Here's the full list, along with my thoughts on each athlete and their ranking. It's a long read but hopefully an entertaining one. Let's gooo...
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Arguably the best DB of the past 25 years. We're off to a good start here.
I liked Woodson more, but Reed might have made a little bit more of an impact.
I was afraid this would happen. This is waaay too low for the most dominant NHLer of the past half-decade. #97 should not be #98… #48, maybe.
The "Worldwide Leader In Sports" putting the emphasis on worldwide here. Can anyone reading this make the case that he's a better athlete than Drew Brees, Vince Carter, Jose Altuve.. or McJesus?
Three football stars at (roughly) the same position in the first five. Is ESPN's list going to be 60% NFL, like their air time? [spoiler alert: no, just 12%.]
I like this guy. No issue with this ranking, but including soccer stars on this list is going to get… messy.
Case in point. If two of the first seven are international soccer greats, this list could easily have a dozen more - which will leave out a lot of MLB/NHL/NFL stars. If you're into that sort of thing.
Of course ESPN would pull this crap. You can argue whether or not golf is a sport -- but golfers are not athletes. You left off Larry Fitzgerald for this guy?
This is a 21st century list so Pedro's MVP-worthy 1999 season doesn't count. Otherwise he'd have ranked a lot higher, right? Right??!?!?
Wow. I can't stand the guy, but I'm shocked ESPN would rank him this low. I'd have him as a top-ten NFL player of the 21st century, or roughly top 40 on this list. Pat McAfee predictably blew a gasket over this.
Errrghh… a woman?!?!? Damn woke-ass ESPN ( /s). I'm vaguely familiar with A'ja and this feels like a fair ranking.
Something tells me the anti-woke crowd would have no issue with Annika. I have no issue with her, either.. except that golfers are not athletes.
Two baseball players on the list so far, and they're both pitchers. Interesting. Clear case of heavily weighing post-2000 production if he's higher than Pedro.
This is the bald Brazilian soccer great - not to be confused with the long-haired Brazilian soccer great, or the Portuguese pretty boy. Get some original names, soccer! (This message brought to you by the Canadian Connor Society)
What this tells me is that there will likely be one more women's tennis star on the list, and it won't be Ana Ivanovic or Maria Sharapova.
First NBA star on the list is a fine choice. Rings (and defense) likely explain why he's ahead of Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthony, Damian Lillard, etc.
I'm gonna see Sue Bird on this list, right? Right?!??!
Erm, what was I saying about rings? Scratch that. I guess this means no Steve Nash or Jason Kidd, huh?
So, is this guy like the Simone Biles of men's gymnastics, or what? This sure is shaping up to be a worldwide list.
An OG WNBA legend. I'm kind of surprised she accomplished enough in the 2000s to make the list.
Ah yes, the token American male tennis star (…) What's that? Andy Murray is British?!? Since when? (…) Yeah, I probably did confuse him with Roddick.
We'll soon be confronted with the difference between a 'baseball player' and an 'athlete'. Not here. Bryce is an excellent example of both.
Where my boxing heads at? I'm sure Hopkins is very good at the face-punching, but is he really a better athlete than Venus, Bryce, or QAaron?
Shelly-Ann is Jamaican, which tells me Usain Bolt will be on this list. Which makes me happy.
We're gonna have a lot of these (Dana)White boys, aren't we? And we're gonna have more non-NHL Canadians than hockey-playing Canadians… eh?
A quarter of the list is in the books, and ESPN has ranked an equal amount of players in football and futbol.
Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Jose Altuve, Vince Carter
Another OG WNBA legend. I'm gonna see Sue Bird on this list, right? Right?!??!
Some Red Sox fans still haven't forgiven the team for trading Mookie. I've made my peace with it, and I hope the future HOFer wins another ring or two in L.A. It won't be 82 more years 'til the Sox win again, right? Right?!?!?
Snowboard dudes got mad at Shaun for "selling out" and "going corporate" but did skateboard dudes get mad at Tony Hawk for doing the same? I'm honestly asking.
Pac-man is one of five fighters on the list. There are only three hockey players on this list. Never change, ESPN.😒 Also, learn to count. (Who do they think is the fourth boxer?)
Andres is one of five athletes I had never heard of here. Wikipedia says he's "widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time." And when is Wikipedia ever wrong?
Guess I was wrong about the point guard hierarchy. Kidd led New Jersey to back-to-back NBA Finals and won a ring at the end of his career with Dallas; is that why ESPN ranked him higher than CP3?
What part of Golfers Aren't Athletes don't you understand?
