The 25 greatest athletes of the 2020s

The decade isn't yet half over, but already numerous athletes have left an indelible mark on the sports world. The 2020s started with uncertainty in the sports world because of COVID, but the last three years have seen fans stream back and television ratings thrive. Let's take a look at the athletes whose excellence has defined the 2020s - so far.

Carlos Alcaraz (1 of 25)

The passing of the torch from one great team or individual to the next is a dynamic as old as competitive sport. The Islanders gave way to the Oilers in the 1980s NHL, the Patriots yielded to the Chiefs (though Tom Brady didn’t give in so quickly), and the Pistons, Lakers and Celtics were all eventually pushed aside by Michael Jordan’s Bulls. Men’s tennis got its torch-passing moment from Alcaraz at Wimbledon, as he dominated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win his second-straight title at the All-England Club. Just 21, the ultra-skilled Spaniard already has four Grand Slam singles titles to his credit, as he also won the French Open in 2023 and the U.S. Open in 2022. It seems only a matter of time before he completes the career Grand Slam, and his place as the sport’s next dominant force seems secure.

Josh Allen (2 of 25)

At first, including Allen here was a tough call. We do live in a “Got rings?” sports culture now, where any athlete without a championship is denigrated to an almost ridiculous degree. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that Allen obviously belongs. Three times this decade, he has finished in the top five in MVP voting, and twice in the top three. Were it not for Patrick Mahomes, he would probably have at least one Super Bowl, and possibly more. He is the most physically dominant quarterback in the league, and often functions as a one-man wrecking crew for the Bills’ offense. It feels like Allen has to win at least one title, but even if he doesn’t, there have been few players in the league more exciting or unstoppable.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (3 of 25)

Time moves fast in the NBA. It was not long ago that the Greek Freak was a newly minted NBA Champion, was a year removed from his second-straight MVP award, and was at the top of the basketball world. Now, he might be all the way down to the third or fourth-best player in the league. Tough, right? When he’s healthy, Antetokounmpo is still one of the game’s most indomitable forces, an impossible matchup for even the best defenders, and a problem most teams fail to solve. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, he’s averaged 29.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and six assists per game. Pretty good, I think.

Tom Brady (4 of 25)

Oh, what the hell. Sure, he wouldn’t be included here if this was “Best Athletes of the 2020s,” and you were reading it in early 2030, but Brady’s body of work from 2020-2022 warrants inclusion. Three quarterbacks in the NFL managed to throw for at least 13,000 yards and 100 touchdowns in those three seasons. Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes were two of them, and the other was Brady, who also beat Mahomes head-to-head to deny him a Super Bowl in the 2020 season. But for a clutch deep ball from Matthew Stafford in the 2021 NFC Divisional Playoffs, Brady might just have gone back-to-back. He also finished second in the MVP voting in 2021, and led the league in yards (a career-high 5,316) and touchdowns, with 43. He did this all in his mid-40s. Yeah, he deserves a spot.

Caitlin Clark (5 of 25)

There are better women’s basketball players in the world than Clark. She is not the best player in the WNBA. But there have been few, if any, women’s college players as spectacular. And no one has done more to increase the sport's visibility than Clark, who has dominated since setting foot on Iowa’s campus in 2020. She is the all-time leading scorer in Division I men’s and women’s college basketball, and the rest of her awards would take much too long to list. Plus, much like Stephen Curry in the NBA, her playing style and absurd shot-making ability has spawned plenty of imitation, and transformed the sport on the fly. Clark’s rookie campaign in the WNBA has been highly scrutinized, and as she gains more experience in the league, it’s reasonable to assume she will rise as one of its best players.

Gerrit Cole (6 of 25)

Cole’s 2024 has been underwhelming through four starts, as he returns from injury. Everything else he’s done in the 2020s has been stellar. The reigning American League, Cy Young winner, was superb in 2023, leading the AL in ERA, shutouts, WHIP, and innings pitched. Since 2020, he’s only finished outside the top-five of Cy Young voting once, and never outside the top-10. It will be interesting to see how he holds up from a durability standpoint over the next several seasons, but it’s fair to say that the balance of Cole’s work since 2020 makes him the best pitcher of the decade – so far.

