITF World Champion eight times, Laureus World Sportsman of the Year five times
Key stats: 428 weeks ranked No. 1 (record), 8 times ranked No. 1 at year end (record), $191.25 million prize money (record)
The true tennis people knew what was coming on the first Friday of the 2007 U.S. Open. Djokovic had won his first Masters title in Miami and beat No. 3 (Andy Roddick), No. 2 (Rafa Nadal) and No. 1 (Roger Federer) to claim another in Montreal. So when he was assigned to Louis Armstrong Stadium for a second-round showdown with Radek Stepanek, it was impossible for all but the earliest arrivals to get a seat. They were treated to a 4-hour, 44-minute duel Djokovic won in a fifth-set tiebreaker, the longest U.S. Open match in 28 years.
Djokovic wound up in the final, losing to Federer, but he earned his first Grand Slam just a few months later at the 2008 Australian Open, and that was the first of a record 24 Slams. He is the only player to win all four majors at least three times.
12. Steph Curry
Sport: Basketball
Career: 2009-present
Championships: NBA champion four times, Western Conference champion six times, Olympic gold medal, FIBA World Cup gold medal twice
Individual honors: NBA Most Valuable Player twice, NBA Finals MVP, NBA All-Star 11 times, All-NBA 11 times, USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year
Key stats: 25,832 NBA points,.912 free throw percentage (record), 4,133 3-point goals (record)
Curry did not exactly come from humble beginnings; his father, Dell, was a celebrated NBA player known for his long-range shooting accuracy. But his father’s reputation did not lead to big-time college scholarship offers for Steph, who instead began his career at mid-major Davidson. He chose wisely, because Bob McKillop was among the NCAA’s best coaches, and he immediately recognized he had a special player.
Curry was an immediate sensation at Davidson and, at the end of his sophomore year, led the Wildcats to a stunning 2008 Elite Eight appearance by averaging 32 points in the NCAA Tournament. He became the No. 7 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and by his fifth year in the league began to genuinely reinvent the sport. His long-distance shooting ability helped change all of basketball to an emphasis on the 3-point shot, but the Golden State Warriors were so far ahead of the pack they won three titles before the rest of the league could even think to catch up.
Curry won the NBA scoring title in 2016 and 2021, led the league in 3-point field goals eight times and came to be widely acknowledged as the greatest shooter in the history of the sport. As if to prove that once and for all, he made 8-of-12 from 3-point range in the gold medal game at the 2024 Olympics – four in the final 2:43 – to secure a United States victory over host France.
MORE: Steph Curry's Olympic performance unlike anything the game has ever seen
13. Kobe Bryant
Sport: Basketball
Post-2000 career: 2000-16
Championships: NBA champion five times, Western Conference champion seven times, Olympic gold medalist twice
Individual honors: NBA Most Valuable Player, NBA Finals MVP twice, NBA All-Star 18 times, All-NBA 15 times, NBA All-Defensive team 12 times
Key stats: 33,643 NBA points, six games of 60 or more points (record), 88 game-tying or winning shots (record)
Bryant started near the top of the sport and still managed to grow as an athlete more than most. When Jerry West traded to secure the draft rights to Bryant, he knew he’d landed a next-generation player. But even though Bryant averaged 19.9 points in 1998-99 at age 20, his third year in the league, and even though the Lakers won NBA titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002, his frequent clashes with big man Shaquille O’Neal caused issues for the Lakers that ultimately led to Shaq leaving the franchise.
Bryant’s game seemed to mature after he joined the USA Basketball senior national team in 2007 to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, and then at the Games in 2008, when he was the pivotal player in a harrowing gold medal game against Spain, his 4-point play serving to triple a 2-point U.S. Advantage in the final minutes. Competing with equals such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul opened a new chapter in Bryant’s career, who then led the Lakers to consecutive NBA titles in 2009 and 2010 with, in an interesting coincidence, Spain’s Pau Gasol as his co-star. Bryant return to the Olympic team in 2012 in London, playing a supporting role as Kevin Durant emerged as the team’s top scorer.
