Twenty-five years. The sports world has produced countless indelible memories during the 21st century's opening quarter, and it would be a gargantuan task to compile it all in one place.
To help sift through all of the dizzying heights, jaw-dropping feats, unforgettable players and teams, the Bleacher Report staff got together to run back the best of the past two-and-a-half decades in sports—because, hey, reminiscing is part of why we're all fans.
Today we present the 25 most influential people in sports since January 1, 2000, the first of our six-part Quarter Century series.
To determine the ranking, a staff vote gave us our pool of finalists, which were drawn from players, coaches, front-office executives and agents.
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.
It's probably no surprise that players—the lead singers of the sports world—squeezed out most every other job description among the nominees. The rankings were then subject to a smaller expert panel to produce the final order.
You can find other installments of the series linked below. Be sure to check back through New Year's Day as we reveal Parts 4 through 6, which cover the most dominant sports towns and the most incredible moments of the last 25 years—all of which lead to a look-ahead at the stars of the next 25.
Player write-ups by David Kenyon
Part 2: 25 Greatest Sports Franchises of the Last Quarter Century
Part 3: 25 Biggest Sports Trades of the Last Quarter Century
25. Sidney Crosby
Top Accolades: 3 Stanley Cups, 2 Hart Trophies, 2 Conn Smythe Trophies, 8-time All-Star
Top career highlight: 2010 Olympic Golden Goal
Years active: 2005-present
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Laid the blueprint for a generation of hockey stars
The first overall pick of the 2005 NHL draft, Sidney Crosby arrived with generational expectations. He's lived up to every single shred of that billing in a brilliant career with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Crosby's trophy case includes a Rookie of the Year, two Harts (MVP), two Conn Smythes (playoff MVP) and a slew of others. His Golden Goal lifted Team Canada to a 3-2 win over Team USA to take home gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with all of Canada watching.
During the 2024-25 season, he became the 21st player in league history to score 600 goals. One year earlier, Crosby notched his 1,000th assist—something only 12 others had ever accomplished.
His endorsements have ranged from Adidas to Gatorade, making him a familiar face to even those outside the hockey-sphere.
Sid the Kid is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, indisputably a future first-ballot Hall of Famer and the face of the last two decades of hockey.
24. Tony Hawk
Top Accolades: 12-time National Skateboard Association world champion, 73 total skating titles, 16 X Games medals
Top career highlight: Landing skateboarding's first 900 in 1999
Years active: 1982-2003
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game series
Tony Hawk pushed the limits of skateboarding, both physically and metaphorically.
Most memorably, he landed the first documented 900 in history. Hawk pioneered dozens of tricks in his iconic career, one that included him turning professional at 14 years old.
While most of his skating career landed before our cut-off date of 2000, Hawk's significance extends well beyond the vert ramp. His self-titled video game series had a monumental impact on interest in the sport. He also made numerous appearances in television and movies, even becoming the first person—with permission, at least—to skate on the White House grounds.
Maybe someone else could've done the same later, but there's no question Hawk is the catalyst of skateboarding's popularity.
23. Shaquille O'Neal
Top Accolades: 4 NBA championships, 1 MVP, 3 Finals MVPs, 14-time All-NBA, Hall of Fame
Top career highlight: Kobe-to-Shaq alley-oop finishes epic comeback vs. Trail Blazers, 2000 Western Conference Finals
Years active: 1992-2011
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Post-playing media career
Shaquille O'Neal, similarly, is respected for accomplishments within his sport and recognized for much outside of it.
During his 19-year NBA career, Shaq played for six organizations—though he's usually tied to the Los Angeles Lakers—and amassed four championships with three Finals MVPs, all of which came after our 2000 cut-off.
One of the most powerful centers ever, O'Neal also earned an Olympic gold in 1996. He retired as a top-10 scorer in league history and currently ranks 11th in the category.
O'Neal has since maintained his popularity as a television analyst and successful entrepreneur. Perhaps most notably, he's a co-host of TNT's Inside the NBA, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a person who hasn't seen him hawking products in commercials far and wide.
22. Allen Iverson
Top Accolades: 1 NBA MVP, 7-time All-NBA, Hall of Fame
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
One unquantifiable measurement of an influential athlete is how many kids start imitating you in the backyard.