Breaking News: James Harden has demanded a trade from this list and called ESPN's selection committee a bunch of filthy f**ing liars. Can we put Damian Lillard here instead?
I watched Fighting in the Age of Loneliness a few years ago(back when Secret Base made non-NBA videos). If we absolutely must include MMA, then "Bones" and GSP shouldn't be the only names on the list.
Mbappe is one of the younger stars here, which could explain his bottom-half ranking. Could also explain why Erling Haaland is not ranked at all.
There's no debating Mia's significance to women's soccer - but wasn't most of her career in the '90s? And why isn't Alex Morgan or Abby Wambach on this list?
Taking this opportunity to declare that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone would be a top-50 athlete if ESPN waited until after the Paris Olympics to publish this project. (Also I still say track & field even though the list just says track.)
I know this list includes the entire quarter-century, and Shohei has only been in MLB for a quarter of that time… but this is about 30 spots too low.
I'm not arguing against Ray-Ray; he'd kill me. But Lamar Jackson debuted the same year as Ohtani and also has two MVPs. ESPN says he's "next". (Also, they have a 'next' list that includes a track star - and it's not Sydney??!?)
Wasn't she the first WNBA star to dunk a basketball? [Nope, that was Lisa Leslie.]
Okay, sure. And since we're ranking all-time great specialists who only played a fraction of the game but were vital to the success of a dynasty… where should we put Adam Vinatieri?
This list already has more defensive players than your typical football card set. J.J. might not even be the best pass rusher in his own family.
Finally a skill position player. Johnson is one of only two non-QB offensive players ranked; there are no tight ends and no running backs. I can't abide having "Megatron" here at the expense of Adrian Peterson or LaDainian Tomlinson.
Spanish soccer star was a key member of last year's World Cup champions... which made a lot of Very Patriotic Americans very happy for some reason.
I know he's not Luka Doncic. Modric is Croatian, Doncic is Slovenian. But, while we're on the subject.. is Luka Doncic on this list? (nope, hasn't played long enough.)
Arguably the greatest goal scorer of all time is 34 spots ahead of our last hockey player - and 32 spots behind our next hockey player ðŸ˜
Jeter is just one spot ahead of Alex Ovechkin on a ranked list from ESPN - and I'm not happy?!? Just feels too low for both of them.
Make his Hall of Fame plaque capless and place it at kid-level, you cowards.
I'm a fan of Nash. I was thrilled he won two MVPs (spoiled Laker fans can cry me a river) But I can't say he should be ranked this high. Especially since Allen Iverson isn't on the list at all.
This is the head-butt guy. I'm sure he was the Kylian Mbappe of his time. But I only know him as the head-butt guy.
For those who think the baseball HOF hasn't inducted enough pitchers lately.. they're coming. Four of them, in the next decade or so. As soon as ol' Blue Eye hangs 'em up, he'll lead the way (unless Kershaw or Verlander retire first.)
Hell yeah, Big Papi ranks ahead of Rivera and Jeter. This our millennium, bitchezzz! (Also, Papi's kid just got drafted by the Sox. Man, I'm getting old..)
Shiffy is my athlete crush. As in, I was crushed that she had such a rough time on the fake Chinese snow in the Beijing Olympics. She's still the GOAT on real snow.
I don't remember approving A-Rod's redemption arc, do you? Whatever, it's fine. Let the cheaters and liars inherit the Earth. None of this matters.
This is a fair ranking for the Greek Freak in a vacuum. I might quibble with putting him so close to an inner-circle HOFer and so much lower than a doughy, lumbering big man with fewer years in the league.
Dirk is third among 21st-century ballers in career points and sixth all time, just behind Michael Jordan. ESPN wouldn't put MJ on this list, right? Right?!??!
I really wanted to see him get to 300 wins. I know winning is irrelevant in today's MLB, but with the graveyard of tendons and ligaments growing by the day, I doubt we'll see another pitcher get to 250 again.
I read a comment on an unrelated recent event that reminded me of KD's almost-trey in the 2021 playoffs. Toe on the goddamn 3 point line, indeed. He's still got a couple more years (and at least one more team) left in him.
ESPN clearly explained that Barry's pre-2k stats weren't considered, just his PED seasons. Okay, then where's Roger Clemens and Manny Ramirez?
The Hit King will headline next year's Hall class. I'm happy that such a unique and iconic athlete was ranked ahead of Bonds and Rodriguez.
So, we're not completely ignoring UConn alumns. That's good. But we are ignoring Sue Bird, Tina Charles, and Breanna Stewart. That's bad.
