This is not a list of the greatest players of all time, although many of the athletes on the list may have been great players. This is a list of the greatest athletes which begs the question, what makes someone a great athlete. For the purpose of this list, athletic greatness is defined as possessing a variety of attributes that contribute to athletic prowess. These include speed, quickness, endurance, power and hand-eye coordination. That is why this list does not include specialized athletes such as marathon runners or bicyclists. While it is clear that Lance Armstrong is a master in his field, he has not proven that he could compete in other sports where more is required than pumping his thighs for hours on end.
1Michael Jordan
+47There may be a very few human beings that could keep up athletically with MJ (Bo Jackson, Carl Lewis etc. )... There are a very few human beings that might keep up with MJ's skill, coordination, and grace (Kobe Bryant, Zinedine, Roger Federer)... There are even fewer who might be able to match his mental game and competitiveness (Tiger woods, Larry Bird)... But there is no one- NO ONE-who has ever possessed all of these qualities on the level that MJ did. The Greatest Athlete that ever lived... Without a shadow of a doubt... Its Michael Jordan.
+24MJ ia the best! There will never be another Michael Jordan. He is without doubt the greatest athlete of all time!
+19mj reinvented basketball. If it wasn't for MJ, many moves, dunks, and styles wouldn't exist
More comments about Michael Jordan 2Jim Thorpe
+14Please, enough of this MJ worship! Greatest Basketball player is an acceptable choice, but this guy has never shown to be proficient at any other sport! He was a minor league baseball flop, still has a laughable handicap in golf and has never been known for lightening speed. Unlike this one sport star, Jim Thorpe, with little expert training or equipment, was voted into the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with the Track & Field Hall of Fame! Thorpe also had no business playing Major League Baseball at first, but learned on the fly and finished with a respectable.252 batting average in 7 part-time seasons. Jim Thorpe was successful in three sports to Jordan's one, doing this as an impoverished ward of the government and enduring untold racial bigotry. No athlete came so far with so little! He's Jim Brown, Jesse Owens and Bo Jackson rolled into one. Hand's down the Greatest Athlete Of All Time!
+11Best all around athlete for his superb decathlon accomplishments. He could do it all in the track and field arena! Then there were his talents on the gridiron and baseball diamond.
+2Best athlete BY FAR. Michael Jordan lived in the era of physical training and medical genius. Jim Thorpe lived in the era of little knowledge and poor conditions, and excelled at everything. If he isn't the greatest "athlete" ever, I don't know who is. He could do anything if he really wanted to. Tell me ANYONE who is better than Thorpe at ANYTHING. Right now, that man doesn't exist, and won't in today's "one-sport specialty" society.
More comments about Jim Thorpe 3Muhammad Ali
+23He's got more endurance, speed, accuracy, determination, and most importantly heart then any other athlete ever to walk the planet. Defiantly the best all around athlete. PERIOD.
+14If we were to show another species the strength, courage, love and intelligence that Man has, Muhammad Ali would be Mankind's Representative.
+10His passion, dedication, confidence, attitude... no doubt The Greatest... He should have been number 1... The Man had it all.. His fellows respected him. What more do you want
More comments about Muhammad Ali 4Paavo Nurmi
+12Nurmi won a total of nine gold and three silver medals in the 12 events in which he competed at the Olympic Games from 1920 to 1928.
Nurmi is also considered the best Olympian of all time.
Nurmi is also considered the best Olympian of all time.
+10Best athlete in the Olympic Games ever! He could beat the competitors with just half the energy he had in he's body.
5Wayne Gretzky
+9The "Great One" changed the face of hockey as he brings a new era of speed, skill, and scoring touch into the game. Entered the NHL erasing almost all scoring records he quickly built the Oilers Dynasty with amazing haste. Along with his hockey sensation Gretzky is recognized for his charity work and a strong connection with the game of Hockey.
+8THE GREAT ONE. Enough said. He holds every important record in hockey. Arguably the toughest sport to play
+8No player in the history of sports has ever come close to dominating their sport like The Great One
More comments about Wayne Gretzky 6Lance Armstrong
+10Had cancer comes back Wins the hardest event ón the planet 7 times, takes a break comes back at the age of 37 and rides a couple of great Tour de france more plus hé rund marathons and has livestrong which is great of such a great athlete
+1Hello... he won the France bike race w/ cancer! what more is to say?
CWaite
+1Overcoming cancer to become of the greatest cyclist of all time, not only does he demonstrate athletic ability but a will and fight inside of him that is very uncommon among people. He is a true champion.
More comments about Lance Armstrong 7Bo Jackson
+8Bo knows... and he's the greatest athlete ever. Ever argue at the bar over this one? The only thing anyone will ever say to shoot down Bo Jackson is the fact that his career was too short. But length of service is only one thing. His two sport versatility easily compensates for this.