Allen Iverson's copycats broke a few billion invisible ankles.
Thanks to his devastating crossover and elite ball-handling skills, "The Answer" was a stellar playmaker. Iverson won four scoring titles—and that doesn't even include a season in which he averaged a career-high 33.0 points—while tallying seven All-NBA honors and a league MVP.
Iverson, who is 33rd all-time in points, entered the Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2016 class.
Had he not lost some of his prime years to our pre-2000 cut-off, he might've been higher, but make no mistake: His cultural impact is indelible. As LeBron James told Sports Illustrated: "He represented what Black kids were all about, and he resonated with every inner-city kid in the world who had a struggle."
21. Usain Bolt
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
Usain Bolt is the fastest human in history. Enough said, no?
The eight-time Olympic champion from Jamaica owned the 100- and 200-meter sprints for nearly a decade. He won gold in both events at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games and 2009, 2013 and 2015 World Championships.
Bolt's legacy includes him smiling at cameras or looking back at his chasing competition before finishing a race.
He was faster than everyone and—very understandably—didn't have a problem reminding you of that.
20. Ichiro Suzuki
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
The first Japanese-born player in MLB history, Ichiro Suzuki made his debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2001.
As a 27-year-old rookie, he batted an MLB-best .350 and earned the American League MVP. Ichiro tormented pitchers for the first decade of his MLB career, surpassing 200 hits in all 10 of those seasons while leading the majors in the category seven times.
The future 2025 Hall of Famer—unanimous, if voters actually have a brain—collected 10 Gold Gloves because of his absurd range and missile of a right arm. Oh, and he stole 383 bases in that decade.
Before coming stateside, he posted 1,278 hits in nine years in Nippon Professional Baseball on a .353 batting average, winning three Pacific League MVPs and one championship.
He also proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Japanese stars could thrive in MLB, paving the way for the flood of his talented countrymen to come stateside in the ensuing decades.
Ichiro, in short, was a groundbreaking superstar.
19. Peyton Manning
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
Peyton Manning was not the most impressive athlete on the planet, but he thrived in the NFL because of his brain.
That's not meant to discount his powerful arm; Manning retired as the career leader in both passing yards and touchdowns. That doesn't happen without elite physical skills.
Manning, nevertheless, simply knew everything. Pre-snap, he could identify coverages and pressures like no other—the king of checking at the line of scrimmage, former star linebacker LaVar Arrington once said. Manning's brain just worked at a special rate.
Now an influential media figure in his post-career life, Manning headed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
18. Patrick Mahomes
Top Accolades: 3 Super Bowl titles, 2 NFL MVPs, 2-time All-Pro
Top career highlight: 3rd-and-15 completion in fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV, which eventually led to his first title
Years active: 2017-2024
Defining outside-the-lines influence: Philanthropic efforts
After sitting as a rookie in 2017, Patrick Mahomes took command of the Kansas City Chiefs and made a remarkable impact. He threw for 5,097 yards and an NFL-best 50 touchdowns to win league MVP.
And he's hardly slowed down.
Through six years as QB1 in Kansas City, the gunslinger has celebrated three Super Bowl titles with a fourth trip to that stage. Each of those seasons ended no earlier than the AFC Championship, and Mahomes added a second MVP during the 2022 campaign.
Mahomes certainly isn't the inventor of strange arm angles and no-look passes. Still, his play style is already having a clear influence on this generation of QBs in high school and college.
As he continues to act as the post-Tom Brady face of the NFL, the 29-year-old is also growing as a voice for social change and is no stranger to charitable efforts, as his 15 and the Mahomies foundation is "dedicated to improving the lives of children."
17. Barry Bonds
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
The discussion around Barry Bonds and his place in the Steroid Era is equal parts divisive and controversial. Hey, no one said "influential" is inherently a positive thing.
I know one thing with certainty: The dude hit bombs.
A seven-time National League MVP with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants, Bonds established MLB records with 762 home runs and 2,558 walks—including 688 international free passes. He earned 12 Silver Sluggers and eight Gold Gloves, as well.
Bonds' connection to steroids has clouded his Hall of Fame potential, but there's no denying the slugger's excellence—and impact on the sports landscape—in a complicated era.
16. Michael Phelps
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
Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian ever.
