It is sensible to conclude our sports GOAT series by discussing the top athletes of all time. Many sports have produced incredible athletes, from hockey to soccer to MMA. That is part of the reason why so many people follow various sports. Without further ado, let’s discuss the greatest athletes of all time.
Top Athletes of All Time: Who is the NBA GOAT?
Let’s start off by discussing who is the greatest NBA player in history. The two players in this conversation are LeBron James and Michael Jordan. We covered this discussion in an earlier article. Let’s dive into it.
LeBron James has accomplished quite a bit over the course of his long NBA career. That includes four NBA championships, four NBA Finals MVP awards, and four regular season MVP awards. Additionally, LeBron James has 20 All-Star selections, as well. It is understandable why James is near the top of almost everyone’s NBA GOAT rankings.
However, Michael Jordan accomplished more in his NBA career than LeBron James. Jordan won MVP five times in addition to winning six NBA championships and six Finals MVP awards. Jordan also won Defensive Player of the Year, which James has never won. As a result, Jordan is our pick for the greatest NBA player ever.
Now, let’s discuss who is the greatest soccer player of all time.
Top Athletes of All Time: Who is the Soccer GOAT?
Whose GOAT Case Is Strongest?
Considering both club football and international soccer achievements, Messi and Pele both surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo. The debate about whether Messi or Pele is the best soccer player ever is interesting. Pele won the World Cup more times than Messi, but Messi achieved more in club football. Either Messi or Pele is a sensible choice for the best soccer player ever. Cristiano Ronaldo has had an incredible career, but his failure to win a World Cup title with Portugal looms large in this discussion.
With that said, let us move on to discussing who is the greatest UFC fighter ever.
Top Athletes of All Time: Who is the UFC GOAT?
Our Pick for Greatest UFC Fighter Ever
Based on all the evidence, Georges St-Pierre is our pick for the greatest fighter in UFC history. St-Pierre never tarnished his reputation outside the cage, never failed a post-fight drug test, and set multiple records during his dominant second reign as UFC welterweight champion. He also returned later and dethroned Michael Bisping to win the UFC middleweight title.
This excellence inside the cage and his reputation as a great ambassador of the sport of mixed martial arts supports his case as the greatest UFC fighter ever. Additionally, Georges St-Pierre is definitely one of the top athletes of all time. Mixed martial arts wouldn’t exist without boxing, though. With that in mind, let’s dive into the discussion about the greatest boxer of all time.
Who Is the Greatest Boxer of All Time?
Sugar Ray Robinson Has the Strongest Boxing GOAT Case
As with all debates about the greatest athlete ever in a certain sport, this is not definitive. However, given the accomplishments of all three boxers on this list, Sugar Ray Robinson has the strongest case for being the greatest boxer in the sport’s history. He was a five-time world champion and had some all-time great fights during his time. Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis had outstanding boxing careers, but Sugar Ray Robinson has a stronger case than them as the greatest boxer ever.
NFL football is quite popular in the United States, as is boxing. Without further ado, keep reading to find out who we picked as the NFL GOAT.
Who is the NFL GOAT?
Tom Brady Has the Strongest NFL GOAT Case
Jim Brown and Jerry Rice are NFL legends and deserve the utmost respect for what they accomplished in the NFL. However, Tom Brady has the strongest case as the greatest NFL player ever. His list of accomplishments in the NFL is enormous and he played 23 seasons in the NFL. The seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is our pick for the greatest NFL player ever.
Baseball is another popular American sport alongside NFL football. Read on to learn about our pick for the greatest baseball player of all time.
Who Has the Strongest Baseball GOAT Case?
All three of the baseball players mentioned in this article are all-time great baseball players who are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It is difficult to split them. However, Babe Ruth has the strongest case as the greatest baseball player of all time. Even other all-time great baseball players can’t quite match Babe Ruth’s impeccable baseball resume.
Many sports fans watch golf in addition to baseball. Continue reading to learn about our pick for the greatest golfer ever.
Top Athletes of All Time: Who is the Greatest Golfer of All Time?
Jack Nicklaus is the other player in contention for the honor of being the greatest golfer of all time. Nicklaus won 18 major championships, the most in the sports’ history. That includes winning the Masters six times. Additionally, Nicklaus won 73 times on the PGA Tour.
That puts him third in all-time career PGA Tour wins. Nicklaus was utterly dominant from 1971 to 1980, winning nine major championships during that time. Jack Nicklaus capped off his stellar career by winning the 1986 Masters when he was 46 years old. He is the oldest player to win the Masters as of the time of this writing.
Given all this, it is easy to see why many consider Jack Nicklaus the greatest golfer of all time.