14. Patrick Mahomes
Sport: Football
Career: 2017-present
Championships: Super Bowl three times, AFC champion five times, AFC West champion eight times
Individual honors: NFL Most Valuable Player twice, Super Bowl MVP three times, Pro Bowl six times, All-Pro three times
Key stats: 5,614 total yards in 2022 season (record), 287 passing yards per game career (record), 7 postseason game-winning drives
Chosen with the 10th pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, Mahomes was asked to wait a year to learn the position and then immediately invigorated the Kansas City Chiefs offense, from 25.9 points per game in 2017 to 35.3 and first in the league in 2018.
In his first seven seasons as an NFL starter, Mahomes won double-digit games every time, reached the Super Bowl five times and won three. Only once did he pass for fewer than 4,000 yards and only three times for fewer than 36 touchdowns. He led the league in TD passes twice and passing yards per game twice.
Mahomes’ ability to keep plays alive with his elusiveness and to invent passes with a variety of arm angles and velocities has made him especially dangerous when the Chiefs need to mount late comebacks. He produced half as many game-winning drives in just seven playoff years as Tom Brady did in 20.
15. Rafael Nadal
Sport: Tennis
Career: 2001-24
Championships: U.S. Open four times, Wimbledon twice, French Open 14 times, Australian Open twice, Davis Cup five times, Olympic singles gold medal, Olympic doubles gold medal, 92 ATP titles
Individual honors: Laureus World Sportsman of the Year twice, ATP Player of the Year five times, ITF World Champion five times, Davis Cup Most Valuable Player
Key stats: $134.59 million prize money, 1,080 matches won, 14 titles at single Grand Slam (record), 19 years winning ATP title (record)
There never has been a tennis player, male or female, who dominated a single surface as Nadal did clay courts. He won 63 of his titles on clay, including those he claimed on the Roland Garros grounds. He recorded double-digit tournament wins at four different clay-court events.
And Nadal could have been just that and still been popular, accomplished and wealthy. But he worked to assure he would not be what Paul Simon might have referred to as a “one-trick pony”. Nadal also was elite on hardcourts (six Slams) and twice won on the fast Wimbledon surface during an era when he had to outlast all-time greats Djokovic and Federer to do it.
16. Albert Pujols
Sport: Baseball
Career: 2001-22
Championships: World Series twice, National League champion twice, NL Central champion six times, AL West champion
Individual honors: NL Most Valuable Player three times, AllSportsPeople Player of the Year three times, SN Player of the Decade, MLB All-Star 11 times, Gold Glove Award twice, Silver Slugger Award six times
Key stats: 703 home runs, 3,384 base hits, 2,218 runs batted in, home runs off 455 different pitchers (record)
He was such a powerful slugger it became easy to overlook what a complete player Pujols was during his big-league career. He joins Hank Aaron as the only two players with more than 700 home runs and 3,000 hits. He is behind only Aaron in total bases and joins Aaron and Barry Bonds as the only players to reach the 20-home run mark in at least 18 seasons.
He spent the latter part of his career appearing often as a designated hitter, but he won Gold Glove awards during two of his best seasons, and three times his stolen base total hit double-digits. His on-base percentage was above.400 in nine of his first 10 years in the league, and three times he led the league in OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).
17. Katie Ledecky
Sport: Swimming
Career: 2012-present
Championships: Olympic gold medalist nine times, Olympic medalist 14 times, World Championships gold medalist 23 times
Individual honors: USA Swimming Female Swimmer of the Year nine times (record), Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year twice, Swimming World Swimmer of the Year five times, FINA World Championships Best Female Swimmer three times
Key stats: 8:04.79 in 800 meters (record), 15:20.48 in 1,500 meters (record), 19 fastest times in 1,500 meter history
Ledecky is the greatest distance swimmer in history, dominating the 800 meters race at the Olympic level and then doing the same at 1,500 meters once it was introduced to the games at Tokyo 2020. She’s won every race at the two distances – a 6-0 record – since she swam at her first Games in London 2012.
