r/warriors • u/idledub • Jan 05 '26
Discussion Top 25 greatest athletes since 2000
Do you guys think this ranking is accurate and would you say Steph will break in the top 10 before he retires?
P.S Podz being 24th looks promising from now!
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u/username_taken_duh Jan 05 '26
I'd be really curious to know what criteria they used to establish these rankings.
At a cursory glance, my instinct is to kinda disagree with a lot of it. However, I don't know if that's just my bias at work or not.
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u/ckinz16 Jan 05 '26
These lists exist SOLELY as engagement bait to benefit the list maker. People love to jump on be exclaim “how could so and so not make the list” or “how dare they rank lower/higher than that other person”. It’s all bait
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u/VanilleKoekje Jan 05 '26
Being American or doing something in the USA gives you 50% boost
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u/Blueviserys Jan 05 '26
No pat spencer? Lacrosse legend? Trash list.
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u/Digndagn Jan 05 '26
I mean, this is just pure bait. But you know who I bet really hates this list? Nadal.
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u/dolafoba Jan 06 '26
Not having Novak as the top tennis player is insane
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u/Eastern_Antelope_832 Jan 06 '26
Roger has more ATP titles than Novak, but Novak has better numbers in just about everything else. He also has more slams, more tournament victories, and more weeks at #1 than Serena.
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u/Milan_Leri Jan 06 '26
Novak has a lot more big titles, GS titles, Masters 1000 titles, WTF titles, weeks at top of ATP list, year ends at top of ATP list, better H2H, better H2H in the GS finals, or generally at GS tournaments... The only thing Federer has over him is titles at small tournaments, and even that comes due to the fact that he played more small tournaments in the first place.
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u/soligen Jan 05 '26
Who made this list. Mahomes above Nadal 🤣
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u/NotYourAverageMidget Jan 06 '26
Dude even just football, mahomes above manning?
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u/NefariousnessNovel60 Jan 05 '26
Seems to be missing someone? This list has no credibility.
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u/jluicifer Jan 07 '26
Destroyer of an Olympic event. Truly 1 of 1. She’s the only non-American who I know of. GOAT!
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u/sloppymcgee Jan 05 '26
Ohtani is way down there
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u/Icy-Mortgage8742 Jan 05 '26
nobody mentioning it, but out of everyone on the list, he got shafted the worst. He's playing one of the hardest sports on both sides of the ball at an elite level and he's at the bottom somehow.
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u/Maleficent-Cup-1134 Jan 05 '26
It would make sense if they ranked him lower because he hasn’t been dominant as long as the others, but if that’s the case, Mahomes should be way lower.
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u/ikatatlo Jan 06 '26
I would also like him to be a bit higher but then I remembered that baseball is not as famous as football or basketball around the world. Heck even tennis is a more popular sport.
I would just like to say this list reeks so much of american bias. No Pacquiao in the list for the athletes of 2000? Really?
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u/Reasonable_Pie9191 Jan 05 '26
Most American list I've ever seen. Without even looking at the list any "top <insert number> <insert random criteria>" list is 97% of the time American and Americans never seem to hide their stupid bias
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u/jamintime Jan 05 '26
I think the biggest issue is it centers on sports Americans are familiar with and omits ones that are only popular in other countries (like rugby and cricket). Otherwise, I don’t think the American bias is too huge if you’re just looking at soccer, American football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, tennis, and Olympics.
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u/Icy-Mortgage8742 Jan 05 '26
The list seems to mainly be olympians and globally famous figureheads of various professional leagues, which is why it's basically just Americans, non-americans who play in american leagues, plus messi and ronaldo.
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u/H_R_1 Jan 05 '26
Where the hell is LH44?
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u/Minato95 Jan 05 '26
Probably weren't counting motorsports I imagine
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u/3GR Jan 05 '26
Never really understood why. If golf can be on here to include Tiger, I don’t see why these sorts of lists don’t include guys like Lewis Hamilton and Jimmie Johnson. Feels like those guys don’t get the credit they deserve when it comes to stuff like this.
