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A detailed compilation of the 25 greatest sports figures since 2000, which includes Usain Bolt, Lionel Messi, and Lebron James.
In the past two-and-a-half decades, the sports world witnessed the emergence and dominance of several sportsmen and women who engraved their names with legendary performances in their respective events.
From football to basketball and athletics, athletes such as Lionel Messi, Lebron James, and Usain Bolt have produced countless indelible memories during the 21st century's opening quarter, making them worthy to be on the list of the greatest sports figures since 2000.
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With several considerations in place, Bleacher Report staff got together to run back the 25 best of the past two-and-a-half decades in sports. To determine the ranking, voters were instructed to consider the extent to which someone revolutionized their respective sport, on-field performance and accolades, cultural relevance, social activism, business ventures, philanthropy, media presence, and global impact.
Based on this, here's a countdown of the 25 Greatest Sports Figures since 2000.
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08:58 - 17.12.2024
History-making sprint queen: Saint Lucia's golden girl Julien Alfred tops Usain Bolt to a record with another monumental feat
Following an iconic Olympic year, Julien Alfred's new stat released by the World Athletics shows she has topped Usain Bolt to a record.
25 - Sidney Crosby
Sport - Hockey
Top career highlight: 2010 Olympic Golden Goal
Years active: 2005-present
24 - Tony Hawk
Sport - Skateboarding
Top career highlight: Landing skateboarding's first 900 in 1999
Years active: 1982-2003
23 - Shaquille O'Neal
Sport - Basketball
Top career highlight: Kobe-to-Shaq alley-oop finishes epic comeback vs. Trail Blazers, 2000 Western Conference Finals
Years active: 1992-2011
22. Allen Iverson
Sport - Basketball
Top career highlight: Stepover of Tyronn Lue in Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals
Years active: 1996-2010
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Unapologetically embraced hip-hop culture, impacting generations of NBA players and fans alike.
21 - Usain Bolt
Sport - Athletics
Top Accolades: 8 Olympic gold medals, 11 World Championship golds, records in the 100-meter, 200-meter individual races and the 4x100-meter relay
Top career highlight: Breaking the 100-meter dash record (9.58 seconds) at the 2009 World Championships
Years active: 2001-2017
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Philanthropic efforts
20 - Ichiro Suzuki
Sport - MLB
Top Accolades: 1 AL MVP, 10-time All-Star
Top career highlight: Single-season record-setting 262nd hit in 2004
Years active: 1992-2000 (NPB); 2001-2019 (MLB)
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Helped globalized MLB fandom and talent pool.
19 - Peyton Manning
Sport - NFL
Top Accolades: 2 Super Bowl titles, 5 NFL MVPs, 7-time All-Pro, Hall of Fame
Top career highlight: Super Bowl XLI win over Bears in Feb. 2007
Years active: 1998-2015
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Post-playing media career.
18 - Patrick Mahomes
Sport - NFL
Top Accolades: 3 Super Bowl titles, 2 NFL MVPs, 2-time All-Pro
Top career highlight: 3rd-and-15 completion in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV, which eventually led to his first title
Years active: 2017-2024
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Philanthropic efforts
17 - Barry Bonds
Sport - Baseball
Top Accolades: 7 NL MVPs, 14-time All-Star, all-time home run leader
Top career highlight: Single-season record-setting 73rd home run in 2001
Years active: 1986-2007
Defining outside-the-lines influence: A primary face of a baseball generation marred by scandal; alleged PED-use was part of the impetus for MLB to impose stricter drug policies.
16 - Michael Phelps
Sport - Swimming
Top Accolades: 82 international medals (28 Olympic medals and 23 golds)
Top career highlight: Winning eighth gold at 2008 Olympics
Years active: 2000-2016
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Individual success brought a flood of money and attention into swimming.
15 - Caitlin Clark
Sport - Basketball
Top Accolades: 2-time National Player of the Year; All-time leading NCAA scorer, WNBA Rookie of the Year
Top career highlight: Breaking WNBA's single-season assist record as a rookie
Years active: 2020-24 (NCAA), 2024-present (WNBA)
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Bringing women's basketball to new heights.
14 - Roger Federer
Sport - Tennis
Top Accolades: 20-time Major winner, 103 ATP wins, 5-time ATP Men's Player of the Year
Top career highlight: Completes career Grand Slam at 2009 French Open
Years active: 2003-2018
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Philanthropic efforts
13 - Bill Belichick
Sport - NFL
Top Accolades: 6 Super Bowl titles, 9 AFC titles, 3rd in all-time wins (302)
Top career highlight: Sticking with Tom Brady over Drew Bledsoe as the Patriots starter in 2001, sparking a dynasty
Years active: 1975-2023 (29 years NFL head coach)
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Crystallized the idea of building a winning culture, impacting coaches in the sports world over.