And she has demonstrated consistently she is not limited to outlasting her opponents, but also can sprint past them. She won at 200 meters and the middle-distance 400 meters length at Rio 2016, when she was 19. She also has won three World Championships golds in the 400 and one in the 200, plus a 4x200 relay gold.
MORE: Legend Katie Ledecky embraces no-days-off mentality as she rules the pool
18. Peyton Manning
Sport: Football
Post-2000 career: 2000-2015
Championships: Super Bowl champion twice, AFC champion twice, AFC South division champion seven times, AFC West champion four times
Individual honors: NFL Most Valuable Player five times, Super Bowl MVP, Pro Bowl 14 times, All-Pro 10 times, NFL All-Decade team
Key stats: 71,940 passing yards, 539 passing touchdowns, 55 passing touchdowns single season (record), 14 4,000-yard passing seasons (record)
Manning vs. Brady came to define the NFL in the early part of this century, and while Brady’s team came out on top more often (against Manning by a smidge, against everyone in the league by a ton), Manning always was the superior passer. His throws to wideouts Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne were the sort of highlights around which ESPN could build an entire day of highlights. Manning’s teams won double-digit games 13 times in 14 seasons at one stretch of his career, with a year off in between for a neck operation that allowed him to continue (and to win a second Super Bowl in his final season).
19. Floyd Mayweather
Sport: Boxing
Post-2000 career: 2000-2017
Championships: World titles in four weight classes
Individual honors: The Ring magazine No. 1 Pound For Pound Fighter five times, Boxing Writers Association Fighter of the Decade
Key stats: 26-0 ring record, 11 wins by knockout, 13 world title defenses.
It was not easy choosing between Mayweather and fighter Manny Pacquiao, who fought more frequently and accumulated more title defenses. But there is the matter of Mayweather’s perfect record, an extreme rarity among champion boxers. Only two other male fighters are known to have fought more than 40 times and retired without a defeat or draw: super middleweight Joe Calzaghe and heavyweight Rocky Marciano.
Also, Pacquiao and Mayweather fought in 2015, and Mayweather won a unanimous decision to claim the unified welterweight title.
20. Marta
Sport: Soccer
Career: 2000-present
Championships: United States NWSL Championship, United States WPS Championship Sweden Damallsvenskan five times, South America Copa Libertadores, Copa America four times, Olympic silver medalist three times
Individual honors: FIFA World Player of the Year six times, FIFPro World 11 five times, FIFA Women’s World Cup Golden Ball
Key stats: 124 international goals, 316 club goals
Remaining an active professional soccer player has meant performing on three different continents, in four different countries and for eight different clubs before finding a sense of stability with the Orlando Pride of the NWSL. She’s been with them since 2017 and appeared in the past two league finals, winning the title in 2024 at age 38. She’s never been able to get Brazil to the top of international competition, finishing as runner-up in three Olympics and one World Cup, but there’s never been much question about her brilliance and flair as a player.
21. Sidney Crosby
Sport: Hockey
Career: 2005-present
Championships: Stanley Cup champion three times, Eastern Conference champion four times, Atlantic Division champion twice, Metropolitan Division champion, East Division champion, Olympic gold medalist twice, World Cup of Hockey gold medalist twice
Individual honors: Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player) twice, Art Ross Trophy (scoring) twice, Rocket Richard Trophy (goals) twice, Conn Smythe Trophy (Stanley Cup MVP) twice, NHL All-Star 10 times, NHL All-Decade team
Key stats: 1,716 points, 643 goals, 1,073 assists, 20 seasons averaging a point per game (record)
Crosby entered the NHL with the expectation of becoming one of the sport’s all-time greats, and he never has disappointed. He led the NHL in scoring in his second season, took the Pittsburgh Penguins into the Stanley Cup finals in his third and to their third-ever Cup victory in his fourth, at age 21. He became Stanley Cup MVP in their back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017. He now stands ninth in career points and assists, and 15th in goals.
