ESPN top 100 athletes of the 2000's

[Moranis]

Seems like it's going to be a pretty arbitrary list.  Andy Murray ahead of Aaron Rodgers?  Lol.

Cross sports lists are really tough. Especially when you get outside the top tier.

4x NFL MVP seems like a more consequential athletic achievement than 3x GS winner.

Not sure about that. A regular season award is good, but Rodgers should have more postseason success to be considered one of the greats.

Compared to other greats, sure.  Andy Murray isn't a great.  He's not even top-40 in career grand slams.

He is the only man with 2 Olympic Gold Medals in men's singles and is tied for 2nd most Gold Medals and overall Medals in men's tennis (only Reginald Doherty from 1900 to 1908 has more medals and he won those in doubles and mixed doubles).

[Roy H.]

Seems like it's going to be a pretty arbitrary list.  Andy Murray ahead of Aaron Rodgers?  Lol.

Cross sports lists are really tough. Especially when you get outside the top tier.

4x NFL MVP seems like a more consequential athletic achievement than 3x GS winner.

Not sure about that. A regular season award is good, but Rodgers should have more postseason success to be considered one of the greats.

Compared to other greats, sure.  Andy Murray isn't a great.  He's not even top-40 in career grand slams.

He is the only man with 2 Olympic Gold Medals in men's singles and is tied for 2nd most Gold Medals and overall Medals in men's tennis (only Reginald Doherty from 1900 to 1908 has more medals and he won those in doubles and mixed doubles).

Tennis pros don't seem to care about gold medals, for whatever reason.  Look at Djokovic for instance.

[Donoghus]

51-75

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/40446224/top-100-athletes-21st-century

Jeter over Mo?

[Moranis]

Seems like it's going to be a pretty arbitrary list.  Andy Murray ahead of Aaron Rodgers?  Lol.

Cross sports lists are really tough. Especially when you get outside the top tier.

4x NFL MVP seems like a more consequential athletic achievement than 3x GS winner.

Not sure about that. A regular season award is good, but Rodgers should have more postseason success to be considered one of the greats.

Compared to other greats, sure.  Andy Murray isn't a great.  He's not even top-40 in career grand slams.

He is the only man with 2 Olympic Gold Medals in men's singles and is tied for 2nd most Gold Medals and overall Medals in men's tennis (only Reginald Doherty from 1900 to 1908 has more medals and he won those in doubles and mixed doubles).

Tennis pros don't seem to care about gold medals, for whatever reason.  Look at Djokovic for instance.

Novak has entered plenty of Olympics. He just hasn't won them.

[Moranis]

51-75

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/40446224/top-100-athletes-21st-century

Jeter over Mo?

I'm ok with that. Ray Lewis at 61 seems pretty low. I mean he is considered one of the best defensive players of all time and had most of his prime (including both SB and both DPOY in the 2000's). Did have 4 years in the 90's but still seems very low for someone like Lewis

[Roy H.]

Who has Adrian Beltre over Alex Ovechkin?

[Donoghus]

Who has Adrian Beltre over Alex Ovechkin?

Good catch.  Yeah, no way.

[Kernewek]

51-75

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/40446224/top-100-athletes-21st-century

Jeter over Mo?

I'm ok with that. Ray Lewis at 61 seems pretty low. I mean he is considered one of the best defensive players of all time and had most of his prime (including both SB and both DPOY in the 2000's). Did have 4 years in the 90's but still seems very low for someone like Lewis

Character issues, most likely.

[Moranis]

51-75

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/40446224/top-100-athletes-21st-century

Jeter over Mo?

I'm ok with that. Ray Lewis at 61 seems pretty low. I mean he is considered one of the best defensive players of all time and had most of his prime (including both SB and both DPOY in the 2000's). Did have 4 years in the 90's but still seems very low for someone like Lewis

Character issues, most likely.

that should have no bearing on this list.

[Donoghus]

26-50

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/40446224/top-100-athletes-21st-century

Nothing too egregious jumps out at me.

[Moranis]

26-50

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/40446224/top-100-athletes-21st-century

Nothing too egregious jumps out at me.

the order of the NBA guys is weird to me.  Why is Jokic ahead of all of those guys right now?  What puts Jokic ahead of say Giannis who they had last today? Sure Jokic has the extra mvp, but Giannis has the dpoy. 5 years from now it may look right, but right now it is strange to me.

[footey]

Did anyone mention Bolt? Shouldn't he rank top 5?

[Donoghus]

Did anyone mention Bolt? Shouldn't he rank top 5?

He's definitely in conversation for Top 5. Like I mentioned before, its real tough gauging since its cross sports.  I think he'll fall just outside Top 5 when all is said & done but you definitely have to include him in any discussion of greatest athletes of the 2000s so far.

Trying to weigh individual sport athletes versus team athletes is ridiculously tough.

[footey]

Did anyone mention Bolt? Shouldn't he rank top 5?

He's definitely in conversation for Top 5. Like I mentioned before, its real tough gauging since its cross sports.  I think he'll fall just outside Top 5 when all is said & done but you definitely have to include him in any discussion of greatest athletes of the 2000s so far.

Trying to weigh individual sport athletes versus team athletes is ridiculously tough.

Objectively the way he smashed World Records in the 100 and 200.  8 Gold Medals.

I guess Michael Phelps also has to be up there in the top 10, right?

[Moranis]

The write up for this talks about these athletes.

In order mentioned

Brady
Messi
Lebron
Serena
Federer
Nadal and Djokovic
Bolt, Phelps, Ledecky, Biles
Kobe, Lewis Hamilton, P. Manning (26th), Mayweather, Tiger

So that list is 16, 15 of which are going to be in the top 25.

They also mentioned Patrick Mahomes in the same sentence as Jokic (28th) and Shohei (62nd), and since we've yet to see Mahomes on the list, he is in the top 25.

So just 9 other players one of which will certainly be Curry and probably a couple of Aaron's (Donald and Rodgers).  I imagine Garnett will be there. I am curious to see if Shaq makes the list given he had a lot of time in the 90's, but his best was the early 2000's. MLB, I don't think I saw Pujols yet, not sure anyone else makes it.  I don't know much about NHL, but Sid Crosby probably is there. Along with Messi, I'm guessing Ronaldo is in the top 25.