Ranked: The best athletes of the 21st century

Selecting the best in any field is never straightforward, as personal biases often color our choices, leading to differing opinions. This is especially true in sports, where preferences and perspectives vary widely. So what makes an athlete the "best"?

There are multiple factors taken into account, such as longevity, successes, and titles. Over at ESPN, they have taken on the challenge of compiling a list of the 100 greatest professional athletes of the 21st century, spanning all sports.

The ESPN list has caused some controversy amongst sports fans across different disciplines. Since its release, the debate has escalated to near-hostile levels, with arguments becoming increasingly heated and personal on social media and pundit shows.

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Given the nature of the topic, it's inevitable that the list is open to debate. With so many sports legends in the mix, reaching a consensus on the ranking is practically impossible.

Michael Phelps (swimming), Serena Williams (tennis), Lionel Messi (soccer), LeBron James (basketball), and Tom Brady (American football) are the athletes who occupy the top five positions on the list.

Next, Roger Federer (tennis), Simone Biles (gymnastics), Tiger Woods (golf), Usain Bolt (athletics) and Kobe Bryant (basketball) close the top 10.

From 11 to 15 we find Novak Djokovic (tennis), Rafael Nadal (tennis), Cristiano Ronaldo (football), Stephen Curry (basketball) and Katie Ledecky (swimming).

They are followed by Tim Duncan (basketball), Shaquille O'Neal (basketball), Patrick Mahomes (American football), Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1) and Aaron Donald (American football).

From 21st to 25th place appear Diana Taurasi (basketball), Sidney Crosby (hockey), Kevin Garnett (basketball), Albert Pujols (baseball) and Floyd Mayweather (boxing).

The complete list is made up of 56 North American athletes, 5 Spanish, 4 Canadian, 4 from the Dominican Republic, 3 from France, 3 from Japan, and 3 Brazilians, completed by several countries that have one or two athletes on the list.

Photo: ESPN Illustration

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To get an idea of where the hundreds of comments on the list are going, we are going to share some of the comments made by users on networks. One of the most common, the one that calls this selection the worst list ever made.

Photo: X - @CharlieQuinnMMA

Putting Kevin Garnett as the 23rd-best athlete of the 21st century sure seems like a stretch... And many basketball fans are questioning his rank on the list.

Photo: X - @CharlieQuinnMMA

Obviously, the number 1 of Michael Phelps, a guy with 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold, is discussed by dozens of users.

Photo: X - @NicholasPas5

While we're at it, who would make your top 5 athletes of the 21st century? Share your ranking in the comments and let's see how it compares to ESPN's list.

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