22. Diana Taurasi
Sport: Basketball
Career: 2004-24
Championships: NCAA champion three times, WNBA champion three times, Western Conference champion four times, EuroLeague champion six times, Russian National League champion seven times, Turkish National League champion, Olympic gold medalist six times, FIBA World Cup champion three times
Individual honors: WNBA MVP, WNBA Finals MVP twice, WNBA All-Star 11 times, All-WNBA 14 times, WNBA 25th anniversary team
Key stats: 10,646 WNBA points (record), 1,447 3-pointers (record), 2,517 free throws (record), 2,394 assists.
There have been a number of WNBA legends since the league was introduced in 1996, but no one who controlled games quite like Taurasi. She has scored more points than any player in the league’s history, and also ranks No. 4 in assists – and among the top 30 in rebounds, steals and even blocked shots. She also was a central figure as the USA Basketball senior women’s team grew to international superiority, winning six consecutive Olympic golds.
23. Shaquille O’Neal
Sport: Basketball
Post-2000 career: 2000-11
Championships: NBA Champion four times, Western Conference champion four times, Eastern Conference champion, Olympic gold medal, FIBA World Cup gold medal
Individual honors: NBA Most Valuable Player, NBA Finals MVP three times, NBA All-Star nine times, All-NBA seven times, NBA All-Defensive team three times
Key stats: 30.7 points and 15.4 rebounds per game in 2000 NBA Playoffs, 30.4 points and 15.4 rebounds per game in 2001 NBA Playoffs.
Shaq was so overpowering when he reached his peak with the turn-of-the-century Los Angeles Lakers teams it kind of didn’t matter that his influence dwindled after the 2007 season, when he reached age 35. The big man was that good for the first half-dozen or so years of the 2000s.
24. Shohei Ohtani
Sport: Baseball
Career: 2013-present
Championships: World Series champion twice, National League champion twice, Japan Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion
Individual honors: AllSportsPeople Male Athlete of the Year, American League Most Valuable Player twice, National League Most Valuable Player twice, American League All-Star three times, National League All-Star twice, All-MLB eight times, Nippon Professional Baseball Most Valuable Player, NPB All-Star five times
Key stats: 280 Major League home runs,.957 OPS, 3.00 earned run average, 670 strikeouts
That stat line kind of says it all: He’s one of the outstanding pitchers in baseball while, often at the same time, he ranks among the two or three best hitters. Not since Babe Ruth a century ago did anyone enter the Major Leagues with the ability to perform at the very top of the sport in those two dissimilar disciplines. Ohtani’s greatness is one of many factors that have made the Los Angeles Dodgers a titan in the sport.
25. Alexander Ovechkin
Sport: Hockey
Career: 2005-present
Championships: Stanley Cup champion, NHL Southeast Division champion five times, NHL Metropolitan Division five times
Individual honors: Art Ross Trophy (scoring), Rocket Richard Trophy (goals) nine times, Conn Smythe Trophy (Stanley Cup MVP), NHL All-Star 13 times, NHL All-Decade team twice
There was a period when a legitimate debate could have been ignited over whether one would prefer to take a punch from Floyd Mayweather or stand in the goal crease – even in full goaltender apparel – as Ovechkin fired one of his power-play slap shots from the left circle. That was not the only way he generated goals for the Washington Capitals, somewhat obvious given that he’s scored more than 900 of them, but it will always stand as his defining act. It took awhile for Ovi to at last get his name on the Stanley Cup, but there have been few regular-season performers with such menacing consistency.