Best Athletes (100)

American boxing champion, 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,' most influential athlete of 20th century.

Jamaican sprinter, 100m and 200m world record holder, 8 Olympic gold medals.

Argentine genius, 1986 World Cup 'Hand of God' and solo run, left-footed maestro.

Portuguese superstar, 5 Ballon d'Or, Champions League top scorer, national team scoring record holder.

American swimming legend, 23 Olympic golds, 8 in one Games, most decorated Olympian.

Serbian king, 24 Grand Slams, 428 weeks world No.1, tennis record king.

Swiss maestro, 20 Grand Slams, defined tennis golden era with elegance and global popularity.

Spanish clay king, 22 Grand Slams, 14 French Open titles unprecedented.

German racing legend, 7 F1 world titles, 91 wins, benchmark of modern F1.

Canadian hockey great, NHL record 2857 points, unmatched to this day.

American football icon, 7 Super Bowl wins, 5 MVPs, still on top after 40.

American basketball emperor, NBA all-time leading scorer, 4 titles, 4 MVPs, 20+ year peak.

American basketball star, 5 titles, 81-point game, 'Mamba Mentality' inspires globally.

British driver, 7 F1 world titles, 105 wins, F1's winningest driver.

American golf legend, 15 majors, 1997 Masters 12-stroke shock.

American baseball god, 714 home runs, opened power era, most legendary figure.

American tennis queen, 23 Grand Slam singles titles, best of Open Era.

American track legend, 4 golds at 1936 Berlin Olympics, shattered Nazi racial myth.

American track star, 9 Olympic golds, 4 in 1984 alone.

American basketball great, 6 MVPs, skyhook, 38,387 career points once led history.

Japanese two-way baseball star, first MLB 50-50 season, twice unanimous MVP.

French football master, 1998 World Cup winner, coached Real Madrid to 3 straight Champions Leagues.

Dutch father of total football, Barcelona godfather, influenced tactics for half a century.

German 'Kaiser', inventor of libero, won World Cup as player and coach.

Brazilian 'Ronaldo', 2002 World Cup Golden Boot, comeback after two serious injuries.

Brazilian magician, 2002 World Cup winner, 2005 Ballon d'Or, smile known worldwide.

Argentine-born legend, core of Real Madrid's 5 straight Champions Leagues, two-time Ballon d'Or.

Hungarian 'Galloping Major', core of unbeatable 1950s team, FIFA named annual best goal award after him.

English knight, 1966 World Cup core, survived Munich air disaster.

Italian defender textbook, 902 games for AC Milan over 25 years, 5 European Cups.

Spanish midfield brain, tiki-taka core, World Cup and two European Championship winner.

Spanish midfield maestro, scored extra-time winner in 2010 World Cup final.

Croatian midfield master, 2018 Ballon d'Or broke Messi-Ronaldo decade monopoly.

Soviet goalkeeper, only keeper to win Ballon d'Or, 'Black Spider' legend.

Swedish tower, won titles in four leagues, 570+ career goals.

French striker, 2018 World Cup winner, hat-trick in 2022 final.

Brazilian women's football legend, 6 FIFA World Player of the Year, 17 World Cup goals, all-time top.

American basketball's ring king, 11 championship rings, civil rights pioneer

American basketball stat monster, 100 points in a game and 50.4 points per game in a season

Lakers legend, greatest point guard ever, 5 titles and 3 MVPs, created Showtime

Celtics legend, three straight MVPs, saved NBA ratings alongside Magic

American paint dominator, 4 titles and 3 Finals MVPs, one of the most dominant centers

American Stone Buddha, 5 Spurs titles, 19 years of steady excellence, greatest power forward ever

American sharpshooter, 4 titles and all-time three-point king, redefined basketball spacing

American scoring machine, 2 titles and 2 Finals MVPs, elite isolation scorer

Greek Freak, led Bucks to 2021 title, two-time MVP, from street vendor to superstar