Terence Crawford (7 of 25)

You might not think of Crawford as a household name, and that’s fine. Boxing is hardly the mainstream cultural force it used to be, particularly the non-heavyweight divisions. Still, Crawford’s performance in one fight alone makes him worthy of recognition. He squared off with Errol Spence in a long-awaited super-fight at 147 pounds. Betting lines for the fight were exceptionally close; the undefeated foes were seen as an even match. Once the bell rang, it was no contest. Crawford waited patiently in the first round, then dropped Spence for the first time in his career in the second round. He followed that up with two more knockdowns in the seventh round and TKO’ed Spence in the 9th. Crawford is 40-0 for his career, and has scored a knockout or TKO in all four of his fights in the 2020s.

Novak Djokovic (8 of 25)

Djokovic is 37 years old, an age when most tennis players are already a few years into retirement. The sport’s Grand Slam singles king is out here continuing to win big. Djokovic has 24 Grand Slam titles, and he’s won eight of them this decade; the Australian Open in 2020, 2021 and 2023, the French Open in 2021 and 2023, Wimbledon in 2021 and 2022, and the U.S. Open in 2023. He would have won Wimbledon this year, too, but for the brilliance of Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic might not have the artistry of Roger Federer, or the overwhelming physicality and endurance of Rafael Nadal, but what he does have is more important: the strongest claim to the title of greatest tennis player ever.

Aaron Donald (9 of 25)

He won’t be adding to these numbers – unless he unretires, of course, which seems unlikely – but Donald’s accomplishments from 2020-2023 obviously warrant inclusion here. Not many players can retire and have a realistic claim to “best ever” status, but Donald is the rare exception. It is entirely possible that he is the greatest defensive player in league history, and he departed on top. He was a first-team All-Pro for the eighth time in his career, and despite notching just six sacks, he was an exceptionally disruptive force. Donald was defensive player of the year in 2020, finished third in the voting the following year, and was a first-team All-Pro in three of his final four seasons.

Anthony Edwards (10 of 25)

The first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Edwards doesn’t have the lengthy overall resume of some other 2020s greats, but few athletes in any sport are on a more impressive trajectory than the four-year Timberwolves guard. Edwards finished seventh in the MVP voting in 2023-24 after finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2020-21. Edwards shined in this year’s playoffs, leading Minnesota past defending champion Denver in seven games, before ultimately falling to Dallas in the Western Conference Finals. Edwards looks poised to take the baton from Nikola Jokic as the best player in the league – even if it takes a few years for that to happen.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11 of 25)

If Anthony Edwards is the next face of the NBA, owing to his exceptional youth and level of performance, then Gilgeous-Alexander is on the short list of players poised to challenge him. He finished fifth in the 2022-23 MVP voting, then followed that up by finishing runner-up to Nikola Jokic in 2023-24. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged over 30 points per game in both of those seasons, and is entering his prime. The Thunder have a tough Western Conference to navigate, but Gilgeous-Alexander certainly has the look of a player who can take them to the NBA Finals at least once before the decade draws to a close.

Derrick Henry (12 of 25)

Quick! Name every NFL running back to log at 5,000 yards on the ground in the 2020s. It’s a club of one, and Henry is the sole member. He’s rushed for 5,669 yards and 52 touchdowns in 57 games since the start of the 2020 season, averaging 4.6 yards per carry in the process. That yardage total puts him over 1,000 yards ahead of Jonathan Taylor, one of only four other backs to even crack 4,000 in that time frame. Henry rumbled for 2,027 yards in 2020, was averaging 117.1 yards per game the next year before a broken right foot ended his regular season after eight games. He came back to put up 1,538 and 1,167 yards in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and seems like a lock to get to 10,000 yards this year with Baltimore. And to think, he didn’t take over as a full-time starter until his third year in the league. Henry is an easy Hall of Famer and one of the best backs of all time.

