In honor of ESPN.com’s 20th anniversary of the creation of its’ website, they’ve released numerous top 20 lists covering the last 20 years ranging from best sports teams to the top 20 sporting moments. Although the list that caused the probably biggest debate is the list ESPN.com released on Wednesday of the top 20 athletes of the last 20 years.
Michael Jordan was named number one on the list despite only playing from 1995-98 with the Chicago Bulls and 2001-03 with the Washington Wizards, which followed his second retirement in 1998. In fairness, in those two stints his was an NBA All-Star all five times, won two MVPs and won three NBA Championships (all with the Bulls).
The rest of the top five is as follows: Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (2), PGA golfer Tiger Woods (3), New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (4) and women’s tennis superstar Serena Williams rounds out the top five.
As a whole, the list has athletes from 11 different sports with the NBA having the most representation on the list with five. The NFL comes in second with three players and of course they all happen to be quarterbacks: Brett Favre (15), Peyton Manning (7) and Tom Brady (4).
Whenever lists of this nature to come out there will be disagreement. I will rank my top five athletes of the last 20 years, and as with most things in sports there is no “right” answer. Finally, Jordan fans beware he will not be in my top five.
Honorable Mentions:
Tom Brady
Brady is arguably the best quarterback not just of his generation, but of all-time. The New England Patriots have been to six Super Bowls in his time as the Pats quarterback (since 2001), winning four. The most recent victory came in February in a 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in one of the best Super Bowl finishes ever. “Terrific Tom” has thrown 392 touchdowns in his career, and has won the NFL’s MVP award twice. If he were to win an unprecedented fifth Super Bowl next season, he would truly be in a league of his own.
Tim Duncan
In his time with the San Antonio Spurs, Duncan has led the Spurs to five NBA Championships and is a two-time NBA MVP in addition to being a 15-time NBA All-Star. The San Antonio Spurs legend has never missed the playoffs in his 18-year career. Even at age 38, “The Big Fundamental” remains one of the best power forwards in the NBA, and is widely considered to be the best power forward in the history of the NBA.
Now here is my top list of the top five athletes of the past 20 years based on overall performance and dominance of he or she’s respective sport.
5. Michael Phelps
It doesn't matter if the Olympics are only held once every four years. The most decorated Olympian of all-time has to be in the top five. Phelps has won 22 Olympic Medals over four Olympics in virtually every swimming known to man with 18 of those medals being shiny gold. He has also dominated the World Championships in between the Olympics, winning an astounding 26 gold medals. There is no swimmer active or retired who can sniff Phelps’ accomplishments. It will take a herculean effort for any swimmer to match or exceed Phelps resume.
4. Lionel Messi
The only non-American on my list, the Argentinean has been lighting up the soccer world with his dazzling displays for FC Barcelona since 2004. Moving to Barcelona at age 16, no one would’ve expected him to be the all-time leading scorer in La Liga, the top soccer league in Spain, at age 27. He’s scored 275 goals in 304 league games for the Spanish giants. Individual accolades have more than come for Messi as he’s been named the winner of the Ballon d’Or, the best soccer player in the world, for four consecutive years between 2009-12. He’s lead Barcelona to the league title six times, and Barcelona have won the UEFA Champions League another three times with Messi. After leading Argentina to their first World Cup Final since 1990 last summer, Messi will be eager to add the elusive World Cup to his incredible resume. Even if he fails in that venture, he’s still been the best soccer player of his generation.
3. LeBron James
This may be the most controversial pick, because of his placement and the fact he is the only NBA player in my top five. Drafted by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, James instantly proved all the hype that surrounded him was worth it and then some. In his first stint in Cleveland, he won two NBA MVPs and dragged the 2007 Cavaliers all the way to the NBA Finals, before losing to Duncan’s Spurs. He would eventually leave for the Miami Heat and win another two MVPs and helped lead the Heat to four consecutive NBA finals appearances, winning two of them. You know you’ve made it when they find excuses for you to not win the MVP, combine that with his accolades and no NBA player has made more impact over the past 20 years than James. If he had more individual success, he would’ve been a lock for the top two, but he’ll have to settle for a top three spot for now.
2. Serena Williams
Even at age 33, Serena Williams is still the no.1 ranked women’s tennis player in the world, and possibly of all-time. She just won her 19th grand slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year, and shows no sign of slowing down. The fact she hasn't lost to her closest competitor Maria Sharapova, ranked no.2 in the world, in 11 years is quite an accomplishment given how often the top players play each other not only in grand slams, but in other numerous tennis events throughout the year. Williams proves that the younger sibling can get the better of the older one as she outnumbers her sister Venus, 34, in grand slam victories 19 to seven. The next goal for Serena will be to catch Steffi Grafi’s record of 22 grand slams, and on her current form you wouldn't bet against her reaching it.
1. Tiger Woods
My number one athlete of the past 20 years made quite the impression at the 1997 Masters. His win at the Masters by 12-strokes 1997 made him the Masters’ youngest ever winner. As they say the rest is history, Woods would go on to win 13 additional majors between then and 2008. His U.S. Open victory in 2008 was one of the most impressive sporting feats I’ve seen, though currently it’s his last win in a major. His decline would also be one of the most televised and scrutinized in recent history, when his affairs with numerous women were found out in 2009. This and a rash of injuries have made Woods a shadow of the player he once was. However, his stretch of greatness was the best in the past 20 years. He made golf look cool, and dominated the sport in a way in which no one ever has besides Jack Nicklaus. There’s always an outside chance Woods can reclaim his former glory, but even if he never wins another major his legacy in sports is secured forever.