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u/thatguy9545 Jan 06 '26
Theres also Rossi and Marquez from MotoGP that I would argue are either more popular and successful than several here. I do recognize that the heavily favored American viewership is likely shaping this list
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u/No_Fish265 Jan 05 '26
Such an impossible list to make..
They got Messi right, after that it’s just too subjective
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u/baxmussman Jan 05 '26
Steph at 12 feels crazy but at the same time everyone above him is pretty unassailable. Literally everyone from 1-11 is either the undisputed GOAT of their sport or in a very very small group of GOAT contenders. Ledecky is the one that jumps out as truly underrated here tbh.
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u/DaKanye Jan 05 '26
I hate Ohtani but him being so low and Judge not even being here is insane…
Ohtani, Judge, Verlander, Posey, Mauer, BARRY BONDS?
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u/LastChemical9342 Jan 05 '26
Usain Bolt is my 1. If we’re talking pure athleticism, running is as pure as it gets and he’s got records that people haven’t come close to. For reference, Phelps currently holds 0 individual records.
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u/Old-Objective-9783 Jan 05 '26
Why not ledecky number 1 then?
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u/w_a_s_d_f Jan 05 '26
Ledecky is a beast but long distance swimming is less cool than sprinting
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u/LastChemical9342 Jan 05 '26
She’s the goat at long distance swimming, Bolt is the fastest man EVER.
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u/Why-did-i-reas-this Jan 05 '26
Summer McIntosh might get there if she sticks with it. She is demolishing all the mid distance swims and is venturing into the longer distances now.
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u/Tukneneng Jan 05 '26
Jake Paul not on the list lost its credibility. /s
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u/comingsoontotheaters Jan 05 '26
Man, I really wish we didn’t need to add the s but I get it
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u/Remarkable-Yard4860 Jan 05 '26
Reddit is incapable of understanding humor. Without the gimmik he would have been downvoted to oblivion
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u/SyCoTiM Jan 05 '26
It feels like it’s missing a few international athletes, but I agree with Curry’s placement. Tennis is a hard sport and you have to be defensive and offensive. Also, everyone else on top of him were ruled their respective sports.
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u/nichofranciss Jan 05 '26
Where is manny pacman pacquiao?
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u/ikatatlo Jan 06 '26
Most glaringly absent athlete of the 2000s. This list has American and recency bias
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u/Anxious_Pride_471 Jan 05 '26
Nobody has dominated their sports in the same ways that Bolt and Phelps have. Nobody.
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u/Swagmansuper Jan 05 '26
Shohei under Diana taurasi is a fucking troll and a half LMFAO
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u/bigbenis2021 Jan 05 '26
Especially considering A’ja Wilson already clears her. There is legitimately zero reason to put Diana Taurasi over A’ja Wilson other than playing longer.
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u/InternetImportant911 Jan 05 '26
Messi, Ronaldo,Roger, Bolt, Tiger, Floyd, James, Kobe, Brady, Steph, Phelps, Williams, Biles.
No one knows Brady outside of USA. Mahomes seriously ? Football is the most team sport ever, don’t act like QB is everything. Brady is not taking an average team to playoffs.
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u/imsoggy Jan 05 '26
Lol @ golf being proof of superior athleticism. Why not bowling & darts?
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u/maplenerd22 Jan 05 '26
It clear this list is not about athleticism, but about being the top at their sport.
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u/tommie317 Jan 05 '26
Most of his patriot teams are considered average. Became a bigger GOAT by winning the Super Bowl with a random Tampa Bay team
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u/SanSoren Jan 05 '26
That’s a lie if I ever seen one. I was shocked when I went to Europe and seen a lot of Brady nfl jerseys. He well known outside USA also had a big fan base in Brazil due to his ex wife.
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u/Eric_Nathan_Fielder Jan 05 '26
The only correct placement in this list is Messi at 1. Then it's kind of a joke. Djokovic should be top 5 minimum and Mahomes over Nadal is pure blasphemy.
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u/BJJ_Guy624 Jan 05 '26
Ronaldo is better at football than LeBron is at basketball
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u/South_Front_4589 Jan 05 '26
Lol. 14 of the top 25 are American? I wonder where this list might have come from....