I know D-Wade and Dirk buried the hatchet, but it still irks me that he and Bron thought Nowitzki was faking the flu in the Finals. Think they'd have said the same about Jordan?
Six basketball players in the last nine - what is this, Secret Base? (Nah, SB would go 8 for 9)
Here's the "athlete" vs. "baseball player" debate for you: Miggy is unquestionably a top-ten MLB star of the 21st century. But athlete? This guy? (Same goes for #45, and another slugger coming up.)
Marta is the only non-American female footballer I'm familiar with. This ranking sounds about right.
It's going to be so strange seeing the Dodgers without Kershaw. At least it would be if he hadn't missed so much time with injuries over the past few years.
It's going to be so strange seeing the Angels without Trout. At least it would be if he hadn't missed so much time with injuries over the past few years.
And we're back to the vroom-vroom gentlemen. I'm aware of Schumacher. I'm also aware of Max Verstappen.. where's he? (Not old enough? FOH.)
Here's a guy who is regarded as the best player in his sport right now. A three-time MVP and 6-time All-Star who debuted during the 2015-16 season and... somehow ranks 70 spots ahead of his NHL equivalent. Huh??
Hated this guy as a Packers fan... but secretly loved his game. Interesting that ESPN picks Moss this high and Calvin Johnson at #57, but leaves off Fitz and T.O. entirely.
I might have to extend that 'athlete' or 'star player' question to the gridiron. Peyton was the textbook ideal of a pocket passer, but in no way is he more athletic than Ichiro, Trout, or Moss.
Arguably the only boxer in the past 20+ years who could draw casual fans to watch a fight. "Money" vs. Connor McGregor is the last significant bout I can recall having any buzz. Now the future of the sport is in the hands of... Jake Paul?!?! Yikes.
This feels way too high for Garnett, especially considering he's sandwiched between two of the top-ranked stars of their respective sports. There are six basketball players ranked ahead of KG, five from the NBA. Never change, ESPN. 😒
Ugh... where do I start? Crosby and Ovechkin are different players for sure, and three Cups is more than one. But there's no way any knowledgeable entity would rank them this far apart. Ovi is nearing Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. Crosby is still an incredible player, and should probably be top-20 here.
Also, that's it for the NHL. The Worldwide Leader has given us five car drivers, four golfers, three boxers, two Spanish women's soccer players... and just three hockey stars. No Malkin or Lidstrom or Iginla or Stamkos or Lundqvist or Marty freakin' Brodeur?!?!? That's it, I'm done. Finish the list without me.
In an NBA-only list, Dirk Nowitzki would be much closer to Duncan. Other than that, I'm good with this.
Is Ledecky an absolute beast in the pool? Of course. But is she siginificantly better at swimming than Mikaela Shiffrin is at skiing? I'm not so sure.
Steph's still got it heading into his 16th season. Can he win one more ring without Klay Thompson on his wing?
I got the impression he was this generation's David Beckham, but apparently this impossibly attractive man is actually good at soccer.
Nadal is the first of four tennis players ranked in ESPN's top twelve. Say what you want about the network, this list does not reflect their on-air interests at all.
Look, it's the Aaron Rodgers of tennis. I always thought he was a distant third in the men's tour hierarchy but he must have passed Rafa when I wasn't paying attention.
Fair ranking for Kobe in my book, but a lot of fans won't be happy with who's ahead of him.
Once ESPN decided to go international, I knew Bolt had to be here. Very cool to see him in the top ten.
Welp, they couldn't put Michael Jordan up here so they did the next ESPN-est thing. It baffles me how many people are salty that this non-athlete is ranked so low.
It used to be rare for a gymnast to compete in two Olympics. Biles is about to perform in her third games, and she's still a gold medal contender.
I used to think of Federer as the anti-Serena, a humble and gracious gentleman of sport. You can argue that he wasn't as dominant as Williams - but who were her Nadal and Djokovic-level competitors?
This list was tailor-made for a guy who started in 2000 and just retired a year ago. I despise this man. I loathe him. I think he should be ranked higher.
Before looking at the list, my guesses for ESPN's top three would have been Brady, Bron, Tiger. I'm 0 for 3.
So then who are the top three athletes of the 21st century? Well, here's a clue: we're done with North American team sports... sorta.
Told you this list would get Messi. If he wasn't currently playing for Miami, I'd bet Tiger and Leo would have swapped places.
I figured she'd be top five. I'm a little surprised ESPN has her here.
So, who do the geniuses at the World Wide Leader in Sports believe is the World's Greatest Athlete of the 21st century??
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Thanks for reading!
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