Best Athletes The Best Athletes of All Time  

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List Rules Open to all amateur or professional athletes in any sport

The greatest athletes of all time: a list of the most dominant, iconic athletes to ever play sports. This list gathers sports stars from across every professional league, as well as amateur athletes who may have never competed professionally, in one overall list. Though it may be challenging to compare performance in a variety of different competitive arenas requiring different skill sets, this list nevertheless attempts to distinguish the top, highest-performing and most successful athletes ever to play. The sports stars that rise to the top can be considered to be the best athletes of all time.

Aspects to consider in picking a best athlete of all time would include, obviously, that player's raw talent and born ability. Some individuals seem to prodigally gifted in their sport of choice, and it's hard to discount the importance of this kind of natural talent. However, it's also important to evaluate hard work, discipline and a commitment to the game. Some athletes may not have the natural, genetic ability to dunk a basketball or hit a home run, but nonetheless have trained to the point of reaching these goals all the same. (They may not be the greatest athlete of all time at all sports, but they have mastered their activity.)

Finally, it can be a challenge to compare an athlete who competed in a solo competition with a member of a well known sports organization or club. How do you look at the achievements of, say, a boxer like Muhammad Ali alongside an athlete like Michael Jordan, who had to not only perform to his own best abilities but work as a cohesive unit along with other members of his team? These are the questions that must be answered when compiling a list of the world's greatest all-time athletes.

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list ordered by

1
44,520 21,571
Michael Jordan is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 56 Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials, MJ, is an American former professional basketball player. He is also an entrepreneur, and principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte ...more

2
40,938 19,924
Muhammad Ali is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 77 Muhammad Ali (January 17, 1942 - June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is widely regarded as one of the most ...more

3
25,248 21,154
Pelé is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 79 Pele, is almost universally regarded as the greatest player in the history of football. Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, Pele emerged on to the ...more

4
19,437 25,144
Julius Erving is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
LeeBob added age 69 Julius Winfield Erving II, commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is a retired American basketball player who helped launch a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim. ...more

5
27,440 15,839
Usain Bolt is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 33 Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, CD, is a Jamaican sprinter. Widely regarded as the fastest person ever, he is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic ...more

6
17,838 23,303
Paolo Maldini is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
JonathanWeider added age 51 Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left back or central defender, being adept with either foot although naturally right-footed. He spent all 25 seasons of his ...more

7
12,993 19,200
Marco van Basten is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
JonathanWeider added age 55 Marcel "Marco" Van Basten is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played for Ajax and A.C. Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, in the 1980s and early ...more

8
12,989 19,526
John McEnroe is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 60 John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States often rated among the greatest tennis players of all time, especially for his touch on the ...more

9
16,848 19,319
Pete Sampras is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 48 Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former World No. 1. During his 14-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, becoming the first player to break Roy Emerson's ...more

10
15,125 17,171
Ingemar Stenmark is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
Skojare added age 63 Jan Ingemar Stenmark, born 18 March 1956 in Joesjö, Sweden, is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Sweden. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish sportsmen, and as the ...more

11
34,886 17,273
Michael Phelps is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 34 Michael Fred Phelps II is an American competition swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals, ...more

12
37,434 17,111
Lionel Messi is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 32 Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi Cuccittini is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He is a forward and serves ...more

13
25,568 18,453
Wayne Gretzky is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 58 Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League for four teams from 1979 to 1999. ...more

14
14,097 15,223
Rod Laver is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
RodneyBlair added age 81 Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest in tennis history. He was the No. 1 ranked professional from 1964–70, ...more

15
31,596 15,695
Babe Ruth is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
Dec. at 53 (1895-1948) George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr. was an American baseball outfielder and pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1935. Nicknamed "The Bambino" and ...more

16
35,020 18,534
LeBron James is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 35 LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. Standing at 6 ft 8 in and weighing 250 lbs., he has started ...more

17
28,179 16,238
Roger Federer is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 38 Tennis player Roger Federer (born August 8, 1981) is a Swiss tennis professional, currently ranked World No. 1. Many experts and many of his own tennis peers believe that Federer may be the ...more

18
14,637 14,902
Garrincha is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
JonathanWeider added Dec. at 50 (1933-1983) Manuel Francisco dos Santos, known by the nickname Garrincha, was a Brazilian footballer who played right winger and forward. He is regarded by many as the best dribbler in football history. The ...more

19
12,666 13,027
Franz Klammer is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 66 Franz Klammer is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. Klammer overwhelmingly dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons. He was the gold medalist at the 1976 ...more

20
26,131 18,233
Joe Montana is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 63 Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr., nicknamed Joe Cool and The Comeback Kid, is a retired professional American football player, a hall of fame quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers ...more

21
18,360 12,319
Wilt Chamberlain is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
Dec. at 63 (1936-1999) Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American basketball player. He played for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA; ...more

22
16,584 11,215
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 72 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. During his ...more

23
17,203 11,886
Magic Johnson is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 60 Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 13 seasons. ...more

24
16,809 11,520
Jesse Owens is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
Dec. at 67 (1913-1980) James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete and four-time Olympic gold medalist. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his ...more

25
16,907 11,736
Serena Williams is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Athletes of All Time
age 38 Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player who is currently ranked No. 1 in women's singles tennis. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her World No. 1 in singles on ...more