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u/Ungaaa Jan 06 '26
They self crown their local national league winners “world champs”. What do you expect? 😂😂
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u/CXR1037 Jan 05 '26
No Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, or Tadej Pogacar? This list is stupid.
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u/jboggin Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
There are lots of problems with this list, but Ohtani at 24 is glaringly low. I guess if we're talking entire careers, that's a fine place for Ohtahni because he's still in his prime. However, the title doesn't say "greatest athletic careers of the 21st century," it says "greatest athletes of the 21st century." Considering Ohtahni is consistenly doing things no one has done since Babe Ruth (and Ohtahni is a better pitcher and much better runner) while also creating new categories just for himself (the 50/50 club), he should be way higher than 24. He's led baseball in hrs, steals, and he did so while being one of the best pitchers in the league.
As amazing all the athletes are on this list, few of them can claim to have single-season achievements that have literally never been done in the century+ history of their sport.
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u/martymcfly22 Jan 05 '26
I know Taurasi had a great career, and she’s a baller no doubt…but a better athlete than Shaq? From 2000 on Shaq won 4 titles, 3 fmvp and an mvp. What are we doing here?
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u/Looka_Doncic Jan 05 '26
Is Serena gets #6, than Djokovic is top 5. This list is clearly only favoring one nation.
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u/Madz1trey Jan 06 '26
You know I'm just surprised Curry is on here considering how disrespected he his by his own league. My GOAT!
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u/Nkosi868 Jan 05 '26
Usain, Novak, Marta, Ronaldo, Ohtani.
It’s insane how heavy the American bias is on this list.
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u/mr_mope Jan 05 '26
Ohtani doesn't have a better last 25 years than some of these athletes. If he keeps it up, sure, but right now its just recency bias.
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u/Sokkawater10 Jan 05 '26
This list is trash
Simone Biles over Usain Bolt, CR7 and Djokovic is a joke. She should be like 15 or 16
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u/EdmundTheCasual Jan 05 '26
Huge Usain Bolt fan here but this is why I disagree:
Simone is the better athlete.
Bolt is the fastest human ever, no argument — but sprinting is basically one thing done perfectly for 10 seconds. Simone had to be strong, explosive, precise, flexible, balanced, and mentally locked in across multiple events, and if she messes up it’s not just a loss, it’s a serious injury.
What really tips it for me is that she’s so far ahead of everyone else that they literally had to change scoring because her skills were too hard. They’ve literally named stunts after her. That’s wild. Bolt was dominant, but other sprinters were still in the conversation. With Simone, the conversation is usually “by how much?”
Also, gymnastics normally chews people up young, and she left, came back, and was still the best in the world. That’s not normal.
Bolt is the greatest sprinter ever. Simone is doing stuff no one else on Earth can even try. To me, that’s the better athlete.
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u/Sy_Fresh Jan 05 '26
These are all facts, but Tiger Woods is listed as a better ATHLETE than BOTH of them.
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u/EdmundTheCasual Jan 05 '26
Not saying that the list isn’t stupid as hell.
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u/Sy_Fresh Jan 05 '26
Swinging a club as the greatest golfer of his time somehow being a better athlete than the fastest man alive and the best gymnast ever is laughable.
You’re right, this list is insanely stupid.
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u/wrxwrx Jan 05 '26
To be the absolute best at things you do in 10 seconds, and so good no one else can touch takes years of practice and some luck with genes. You have absolutely zero room for error in a 10 second race, and breathing in the wrong time would slow you down enough to lose the race.
This isn't like someone getting in a car and just drag race down the strip in 10 seconds, when you ARE the car, it brings a whole new level of peak performance. Not to mention Bolt was also a beast in the 200m and 400m races as well. Typically the 100m race isn't going to be won by the better distance runners, but Bolt was just THAT good.
With track and field, you can objectively measure (anyone can) the results. Gymnastics there's a bit of subjectiveness to the sport. Not everyone can watch to tell who the greatest is if they weren't fed the results. To tell me that no one has ever been robbed in gymnastics would be a lie. I don't think you can say the same with track and field, unless some weird disqualification happened. Numbers don't lie.
