This year marks the 20th Anniversary of “ESPN – The Magazine” and, to celebrate, they’ve given us all something to bitterly argue about. Here now are their 20 Most-Dominant Athletes of The Last 20 Years.
- Tiger Woods – Sure, the last nine years have been spotty, but between 1999 and 2009 who was better?
- LeBron James – The Michael Jordan loyalists can argue rings, but the other numbers don’t lie.
- Peyton Manning – Made it look so easy, you took it for granted.
- Jimmie Johnson – 20 Top-10 finishes in 14 straight seasons. ‘Nuff said.
- Roger Federer – Spent 305 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings – 237 of them consecutively.
- Annika Sorenstam – The Tiger Woods of the LPGA.
- Michael Schumacher – Held a lead for 15,000 miles during his Formula One Career. The next-closest was 4,000 miles below him.
- Floyd Mayweather – You can’t lose when nobody can hit you.
- Marta – Pele, himself, called the Brazillian soccer beast “Pele in a skirt.”
- Usain Bolt – “The fastest human in history.”
- Lionel Messi – He’s only 30, and his numbers are already historic.
- Serena Williams – No one else comes close to her trophy case.
- Lauren Jackson – Youngest ever to hit the 5,000-point mark and hit over 40% of her three’s three different seasons.
- Cristiano Ronaldo – Only the 2nd player, behind Messi, to score 300 goals.
- Novak Djokovic – Between 2011 and 2016 he was a monster even against Federer and Raphael Nadal.
- Allyson Felix – The most-decorated female U.S. track & field star.
- Barry Bonds – Baggage aside, who would you most trust with the game on the line?
- Mike Trout – Before turning 26, he had 150 homers, 400 extra-base hits, and 150 stolen bases. No one else can match that.
- Manny Pacquiao – World titles in eight different weight classes.
- Tom Brady – More post-season wins that 27 franchises.