The legendary swimmer took home 28 medals, which is still 10 more than any other athlete in history. Most impressively, Phelps is the only Olympian with double-digit golds—and his collection boasts 23.
Phelps set a record with eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games and won more medals than anyone in four straight Olympics.
Although most of his personal-best times have since been broken, Phelps set 29 individual world records in his career.
Out of the pool, he's a global ambassador for the Special Olympics and has been outspoken about his struggles with mental health and his desire to positively impact lives in that area.
15. Caitlin Clark
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
The history of the WNBA has included some iconic names—from Cynthia Cooper and Tamika Catchings to Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore—who have driven up the league's popularity.
But nobody has moved the needle like Caitlin Clark.
Largely thanks to her near-limitless shooting range, she's sparked an unparalleled level of interest in women's basketball.
Among the 32 WNBA games that attracted 1 million viewers in 2024, at least 21 involved Clark and the Indiana Fever. Opponents moved home games into bigger arenas because the demand for tickets soared when Clark and the Fever visited. And that was after bringing a mountain of attention to the college game at Iowa.
Star talent elsewhere can help sustain the W's rise, but Clark's presence is the inarguable engine of the league's growing popularity.
14. Roger Federer
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
It almost feels improper to list Federer without also seeing Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Apologies for the spoiler alert, tennis fans. Nevertheless, in the first decade of the 2000s, Federer and Nadal dominated the Grand Slams—and the former had a more diverse range of titles, compared to the latter's unbeatable reign on clay at the French Open.
In his career, Federer became the first man to win 20 major singles titles and six season-ending ATP championships.
Federer owns the most Wimbledon titles (eight) and shares the historical lead at the US Open (five) in the Open Era, as well.
What puts him here over his contemporaries? He won a staggering 19 consecutive ATP Fans' Favorite awards, which is a strong indication of the public sway he held.
He also gives back through his Roger Federer Foundation, which "supports educational projects in Southern Africa and Switzerland."
13. Bill Belichick
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 the sports world over
For years, people asked a simple question: Was it Tom Brady carrying Bill Belichick or vice versa?
The answer, in reality, is far more complicated than assigning credit to just one member of the NFL's greatest dynasty. Belichick's leadership and intelligence turned the New England Patriots into a powerhouse.
Combined with Brady's presence, Belichick's eye for undervalued talent was a hallmark of the Pats' six Super Bowl victories. That was most evident on the defensive side of the ball, where New England consistently had one of the NFL's stingiest defenses for two decades.
Belichick tallied a 266-121 record with 17 division titles in his 24 years as the Pats' head coach and general manager.
His coaching tree includes a long list of head coaches who found varying levels of success, ranging from Nick Saban to Matt Patricia. Regardless, coaches everywhere—both in and out of football—looked to emulate the team-first culture Belichick instilled in his organization.
12. Shohei Ohtani
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
Shohei Ohtani is the rarest of baseball players.
Not only is the Japanese star a prolific offensive contributor, he's also an elite pitcher. He's been labeled the modern-day Babe Ruth, a powerful hitter with front-of-the-rotation ability.
Ohtani made his MLB debut as a 24-year-old in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels, and he won AL Rookie of the Year. After a couple of injury-plagued years, his career took off in 2021. Ohtani notched 46 homers with 100 RBI and a 9-2 record with a 3.18 ERA, securing AL MVP. He finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022 and brought home another AL MVP honor in 2023.
After that, he signed a then-record-breaking $700 million contract to join the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency. Tommy John surgery prevented him from pitching in 2024, so Ohtani instead made MLB history as the first player with 50 homers and 50 steals in a season.
Ohtani's versatility and production, quite literally, are unmatched.
The Dodgers also didn't give him the largest contract in league history at the time for his on-field exploits alone. His presence has positively affected both MLB and the Dodgers' global brand, as well as postseason ratings, tourism in L.A. and more, all while giving the league its most marketable star in decades.
11. Nick Saban
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
College football, as a whole, has undergone a dramatic facelift in the last decade, let alone the last 25 years. Some changes have been welcomed, others have led to criticism.
Nick Saban always had an opinion—and often a grumpy one. Yet no coach adapted as well or as quickly.
A national champion at LSU in 2003, he briefly led the NFL's Miami Dolphins in 2005-06 before returning to the college ranks with Alabama in 2006. Saban resurrected a floundering program and turned the Crimson Tide into an absolute juggernaut.