Tyreek Hill (13 of 25)

Hill is starting to hit the age where most elite receivers tend to slow down, albeit gradually. If anything, he appears to be getting better with age. He led the league with 1,799 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, after posting 1,710 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2022. He’s proven to be dangerous even separate from Patrick Mahomes, and while most NFL analysts view Justin Jefferson as the league’s best overall receiver, Hill is at worst in the top 3. Hill has the most receiving yards in the 2020s (6,024) and the third-most touchdowns (44) of any receiver this decade. Two to three more years at his recent pace would make Hill a near-lock for the Hall of Fame.

Justin Jefferson (14 of 25)

Jefferson burst onto the NFL scene in 2020, and hasn’t slowed down since. The 2022 Offensive Player of the Year also finished 5 ^th in the MVP voting that season, and his 96.5 receiving yards per game in his first three seasons are the most of any player in that time frame. He was on pace for his best season yet in 2023, before injuries derailed him. The Vikings signed Jefferson to a record-setting four-year, $140 million contract in April of 2024, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. Jefferson is also barely 25 years old. If he has four more years anything like his first four, he’ll have close to 12,000 receiving yards by age 30. At that point, you’d have to start thinking that some of Jerry Rice’s records, previously thought untouchable, might start to look within reach.

Nikola Jokic (15 of 25)

In a sport known for incredible feats of high-flying athleticism, the at-times-lumbering Jokic would probably look at first blush like an afterthought. But make no mistake, he is the best player in the NBA, and has been so for the majority of the 2020s. Jokic is a three-time MVP, going back-to-back in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and winning again in 2023-24 after a runner-up finish in 2022-23. He is the game’s preeminent offensive force, virtually unstoppable and capable of laying waste to opposing defenses in a variety of ways. He was the NBA Finals MVP in 2022-23, as the Nuggets rolled to a title, losing just four games in four rounds. Jokic looks primed to continue as an elite force for years to come, and has a real chance to be the best NBA player of this decade.

Aaron Judge (16 of 25)

Judge had one of the most outlandish offensive seasons in recent memory in 2022, setting the American League home run record with 62, knocking in 131 runs, and finishing just .005 points away from the Triple Crown, his .311 batting average narrowly losing out to Minnesota’s Luis Arraez. He also led the league in slugging, on-base percentage and OPS that year, on the way to winning AL MVP. Despite missing time due to injuries in 2023, he was still an offensive force, and this year is posting numbers strikingly similar to his 2022 campaign. Judge has a very real chance to hit 200 home runs in the four full seasons he will have played this decade, despite missing close to half a season’s worth of time over those four years. He is the preeminent power hitter in the game, and appears to be getting better with age as he heads toward his mid-thirties.

Travis Kelce (17 of 25)

You’ve probably paid reasonably close attention to Kelce’s exploits, given the fact that he’s been the most important weapon in Patrick Mahomes’ arsenal for several years now, and given the fact that the Chiefs are two-time defending Super Bowl champions. Oh, and his girlfriend is pretty famous, too. Since 2020, Kelce has notched two first-team All-Pro nods, a second-team All-Pro, and put up 400 receptions, 4,863 yards, and 37 touchdowns. What makes this all the more impressive is the fact that he’s doing it as he enters his mid-thirties, a time when most players, regardless of position, are slowing down. He’s also the NFL’s all-time leader for postseason receptions, a record he figures to add to this year.

Nelly Korda (18 of 25)

What Scottie Scheffler has been to men’s golf, Korda has been to the women’s game. A 2020 Olympic gold medalist, Korda has won two majors – the 2021 Women’s PGA Championship and the 2024 Chevron Championship – and in 2024 went on a tear that re-cemented her as the clear top player in the women’s game. Korda won five straight tournaments, joining Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez as the only women to accomplish the feat on the LPGA Tour, and ended up winning six out of seven tournaments during her torrid stretch. Only 25, and with a smooth swing viewed by some as the best in men’s or women’s golf, Korda looks poised to dominate the LPGA Tour for years to come.

Katie Ledecky (19 of 25)

You might be tempted to think that because Ledecky has been at the top of the women’s swimming heap for so long, she would be slowing down in the 2020s. You would be wrong. Ledecky’s reign has continued; she racked up a pair of gold medals and a pair of silver medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, making her the most-decorated U.S. female athlete for the second-straight Olympics. She notched four golds at the 2022 World Championships, then put up a pair of golds and a pair of silvers at the 2023 World Championships. Ledecky will be back at the 2024 Summer games, having qualified with a first-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle. She might be starting to wind down, but Ledecky is still the gold standard.