Bo hit 141 hr in 2300 games, which is close to on pace with the likes of Mike Schmidt. That was before the pre 1996 hr derby style baseball too. Imagine a healthy Bo Jackson slugging 50 homers a season and hitting 500 home runs in his career. Would there be any doubt then who was the greatest ever to step on the field? That's not even counting his ridiculous range in the OF.
Oh, and that's just baseball. Hey MJ fans, you want to see athletic dominance? Watch a Bo Jackson football highlight reel. Then tell me he wasn't the best athlete ever. Had he focused on football, and stayed healthy, he'd own Emmit Smith, and Barry Sanders. Every scout agreed that he was THE BEST ever. Speed, power, balance, vision, he was THE BEST. His yards per carry are a testament to that. How about that 6.8 yards per carry average in his rookie year? Again, ridiculous.
One day the sports world will look beyond the numbers in the record books and back on to the field of play to judge performance. That was Bo's playground, and no matter what the game, you know Bo not only could do it, but he'd do it better than anyone else.
Bo is #1 all time.
Bo hit 141 hr in 2300 games, which is close to on pace with the likes of Mike Schmidt. That was before the pre 1996 hr derby style baseball too. Imagine a healthy Bo Jackson slugging 50 homers a season and hitting 500 home runs in his career. Would there be any doubt then who was the greatest ever to step on the field? That's not even counting his ridiculous range in the OF.
Oh, and that's just baseball. Hey MJ fans, you want to see athletic dominance? Watch a Bo Jackson football highlight reel. Then tell me he wasn't the best athlete ever. Had he focused on football, and stayed healthy, he'd own Emmit Smith, and Barry Sanders. Every scout agreed that he was THE BEST ever. Speed, power, balance, vision, he was THE BEST. His yards per carry are a testament to that. How about that 6.8 yards per carry average in his rookie year? Again, ridiculous.
One day the sports world will look beyond the numbers in the record books and back on to the field of play to judge performance. That was Bo's playground, and no matter what the game, you know Bo not only could do it, but he'd do it better than anyone else.
Bo is #1 all time.
+3Not only did he play in two professional sports, but he was a superstar in both. On the baseball diamond, Bo had a career batting average of .250 and hit 141 home runs in just under 694 career games. In 1989 he was selected to the American League All-Star team and went on to win the game's MVP award. And that doesn't count Bo's "hobby" sport. Bo the football player won the Sugar Bowl MVP award, the Liberty Bowl MVP award and then the Heisman Trophy. Then, when he decided to play pro football, he averaged 5.4 yards per carry for his short career and was named to the Pro Bowl team. At one time, Bo was in commercials with Jordan and Gretzky and if it weren't for his career ending hip injury, he would still be regarded as deserving of that type of company.
Bo also ran a 4.18 40 yard dash as well. Sorry, but add his football, baseball and track career together and no one is above him.
More comments about Bo Jackson 8Roger Federer
+19To be consistent throughout his career is just astounding. And let's not forget the fact that he was the number one player for 237 weeks consecutively. The fact that he was dethroned after that did not stop him from getting back the top rank as he regained the position from Rafael Nadal and collected a total record of 285 weeks overall.
+18Roger Federer is Not only one of the best sportsman, but also the most respectful of all... Genuine, humble, passionate, dedicated, consistent and humane...
+9Federrer is Simply The Best. Both character & as a Tennis Player. He has the techniques to play tennis. He is my favourite. Djorkovic and Nadal are behind him
More comments about Roger Federer 9Tiger Woods
+5michael vick number 10!? you are a complete IDIOT for that one. no rings. no awards. 2 years behind bars. COOL! ato boldon? get out of here. wayne gretzky? good, bump him behind woods. golf is the toughest game... ever. tiger has damn near perfected it. NUFF SAID.
+2I know golf isn't as physical as most other sports, but I play golf and know how easy it is to make a mistake. Tiger Woods is the best athlete because of all his accomplishments & is still young and will be achieving even more before he's done. Michael Jordan was great, but his name also gave him extra room with refs and getting away with stuff, not to mention the intimidation he struck into others that guarded him. Tiger has no refs, therefor no miss calls or extra slack from refs because of his star level.
PDP
Has been the greatest golfer at all points in his life, junior golf, amateur/college, and professional
More comments about Tiger Woods 10Michael Johnson
+1Johnson is no doubt, the greatest track and field athlete in 1990's. He won 8 gold medals at the world championships, 4 at the olympics.
+1clearly the greatest all around athlete of all time. Because if someone else can run the 200 in 19.3 seconds or the 400 in 43 seconds, then that person is the best, but there is no person!
Watched him win the Olympics and shatter the world record in the 200 - one of the most jaw dropping performances I've ever seen!
More comments about Michael Johnson 