During his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, Saban's teams racked up nine SEC championships and six national titles.
He was a meticulous X's and O's innovator, and his coaching tree litters the CFB landscape, reshaping the face of the sport as we know it.
10. Colin Kaepernick
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
Well before his civil rights activism, Colin Kaepernick played a central role in reshaping the look of NFL offenses.
Kaepernick played at Nevada, where Chris Ault had unveiled his Pistol formation. The system allowed Kaepernick to flourish as a dual-threat quarterback, and the San Francisco 49ers—then coached by Jim Harbaugh—made the bold decision to bench longtime starter Alex Smith in 2012 and commit to a new offense and unproven QB.
The choice immediately paid off as Kaepernick helped the 49ers appear in that season's Super Bowl. One year later, the Niners reached the NFC Championship Game again.
And then, there's the off-field discussion.
During the 2016 preseason, Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem as a way to protest the oppression of people of color. No matter your personal feelings on the matter, Kaepernick's actions sparked a loud conversation about social justice within the NFL.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo
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 Euro 2016 trophy for Portugal
Years active: 2002-present
Defining outside-the-lines influence: International pitch man and four-time Forbes highest-paid athlete in the world
Cristiano Ronaldo is the most clinical finisher in history.
Sometimes, he laces a sweetly struck ball. Others, he unleashes an acrobatic volley or a soaring header. No matter how it happens, though, the Portuguese legend has scored at a higher rate than anyone.
Between club and country, Ronaldo has registered more than 900 goals—the largest official number ever. He rose to prominence with Manchester United, peaked at Real Madrid and continued with Juventus, a return to United and a high-priced transfer to Al Nassr.
Ronaldo is a five-time winner of the Ballon d'Or, the sport's most prestigious individual honor, giving him the second-most all-time.
At any given moment since he rose to prominence, the 39-year-old has either been the world's top-paid athlete or among its top 10. He topped Forbes' 2024 list, and is a brand ambassador for numerous companies including Nike and his own CR7, making his face ubiquitous the world over.
8. Simone Biles
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
Due to the enormous amount of stress put on their bodies from a young age, elite gymnasts tend to retire early in their 20s. That's a preeminent factor in why Olympic teams always seem to have new faces.
Simone Biles is a grand exception.
The all-around gold medalist in 2016, she reclaimed the title in 2024 after a struggle with "the twisties" at the 2020 Games. Biles overcame that mental block—a hugely dangerous one, given the difficulty of her routines—to become the oldest U.S. gymnast (27) to compete at the Olympics since 1952 and oldest to medal since 1948.
Biles secured three golds and a bronze in 2024, lifting her career Olympic total to 11 medals with seven golds.
Beyond the gym, her public struggles in 2020 led to Biles becoming an advocate for mental health, impacting her teammates and those watching from afar.
7. Serena Williams
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
The evolution of tennis on the women's side can be directly attributed to Venus and Serena Williams.
Venus enjoyed a prolific career of her own, gathering seven singles major and 14 doubles major titles. Serena won those doubles titles with her older sister, along with three Olympic golds together, yet produced an even more extraordinary individual resume.
The younger Williams won 23 Grand Slams, the most by a woman in the Open Era, with seven titles at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open. She twice won four straight majors—and did it 12 years apart.
Williams' powerful style ushered in a fresh era that she proceeded to thoroughly dominate for 15 years.
Outside the more well-known accolades, she's held numerous prominent endorsements over the years and has become a successful entrepreneur. She's long been outspoken against racism and in favor of gender equality, making her impact felt far beyond the court.
6. Kobe Bryant
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"
Especially since his tragic death in 2020, the tenacity with which Kobe Bryant played has become stuff of legend.
"Mamba Mentality" defined the five-time NBA champion, who spent his 20-year career on the Lakers. A versatile scorer and feisty defender, he gathered 15 All-NBA honors with two Finals MVPs and one league MVP.
Remember the mention of how influence is seen through imitation? The number of times "Kobe!" has been shouted with a fadeaway jumper—whether that's by players in a gym, a kid on a backyard hoop or a middle-aged person in an office—is impossible to count.
Beyond his on-court legacy, Bryant made a significant impact in growing the sport through the Mamba Sports Academy.
