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 only 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.
In the end, we received more than 70,000 votes from ESPN contributors to create our top 100. We will reveal 25 athletes every day this week until we reach our No. 1 athlete of the 21st century.
Let the arguments begin. — David Schoenfield, ESPN senior writer
Now that we have seen the top 100 professional athletes since 2000 according to ESPN’s rankings, it’s clear that choosing the best athlete of the 21st century is not an easy task. The list includes legendary names from a variety of sports, each with their own impressive accomplishments and contributions to their respective fields. From Tom Brady to Serena Williams to Roger Federer, the list showcases the incredible talent and achievements of athletes over the past two decades.
As we reflect on these athletes and their impact on their sports, it’s evident that the 21st century has been a golden age of athleticism, with stars like LeBron James, Usain Bolt, and Simone Biles captivating audiences around the world. The diversity of sports represented on the list highlights the global reach and influence of athletics in the modern era.
Looking ahead, it will be fascinating to see how the next generation of athletes, such as Patrick Mahomes and Shohei Ohtani, continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in their respective sports. As they strive for greatness and chase records, they will surely add their names to the list of the greatest athletes of the 21st century.