Patrick Mahomes (20 of 25)

In the NFL, it’s Mahomes and everyone else. It seemed highly unlikely that we’d ever see a quarterback as great or accomplished as Tom Brady come through the league, but Mahomes looks poised to exceed Brady on all fronts, potentially even reaching his astonishing mark of seven Super Bowls. Mahomes already has two Super Bowls this decade, and will bid for a three-peat next year. He won the 2022 AP MVP award, is only now entering his physical prime, and plays for the perfect organization and coach to maximize his abilities. Oh, and he’s still not even 29 years old. How many Super Bowls will he have by the end of the decade? Five? Six? More?

Connor McDavid (21 of 25)

McDavid and the Oilers fell just short of a historic comeback in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7 against the Florida Panthers, only to lose, 2-1. Still, McDavid was so dominant during Edmonton’s run that he won the Conn Smythe Trophy despite being on the losing team, a feat not seen since 2003. McDavid has dominated the 2020s, winning two Hart Trophies, three Art Ross Trophies, and a Rocket Richard Trophy. He’s also topped 100 points in all four seasons, accomplishing all of this while playing for an Oilers team that has mostly failed to surround him with the kind of depth and talent afforded other superstar players. It seems a matter of “when” not “if” McDavid wins a Stanley Cup, and when he does, his place among the sport’s all-time greats will be unquestioned.

Shohei Ohtani (22 of 25)

You know you’ve been a truly dominant force when you are discussed, merely seven seasons into your career, as perhaps the greatest player in your sport’s history. That is where Shohei Ohtani finds himself, after a spectacular run that started in earnest in 2020 and has continued unabated. Ohtani won the 2021 and 2023 American League MVP awards for the Angels, but his best season might have been 2022, when he finished second in the AL MVP race, and fourth in the AL Cy Young voting. Now, with the Dodgers, Ohtani won’t be pitching again until 2025, but he is, at worst, the second-best offensive player in baseball and arguably one of its ten best pitchers. Put it all together and he’s the best player in the sport, by a mile.

Scottie Scheffler (23 of 25)

Scheffler has taken what was a crowded field at the top of the golf world in 2020, and placed himself above it by dominating in a way not seen since Tiger Woods in the early 2000s. Scheffler won the Masters in 2022 and 2024, finished runner-up at the U.S. Open in 2022, and the PGA Championship in 2023, and also recorded a T-8 finish at the 2021 Open Championship. In 2024, he became just the sixth player in Tour history to win six tournaments before July. How dominant has he been in 2024, in particular? Assuming a 10 percent cut of Scheffler’s winning purses, and slightly lower percentages for non-wins, his caddie Ted Scott has earned more money this year than three-time major winner Jordan Spieth.

Iga Swiatek (24 of 25)

Swiatek is certainly not the needle-moving presence that Serena Williams was during her reign at the top of the women’s tennis heap, but she has made plenty of waves in the 2020s, and is the current top-ranked women’s player in the world, having spent a total of 110 weeks at the top. Swiatek has won four French Opens this decade, losing only in 2021, and also won the 2022 U.S. Open. Just 23, Swiatek is a player whose game fits all surfaces, and she figures to be a force in women’s tennis for the rest of the decade, with the career grand slam seeming well within reach, even likely.

A'ja Wilson (25 of 25)

Caitlin Clark is drawing a ton of eyeballs to the league, and Angel Reese is doing the same, while looking like an easy pick for Rookie of the Year, but the best player in the WNBA is Wilson, the 2020 and 2022 league MVP, who looks well on her way to winning that honor for the third time, as well as possible three-peating as Defensive Player of the Year. Wilson is averaging 27.2 points per game and 11.9 rebounds per game, both career highs, and is the driving force behind the Las Vegas Aces, who are looking to three-peat as WNBA champions. If you’ve tuned into the WNBA to see Clark and Reese, you owe it to yourself to check out what Wilson is doing.