1. Michael Phelps
2. Serena Williams
3. Lionel Messi
4. Lebron
5. Mr. 18-1 Tom Brady
6. Roger Federer
7. Simone Biles
8. Tiger Woods... 18. Patrick Mahomes
Originally Posted by :
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.
I would have ranked Mahomes a bit higher, perhaps in the top 15. Also hilarious that Brady couldn't even manage to crack the top 3. [Reply]
Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501:
Nah, federer was better though novak has time to change that though not likely. Federer had a way better peak and federer got to clean up after federer and nadals peak. 4 straight years at #1 for Federer is absolutely absurd performance.
Djokovic won 4 more slams and had over 100 more weeks at #1 in a far tougher era (with late peak Federer and peak Nadal), while Federer did most of his damage while those two weren’t around yet. As far as peak, Djokovic also held all 4 slams at the same time (which Federer never did).
There’s literally no statistical argument to be made that Federer had a better career than Djokovic. The only reason he’s higher on this list is because he was more liked/popular (similar to Kobe being higher than other players he was worse then). [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brioni:
I rip on Ken Pom Connection as much as anyone for it....BUT it's true that in this case Lebron should be higher.
Serena being at #2 is a joke, yes. It’s hard to compare mens/womens tennis but she accomplished less than Djokovic/Federer/Nadal against much worse competition than they did. [Reply]
"Now swim from here to there on your back. Here's another award."
"Now swim from here to there moving your arms a different way. Here's another award."
"Hey, look how many awards you have!"
If we played 8-man football and then left-handed football and then flag football and then touch football, Mahomes would be winning five Super Bowls per year. [Reply]
Phelps and Serena are going to be rated higher because they are individual sport athletes. It's not too surprising. ledecky, like mahomes, is still in the prime of her career so her story isn't close to done. The list is pretty consistent in favoring individual sport athletes + hardware. Phelps for sure there is no denying is easily one of the most decorated athlete of all time. [Reply]
