In sports, spectators including sports fandom and sportswriters , as well as participants themselves have discussed players, coaches, teams, and related personalities in regards to being the greatest in their field, or sometimes across sports. These discussions on the greatest of all-time—often referred to by the acronym "GOAT "—are often held in sports culture, but widespread consensus on a sport's "GOAT" is uncommon.
Team sports in particular have GOAT discussions compartmentalized by position.
List of sports players considered the greatest
General
Simone Biles
Athletics and racing sports
Ayrton Senna Michael Phelps Katie Ledecky Carl Lewis
Ball and hockey sports
Lionel Messi Pelé Shohei Ohtani Luciana Aymar Serena Williams
Combat sports
Teddy Riner
Esports
Extreme and adventure sports
Mikaela Shiffrin
Parasports
Precision sports
Other individual sports
Magnus Carlsen
List of team sports athletes considered the greatest by position
Tom Brady Rob Gronkowski Charles Woodson Ed Reed Adam Vinatieri Devin Hester
Iker Casillas
Baseball
Basketball
Michael Jordan
Other sports
List of sports teams considered the greatest
List of sports personnel considered the greatest
See also
Notes
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ESPN 's "Top 100 professional athletes since 2000" list (2024)[ 5] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
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The Athletic ' s The Basketball 100 (2024)[ 50] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
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US Box Lacrosse Association (2016)[ 78] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
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500 American sports editors, writers and broadcasters polled for the "Greatest Athlete of All Time" (1976)[ 92] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
500 American sports editors, writers and broadcasters polled for the "Greatest Athlete of All Time" (1976)[ 92]
BBC Sport [ 93] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
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"The 20 Greatest Players of the 20th Century", chosen by a panel of 108 sportswriters and editors for Tennis (magazine) [ 96] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
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"The 20 Greatest Players of the 20th Century", chosen by a panel of 108 sportswriters and editors for Tennis (magazine) [ 96] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
500 American sports editors, writers and broadcasters polled for the "Greatest Athlete of All Time" (1976)[ 92] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
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ESPN (2022, 3 of 50 panel voters for "Returner/Special Teamer")[ 156] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
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ESPN (2022, 21 of 50 panel voters for "Kicker/Punter")[ 156] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
ESPN (2022, 22 of 50 panel voters for "Kicker/Punter");[ 156] [ 153] ^ Sources or lists that share such an opinion include:
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References
^ a b Armour, Nancy (August 3, 2024) [August 1, 2024]. "Simone Biles has now surpassed all other GOATs — and it's not close" . USA Today . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ Wyshynski, Greg (February 12, 2021). "Clash of the GOATs: Why Wayne Gretzky is the greatest team sports player ever -- not Tom Brady" ESPN . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ a b "The 20th Century Awards" . Sports Illustrated the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2025 – via CNN .^ Kiger, Fred (1999). "Air supreme" . SportsCentury ESPN . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ a b c Schoenfield, David; Roegigk, Alyssa; Van Deusen, Amy; et al. (July 18, 2024). "Ranking the top 100 professional athletes since 2000" . ESPN . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ Chase, Chris (November 15, 2016). "Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt: Who's the Olympic G.O.A.T.?" . Fox Sports . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ Zeigler, Cyd (August 3, 2012). "Michael Phelps' Medal Count Undermined By Swimming Medal Inflation" . SBNation . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ "Tokyo Paralympics: Storey becomes GOAT after 17th gold" . Diario AS . Retrieved March 29, 2025 .^ "The 15 best F1 drivers of all time" . BBC Sport . Retrieved June 3, 2025 .^ "Fórmula 1 lista os 20 melhores pilotos da história com apenas um brasileiro" . CNN Brasil . Retrieved June 3, 2025 .^ Thawaranont, Chay; Gaines, Cork (July 21, 2023). "Who is the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time?" . Business Insider . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ "Legends of the sport: Seven-time champion National Hunt jockey John Francome *H&H Plus*" . Horse & Hound . Retrieved March 23, 2025 . Michael Dickinson [...] would say of Francome: 'He is the best jockey I have ever seen.' ^ "The Most Popular Jockeys of All Time" . Riding Magazine . June 28, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2025 . Perhaps one of the most popular jockeys in history, Bill Shoemaker is considered, by many, to be the greatest rider that the tracks have ever seen in the modern age. ^ a b c d e f Jemail, Jimmy (November 9, 1959). "THE QUESTION: Which was the greatest race horse of all time?" . Sports Illustrated . Retrieved March 23, 2025 . ^ DeWitt, Burton (June 2, 2018). "2010 Breeders' Cup: Is Zenyatta the Greatest of All Time?" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved March 23, 2025 . ^ Zoccali, Darin (April 28, 2020). "Harness: In the Standardbred game, there are no comparisons" . Daily Racing Form . Retrieved March 23, 2025 . ^ Peters, Justin (August 1, 2024). "Katie Ledecky Has a Superpower That Eludes Even the Greatest Olympians" . Slate . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ Bushnell, Henry (August 2, 2024). "Paris Olympics: Léon Marchand wins fourth gold, now bring on the comparisons to Michael Phelps" . Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ "