ESPN Top 100 Athletes of the 21st Century

Name the greatest athletes of the 21st century, according to ESPN. (Published July 2024)

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Last updated: August 11, 2024

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First submitted	July 18, 2024
Times taken	2,354
Average score	32.0%
Rating	4.50
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#	Sport	Athlete
1	Swimming	Michael Phelps
2	Tennis	Serena Williams
3	Soccer	Lionel Messi
4	Basketball	LeBron James
5	Football	Tom Brady
6	Tennis	Roger Federer
7	Gymnastics	Simone Biles
8	Golf	Tiger Woods
9	Track	Usain Bolt
10	Basketball	Kobe Bryant
11	Tennis	Novak Djokovic
12	Tennis	Rafael Nadal
13	Soccer	Cristiano Ronaldo
14	Basketball	Stephen Curry
15	Swimming	Katie Ledecky
16	Basketball	Tim Duncan
17	Basketball	Shaquille O'Neal
18	Football	Patrick Mahomes
19	Auto Racing	Lewis Hamilton
20	Football	Aaron Donald
21	Basketball	Diana Taurasi
22	Hockey	Sidney Crosby
23	Basketball	Kevin Garnett
24	Baseball	Albert Pujols
25	Boxing	Floyd Mayweather
26	Football	Peyton Manning
27	Football	Randy Moss
28	Basketball	Nikola Jokic
29	Auto Racing	Michael Schumacher
30	Baseball	Mike Trout
31	Baseball	Clayton Kershaw
32	Soccer	Marta
33	Baseball	Miguel Cabrera
34	Basketball	Tamika Catchings
35	Basketball	Dwyane Wade
36	Basketball	Maya Moore
37	Baseball	Ichiro Suzuki
38	Baseball	Barry Bonds
39	Basketball	Kevin Durant
40	Baseball	Justin Verlander
41	Basketball	Dirk Nowitzki
42	Basketball	Giannis Antetokounmpo
43	Baseball	Alex Rodriguez
44	Skiing	Mikaela Shiffrin
45	Baseball	David Ortiz
46	Baseball	Max Scherzer
47	Auto Racing	Jimmie Johnson
48	Soccer	Thierry Henry
49	Soccer	Aitana Bonmati
50	Soccer	Zinedine Zidane

#	Sport	Athlete
51	Basketball	Steve Nash
52	Baseball	Adrian Beltre
53	Baseball	Derek Jeter
54	Hockey	Alex Ovechkin
55	Soccer	Luka Modric
56	Soccer	Alexia Putellas
57	Football	Calvin Johnson
58	Football	J.J. Watt
59	Baseball	Mariano Rivera
60	Basketball	Candace Parker
61	Football	Ray Lewis
62	Baseball	Shohei Ohtani
63	Track	Allyson Felix
64	Soccer	Mia Hamm
65	Soccer	Kylian Mbappe
66	MMA	Jon Jones
67	Basketball	James Harden
68	Golf	Phil Mickelson
69	Basketball	Jason Kidd
70	Soccer	Andres Iniesta
71	Boxing	Manny Pacquiao
72	Snowboarding	Shaun White
73	Baseball	Mookie Betts
74	Basketball	Lisa Leslie
75	Soccer	Xavi Hernandez
76	MMA	Georges St-Pierre
77	Track	Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce
78	Boxing	Bernard Hopkins
79	Baseball	Bryce Harper
80	Tennis	Andy Murray
81	Basketball	Sheryl Swoopes
82	Gymnastics	Kohei Uchimura
83	Basketball	Chris Paul
84	Basketball	Lauren Jackson
85	Basketball	Kawhi Leonard
86	Tennis	Venus Williams
87	Soccer	Ronaldo Nazario
88	Baseball	Roy Halladay
89	Golf	Annika Sorenstam
90	Basketball	A'ja Wilson
91	Football	Aaron Rodgers
92	Baseball	Pedro Martinez
93	Golf	Rory McIlroy
94	Soccer	Ronaldinho
95	Soccer	Zlatan Ibrahimovic
96	Football	Darrelle Revis
97	Cricket	Virat Kohli
98	Hockey	Connor McDavid
99	Football	Ed Reed
100	Football	Charles Woodson

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13 Comments

+17

Level 68

Aug 11, 2024

This list is a joke, no problem with the quiz tho

Level 71

Aug 11, 2024

Surnames shouldn't be required for Xavi and R9, no one calls them Hernandez or Nazario

Level 58

Aug 11, 2024

Xavi and Ronaldo will work now

Level 65

Aug 11, 2024

Putting Djokovic and Nadal at 11th and 12th is pure delusion by ESPN

Level 58

Aug 12, 2024

flo jo not being here is a crime

Level 58

Aug 14, 2024

Assuming you are talking about the track star, it would be kind of hard for her to make this list of top athletes in the 21st century when she passed away in 1998 :)

Level 71

Aug 12, 2024

Good quiz, but maybe warn that it is US-centered because a list dominated by basketball, baseball and "football" will have the international audience of JetPunk scratching their heads. These sports are followed mainly in the USA, not very much elsewhere, so it would be fair to mention it.

Level 58

Aug 12, 2024

Your warning is in the title. ESPN is an American company after all.

Level 55

Dec 19, 2024

Not even a giants or dolphins fan but the OBJ disrespect goes crazy

Level 41

Jan 9, 2026

not even a bit, youre telling me you think hes better than ed reed all time? dude isnt even better than like another 10 recievers that could be here

Level 56

Dec 3, 2025

"Best of something in the world" and "the world" is just contained to things watched in 50 states. Classic. ESPN have had an absolute mare with this list.

Level 68

Jan 9, 2026

I mean, if you eliminate all the athletes famous for tennis, soccer, auto racing, baseball, basketball, golf, boxing, hockey, and the Olympics, then yeah, it's all sports only popular in the US. So, basically, you don't like that they included American football.

And yes, yes, the NHL, MLB, and NBA are "American" leagues, but those are the leagues in which the best athletes from all over the world play. The unquestioned best MLB player right now is Japanese. The last American-born NBA MVP was eight years ago, since which time people from Canada, Greece, Serbia, and Cameroon have all won. Americans account for only 30% of NHL players. The league has plenty of Canadians, Russians, Swedes, and fans, among other Europeans.

Tennis, skiing, boxing, auto racing, swimming, golf...well, I don't know what to tell you. Those are played all over the world.

So...sorry you don't know American football. I guess that makes "the whole list" American.

Level 50

Jan 10, 2026

Giannis, among others, is *fifty-two* places in front of Ronaldinho oooookaaaaay