My GOAT Fare Well in ESPN Poll

ESPN invited sports fans to rank the top 100 professional athletes based on their performance since 2000. More than 70,000 people voted. My GOAT fared very well in this poll, which was released this week.

Swimmer Michael Phelps finished first based on his 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold. He also won the most gold medals at a single Olympics—eight at Beijing in 2008. The second highest ranked Olympian is Simone Biles at number seven.

Serena Williams ranked second thanks to her 23 major tennis championships, her 365 wins in matches in majors—the most of all time—and her 73 tournament titles. The second highest rated tennis player was her sister Venus at 86th.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James, was fourth in the poll. He is a 19-time All-NBA selection, a six-time All-Defense selection, a four-time MVP, a four-time NBA champion, and four-time Finals MVP. The next highest ranked basketball player was Kobe Bryant at tenth.

NFL quarterback Tom Brady finished fifth in the voting. Brady has won a record seven Super Bowls and was named the MVP in five of them. He was awarded the regular season MVP three times, selected for fifteen pro bowls, and holds the NFL record for the most passing yards. Patrick Mahomes is the next highest ranked football player at eighteenth.

Novak Djokovic is one of my two GOAT who did not finish first in his or her sport; he was ranked eleventh while Roger Federer, a greater fan favorite, was ranked sixth. Djokovic has won the most majors of any man—24—and has the most Grand Slam wins—375. He has spent 422 weeks ranked number, which is a record for men’s or women’s tennis. Djokovic has won the third most men’s singles titles—98—and is third in wins in the Open era with 1,110.

Diana Taurasi finished 21st. She has won three NCAA championships, three WNBA championships, and five Olympic gold medals. She is the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer and has been named to WNBA all-star team ten times. Tamaka Catchings is the second highest ranked women basketball player at 34th.

Soccer star Mia Hamm is my other GOAT to not finish the highest in her sport. She is 64th, while Brazilian Marta Vieira da Silva was ranked 32nd. However, many of Hamm’s impressive accomplishments occurred before 2000, and she retired in 2004, whereas Marta’s professional career has been from 2000 to 2024. Hamm won four NCAA championships, two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and three-time ESPYS.

So overall my GOAT’s rankings in this poll are quite impressive.