Chinese giant, first international NBA number-one pick, 8-time All-Star, bridge between Chinese and American basketball

Czech-American tennis legend, 18 Grand Slam singles and 31 doubles titles, evergreen champion

German tennis queen, 22 Grand Slams, completed the calendar Golden Slam in 1988

American grass-court king, 14 Grand Slams, won Wimbledon seven times

Kenyan marathon king, two-time Olympic champion, first human to run a sub-2-hour marathon

Ethiopian distance-running emperor, two-time Olympic 10,000m champion, broke world records 27 times

Ukrainian pole vault tsar, broke world records 35 times, first to clear six meters

American swimmer, seven golds at 1972 Munich Olympics, all in world-record time

American swimming queen, 9 Olympic golds, absolute ruler of distance freestyle

Romanian gymnastics sprite, scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic history at 1976 Games

American gymnastics queen, 11 Olympic medals, multiple difficult skills named after her

Soviet gymnastics great, her 18 Olympic medals record stood for half a century

American golf's Golden Bear, record 18 major championships

American golf's King, 7 majors, brought golf into the television era

American baseball home run king, his 755 home run record stood 33 years

Baseball's Say Hey Kid, 24-time All-Star, model five-tool player

Baseball pioneer, broke MLB's color barrier in 1947, number 42 retired league-wide

Football's greatest wide receiver, record holder for receiving touchdowns and yards

Legendary running back, led the league in rushing 8 times in 9 seasons, retired at his peak

Football's Joe Cool, 4 Super Bowl titles and 3 Super Bowl MVPs

Five-time NFL MVP, two-time Super Bowl champion, king of passing records

NFL's active best player, 3 Super Bowl titles, astonishing passing talent

Canadian hockey's Super Mario, two Stanley Cups, returned after beating cancer

Canadian hockey prodigy, 3 Stanley Cups and 2 Olympic gold medals

Russian hockey sniper, chasing Gretzky's goal record, won the 2018 Stanley Cup

Brazilian racing god, 3-time F1 world champion, tragically died at Imola in 1994

Argentine legend, 5 F1 world titles in the 1950s, highest winning percentage in history

French Professor, 4-time F1 world champion, his epic duels with Senna entered history

Dutch driver, four straight F1 titles, youngest race winner in history

Italian motorcycle god, 9 world championships, totemic figure of MotoGP

Spanish rider, 8 world championships, MotoGP's youngest record breaker

Belgium's 'Cannibal': five Tour de France wins, five Giro d'Italia titles, cycling's greatest ever

Slovenia's new king: four Tour de France titles and world champion, today's dominant cyclist

American boxing king: undefeated in 50 fights, five-division world champion, PPV box office king

Filipino boxing champion: eight-division world titleholder who rose from slums to the Senate

American boxer: youngest heavyweight champion ever, devastating at his peak

American boxer: defended heavyweight title 25 times, the 'Brown Bomber'

American boxer, widely regarded as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in history

Irish fighter: two-division UFC champion who pushed MMA into the mainstream

Russian fighter: retired undefeated at 29-0, a UFC lightweight legend

American fighter: youngest champion in UFC history, long-time light heavyweight ruler

Australian cricket god: eternal record of 99.94 career batting average

Indian cricket god: 100 international centuries, idol to 1.4 billion people

India's current cricket king: run-scoring machine, among the most-followed athletes on social media

China's badminton 'Super Dan': double career Grand Slam, two-time Olympic men's singles champion

China's table tennis 'Dragon': double Grand Slam, six Olympic gold medals

Russian wrestling beast: 887 matches with only 2 losses, three-time Olympic Greco-Roman champion

French judo giant: 11 world championships and 3 Olympic gold medals

New Zealand rugby legend who redefined the wing position with sheer power

American skateboarding godfather: first to land the 900, global face of extreme sports

American surfing god: 11 world titles, both youngest and oldest champion in history