Top Athletes of All Time: Jack Nicklaus Is Our Pick as the Greatest Golfer Ever
Deciding between Woods or Nicklaus as the greatest golfer of all time is difficult. However, Nicklaus is our pick as the greatest golfer ever largely due to the fact that he won more major championships than Woods. Still, Woods has a strong case as the greatest golfer ever, too.
Formula One is the premier organization in motor racing, at least in most of the world. Many great drivers have competed in Formula One. Without further ado, let’s discuss who is the greatest driver in F1 history.
Top Athletes of All Time: Michael Schumacher Is Our Pick for F1 GOAT
Michael Schumacher has a strong case as the greatest F1 driver ever. He has the second-most race wins in Formula One history with 91 race wins in addition to holding the joint record (with Lewis Hamilton) for the most World Drivers’ Championship titles ever. Schumacher won seven World Drivers’ championship titles during his F1 career.
Additionally, Schumacher still holds the record for most consecutive World Drivers’ championship titles. He won five World Drivers’ championship titles in a row from 2000-2004. No one has matched that. He also holds the record for most fastest laps in Formula One history. Schumacher recorded 77 total fastest laps in his F1 career.
It is reasonable to conclude that Schumacher is the greatest F1 driver ever.
Discussing who is the greatest F1 driver ever is interesting. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton both have legitimate cases as the greatest F1 driver of all time. One also has to mention Max Verstappen in that conversation, given his recent dominance. However, Michael Schumacher is our choice for the greatest F1 driver of all time, although it is close.
Who Is the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time?
Novak Djokovic also has a strong case as the greatest tennis player of all time. Djokovic has won 98 tennis tournaments so far and this includes 24 Grand Slam men’s singles titles. He holds the record for most Grand Slam men’s singles titles in tennis history.
He has won seven Wimbledon titles, as well. Djokovic had a career year in 2011, rising to #1 in the world men’s singles tennis rankings and winning 10 out of 11 matches against Federer and Nadal. Also, Djokovic won the bronze medal for his native Serbia at the 2008 Olympics.
Djokovic is the current #1 men’s singles tennis player in the world, having most recently won at the 2023 ATP Finals against Jannik Sinner to win a seventh ATP Finals title. It is impossible to discuss who is the greatest tennis player ever without mentioning Novak Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic Is Our Pick for the Greatest Tennis Player Ever
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are outstanding tennis players and deserve acclaim as two of the greatest tennis players ever. Novak Djokovic, the third member of tennis’ ‘Big Three’, also deserves praise for his accomplishments in the sport. Djokovic has won more Grand Slam men’s singles titles than either Federer or Nadal. He also went 10-1 against Nadal and Federer in 2011.
Novak Djokovic is our pick as the greatest tennis player ever, although it is certainly up for debate. Let’s continue our discussion about the top athletes of all time by discussing the greatest player in the history of hockey.
Is Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux the Greatest Hockey Player Ever?
Our NHL point leaders article made it clear that Gretzky is the all-time leader in career NHL points, goals, and assists. His dominance is quite apparent. Jaromir Jagr ranks second in all-time career NHL points with 1.921 points. Gretzky has more career assists, 1,963 than Jagr has total career NHL points.
Because of this, many hockey fans agree that Gretzky is the greatest hockey player ever. Gretzky technically went undrafted, being traded to the Oilers before they joined the NHL following the collapse of the World Hockey Association. As such, he was never in the NHL draft, but he would likely have gone first overall.
Gretzky won four Stanley Cups during his NHL career. He is one of the main reasons for the NHL’s rise to relevance in mainstream sports. Any merchandise related to Wayne Gretzky is still highly sought after by many hockey fans today. It seems unlikely that any player will ever match Gretzky’s historical significance to the NHL and hockey in general.
Top Athletes of All Time: Wayne Gretzky Is Our Choice as the Greatest Hockey Player Ever
Mario Lemieux had a phenomenal NHL career aside from missing so many games due to health issues. He is an all-time great and in the conversation about the greatest hockey player ever. Additionally, despite what he did accomplish, his career is a huge what-if in hockey history. After all, Lemieux was on pace to break Gretzky’s records if he had played more games.
Still, what-ifs aside, Wayne Gretzky’s hockey resume is unmatched. Gretzky holds multiple records that have stood the test of time and will likely continue to do so. This is particularly true when discussing his NHL points record. He averaged an absurd 1.92 points per game in his NHL career.
Wayne Gretzky is our choice as the greatest hockey player ever, although Mario Lemieux also enjoyed an incredible hockey career.
Check Back Soon for More Sports Content
That concludes our series on the top athletes of all time. More sports content about various sports is on the way. Check back for that. We hope to see you again soon.