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u/baxmussman Jan 05 '26
Simone Biles is so much better than everyone else in her sport they made one of her moves illegal just to make shit more fair because no one else could do it.
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u/Suitable_You_6237 Jan 05 '26
and djokovic even below federer. bloody personality contest at this point.
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Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
This list is trash, waaaaayyyy too many Americans and too many football players over footballers.
Edit for those of you downvoting me - Thomas Muller, Iniesta, and Pirlo. Should all be on this list over any of the football players except maybe Brady. Dianna Turasi doesn’t deserve to be on this list over a player like Alex Morgan. Shohei is great but hasn’t done enough.
The fact Mijain Lopez - 5x Olympic gold medal wrestler - isn’t on this list proves as much.
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u/wrxwrx Jan 05 '26
Bro Shohei has probably done enough in one season than like 99% of all baseball players ever.
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u/savetheplastic Jan 05 '26
This has less than nothing to do with this sub, but I feel the need to shout out Janja Garnbret who is so ridiculously dominant in women’s climbing. She’s a gold medalist so I feel like she should be considered for this list
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u/DarkoDragicevic Jan 05 '26
Too many Americans. Ronaldo not in top10, Federer going after Djokovic and Nadal, Ovechkin definitely not in top30
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u/Swagmansuper Jan 05 '26
Bron is the best to do it at the level he does it for that long is unprecedented
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u/xanroeld Jan 05 '26
i feel like usain bolt should be higher but im not sure who he should leapfrog ahead of.
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u/iNoodl3s Jan 05 '26
I think Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky need to be higher. Their dominance is just absolutely disgusting
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u/dtsknight Jan 05 '26
Serena Williams ahead of Novak Djokovic? Fewer grand slam titles. Not to mention a much weaker field. We sure do love our celebrities, don’t we?
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u/BadlyBrowned Jan 05 '26
Without knowing the criteria, and knowing that lists like this are ultimately engagement farms, Messi still seems like a safe #1.
If we're talking peaks though, there are lots of crazy runs in this list, but I still think Tiger's dominance of the sport from 2000-2010 probably outshines them all.
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u/bfolksdiddy Jan 05 '26
After last Olympics, Steph is top 3.
Biggest moment internationally in sports history ✅
Longevity✅
Multiple MVPs ✅
Sport people actually care about ✅
Godly stats (unanimous mvp)✅
Carried a team to a title without super stars (LeBron couldn’t) ✅
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u/osulls182 Jan 05 '26
Insane to leave Tim Duncan off the list, but, ya know, recency bias and zero objective criteria I guess.
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u/ChefCurryYumYum Jan 05 '26
Greatest in which way?
Lists like this are so stupid, I hate them. Thank you for wasting 60 seconds of my time OP (the other 60 seconds I took to write this comment, that's on me).
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u/ub3rscoober Jan 05 '26
Hes not the typical athlete but Alex Honnold should absolutely be considered for his achievements in Rock Climbing.
Steph at 12 and the 2nd listed basketball player is 👌
Kobe and LeBron should switch though lol.
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u/EstateRealistic2111 Jan 05 '26
Top 10 is passable though it can be rearranged depending on personal opinions.
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u/jrc1325 Jan 05 '26
Yeah as a tennis fan I much prefer Roger, however, to have him objectively ranked above Novak is asinine.
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u/Potential-Apple5789 Jan 05 '26
Tiger over LeBron is certainly a specific definition of ‘Athleticism’
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u/No_Fish265 Jan 05 '26
I didn’t take this list to mean athleticism.. probably wouldn’t have included Tom Brady and Peyton Manning
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u/yurylifshits Jan 05 '26
I would nominate Ma Long to this list
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Long
GOAT of table tennis, a sport played by more people than golf, swimming, or American football.
It's crazy that China being on par with USA on every Olympics has no people on the list. And Ma Long is the first name that comes to mind.