12 - Shohei Ohtani
Sport - MLB
Top Accolades: 1 World Series title, 3 MVPs, 4-time All-Star
Top career highlight: Joined the 50-50 club in 2024
Years active: 2013-17 (NPB), 2018-present (MLB)
Defining outside-the-lines influence: MLB's biggest international star in history.
11 - Nick Saban
Sport - NFL
Top Accolades: 7 national championships, 297 wins (No. 5 all time)
Top career highlight: Taking the 2009 national title, making him the first coach to win championships at two schools in the poll era and sparking a dynasty
Years active: 1973-2023 (2 years NFL head coach), (28 years NCAA HC)
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Continuous innovation spawned countless coaching imitators.
10 - Colin Kaepernick
Sport - NFL
Top Accolades: 2 NFC Championship appearances, 1 Super Bowl appearance, Time Person of the Year runner-up in 2017
Top career highlight: Near-comeback late in Super Bowl XLVII, highlighted by 15-yard TD run, the longest by a QB in the game's history
Years active: 2011-2016
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Social justice efforts.
9 - Cristiano Ronaldo
Sport - Football
Top Accolades: 5 Ballons d'Or, 5 Champions League titles, 3 Premier League titles, 2 La Liga titles, 2 Serie A titles, 1 European championship
Top career highlight: Lifting the Euro 2016 trophy for Portugal
Years active: 2002-present
Defining outside-the-lines influence: International pitchman and four-time Forbes highest-paid athlete in the world.
8 - Simone Biles
Sport - Gymnastics
Top Accolades: 43 international medals (11 Olympic medals and 7 golds)
Top career highlight: Winning fourth gold at 2016 Olympics
Years active: 2011-present
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Mental health awareness.
7 - Serena Williams
Sport - Tennis
Top Accolades: 23 Grand Slams, 73 titles, 4 gold medals
Top career highlight: Winning the 2003 Australian open to complete her first of two "Serena Slams," which made her the reigning champ of all four of tennis' major Grand Slams
Years active: 1995-2022
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Social justice advocate.
6 - Kobe Bryant
Sport - Basketball
Top Accolades: 5 NBA championships, 1 MVP, 2 Finals MVPs, 15-time All-NBA, Hall of Fame
Top career highlight: 81-point game in 2006—the No. 2 single-game mark all-time behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100 in 1962
Years active: 1996-2016
Defining outside-the-lines influence: The lasting impact of his "Mamba Mentality".
5 - Lionel Messi
Sport - Football
Top Accolades: 8 Ballon d'Ors, 1 World Cup, 4 Champions League titles, 10 La Liga titles, 2 Ligue 1 titles
Top career highlight: Argentina's World Cup win in 2022
Years active: 2004-present
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Philanthropy
4 - Tiger Woods
Sport - Golf
Top Accolades: 15 major titles, 82 PGA Tour wins (1st all-time), 41 European Tour wins (3rd all time)
Top career highlight: Chip-in on the 16th hole at the 2005 Masters, helping him win his fourth Green Jacket
Years active: 1996-present
Defining outside-the-lines influence: His dominance and popularity brought golf into pop culture like never before.
3 - Tom Brady
Sport - NFL
Top Accolades: 7 Super Bowl titles, 3 NFL MVPs, 5 Super Bowl MVPs, 3-time All-Pro
Top career highlight: 28-3 comeback to beat Falcons in Super Bowl LI
Years active: 2002-2022
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Established new boundaries for athletic longevity.
2 - Stephen Curry
Sport - Basketball
Top Accolades: 4 NBA championships, 2 NBA MVPs, 1 Finals MVP, 10-time All-NBA
Top career highlight: Becoming NBA's first unanimous MVP in 2015-16
Years active: 2009-present
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Philanthropy.
1 - Lebron James
Sport - Basketball
Top Accolades: 4 NBA titles, 4 NBA MVPs, 4 Finals MVPs, 20-time All-NBA
Top career highlight: Cavaliers' comeback from 3-1 Finals deficit to win 2016 title, ending 52-year title drought for the city of Cleveland
Years active: 2003-present
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Ushering in NBA's player empowerment era.
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