5. Lionel Messi
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
When it comes to the beautiful game, Lionel Messi has a strong claim to being the most beautiful player.
No, we're not talking about his physical appearance. What happens when the ball rolls near the Argentine's feet, however, is simply magic. His creativity—as a dribbler and passer, in particular—is truly mesmerizing.
Messi, officially, joins Ronaldo as the only players with 800-plus goals in their careers. Messi scored 672 of them at Barcelona, which he joined as an academy talent in 2000 and played until 2021. After a stint with Paris Saint-Germain, he transferred to Inter Miami in MLS.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner propelled his native Argentina to a FIFA World Cup triumph in 2022.
Off the field, he's well-known for his charitable work through the Leo Messi Foundation.
4. Tiger Woods
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
Tiger Woods changed the game of golf because, early in his career, he legitimately just hit the ball too freaking far.
Following his formal emergence at The Masters in 1997, there was the Tiger Slam—four straight majors—in 2000-01. Courses, particularly Augusta National, began to "Tiger-proof" the grounds in hopes of creating more competition as Woods reigned over the sport.
Through 2008, he amassed 14 major championships while building golf's popularity on a national scale.
Injuries and personal matters overshadowed the next decade, but Woods memorably made a final-round charge to win The Masters in 2019. His comeback at Augusta, both physically and metaphorically, tied a fitting bow on a legendary career.
Tiger transformed how golf is played and consumed.
3. Tom Brady
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
Similar to longtime rival Peyton Manning, Tom Brady's greatness is a product of his preparation and intelligence.
Brady made the game boring. He feasted on high-percentage throws, happily taking short gains instead of pressing for explosive plays. That alone is not unique, but it was foundational to his success.
What made him special is a combination of other skills. Brady could diagnose coverages and move through a progression so much faster than most QBs. His footwork and feel in the pocket—an ability to navigate pressure without focusing on it—was spectacular. Brady's leadership to mental strength and competitiveness were revered, as well.
Brady won a record seven Super Bowls, including six on the Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He landed three league MVPs and retired as the all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns.
2. Stephen Curry
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
You might love the NBA's modern focus on three-point shooting. You might hate it, preferring the physical style of past years. The debate about whether it's good for the sport does not have a perfect answer.
But we can thank Stephen Curry for that conversation.
His long-range prowess keyed the latest revolution in basketball. Curry's ability to shoot deep—and I mean deep—three-pointers completely altered how spacing is viewed. Why would a player bother attempting shots from so far behind the arc? Because he can make it.
Curry entered the league in 2009, and NBA teams collectively shot 18.1 three-point attempts per game. There's a legitimate chance that average will be more than doubled in 2024-25.
Along with the above accolades, Curry is the all-time leader in made three-pointers with more than 3,800.
The next-closest player in history, James Harden, just passed 3,000.
Off the court, Under Armour Curry Brand shoes made the company more of a player in the sneaker wars. He's also no stranger to charitable efforts, as his Eat.Learn.Play nonprofit organization, established alongside his wife Ayesha, works to improve the well-being of children in the Oakland area.
1. LeBron James
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
LeBron James' longevity is absurd. However, that is not merely a testament to him playing 22-plus NBA seasons.
Save for perhaps his rookie year on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003—when he was a top overall pick labeled a generational superstar—LeBron has been an elite player. Father Time will eventually win (probably?), but he's climbed atop the sport and refused to relinquish his crown.
As of 2024, he's received All-NBA recognition in 20 straight years. James is both a four-time MVP and champion, leading each of the Miami Heat, Cavaliers and Lakers to an NBA title.
LeBron is the league's all-time leading scorer and ranks fourth in assists. He's earned All-Defense honors in six seasons.
Off the court, "The Decision"—his televised 2010 free-agent move to the Heat—opened the floodgates to an era of superteams and star players dictating their own fate more than ever before.
Beyond that, he's not only a lucrative pitchman for numerous products, but he's also a savvy businessman who's involved with everything from movies (SpringHill Company) to minority stakes in team ownership (Fenway Sports Group).
His philanthropic efforts are well-known in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where his LeBron James Family Foundation established an elementary school and more. He's also been outspoken on various issues concerning civil rights.
He is the defining athlete of this quarter-century.
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