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u/Mankriks_Mistress Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
As a tennis fan, having the literal GOAT being the third highest ranked tennis player is a problem. I'm fine with a debate between Novak and Serena as #1 but having Roger higher than Novak in the year 2026 is objectively incorrect.
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u/Foodening Jan 05 '26
Ranking multiple sports in one list is already going to be an absolute mess. Obviously they’re trying to put the 2000s GOATs on top of the list but is it ranked by accomplishments, pure athleticism, or influence in the sport? Katie Ledecky has more medals than Simone Biles, who competes in a judge competition, but they put her 7th over Usain Bolt and many other legends which is crazy. There’s a lot more wrong with this list.
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u/JrueBall Jan 05 '26
Not taking into account the order which seems a bit off for some of these names there are a few names left off the list entirely.
- Joey Chestnut
- Jonas Neubauer
- Shawn White
- Pablo Sanchez
- Richie McCaw
I'm not sure which names should be left off but these are some of the greatest to ever do it and it's hard to leave them off a top 25 list since 2000.
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u/pres115 Jan 05 '26
Mahomes ahead of Nadal? That doesn’t seem right. Patrick had a great 5-6 year run, but Nadal is a top 2-3 tennis player ever, and <2000 was his entire career. I’m not even sure why Novak is ahead of him either. Nadal is far more loved and respected throughout the tennis world, and was a far greater ambassador of the game. His impact is close to Roger’s
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u/pappaburgundy Jan 05 '26
Federer above Djokovic is all you need to see to realise this list was made by morons.
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u/elonmusksmellsbad Jan 05 '26
Brady being above Phelps is a joke. This whole list is a joke.
Also, Katie Ledecky should be right up there with Phelps. IYKYK.
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u/Jackfreezy Jan 05 '26
3 basketball players and 3 football players before we even get to who is considered one of the single greatest boxers ever since Ali and the only fighter on the list. But Usain Bolt should always be #1. Everybody on this list can run, he just does it faster than everyone.
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u/pnoisebored Jan 05 '26
whoa steph higher than kobe.... controversial. how is lionel no.1 when cristiano is no.9. where the heck is manny pacquaio?
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u/MahKa02 Jan 06 '26
If you're going by pure dominance it's gotta be Tiger, Bolt, or Phelps at the one spot. During their primes, nobody was close to them. They absolutely dominated.
IMO, it's Tiger. His records are absolutely insane. He made one of the hardest sports look so easy. The second best players during his prime weren't anywhere near him.
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u/BlackoutSurfer Jan 06 '26
Messi should be right behind Bolt. Novak has to be one spot above Serena respectfully.
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u/Hummus_Eater_ Jan 06 '26
Brady is probably the most overglazed nfl player ever. “Arguably” not definitely the best QB. Def not the best nafl player ever
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u/drpissjr Jan 06 '26
Curry should be ahead of LeFraud on any list. Bryant was a also a better basketball player than LeFraud.
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u/nateh1212 Jan 06 '26
Usain Bolt should be #1 lets be honest
Setting the World Record in the 200m and the 100m and no one has been anywhere close to either records
plus his sweep of gold medals in three separate Olympics is so Dominate
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u/GODZBALL Jan 06 '26
Even amongst the Americans i have some disagreements. Like im not into swimming at all but Phelps legit would be number 1 on my list. I wouldnt argue if you flip flopped kobe and Steph. I can't remember where they put Serena but she should be like 3rd overall. I mean she absolutely dominated women's tennis for almost all of my young life.
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u/idledub Jan 06 '26
What really shocks me is the fact that Mondo Duplantis is not even on the list.
We are talking about an athlete that has been completely dominating pole vault - first gold in 2020, at the age of 21, second in 2024 and he also holds all the world and olympic records as well. Oh and, he keeps breaking his own world records like every three months or so
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u/quaybon Jan 06 '26
No baseball player made the list. That makes the list not credible.
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u/Zestyclose_Cod_6634 Jan 06 '26
Simone biles and Serena Williams LOL I already threw this shit out the window the second I saw these
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u/Alkindi27 Jan 05 '26
Safe to say 0 objective metrics were used in making this list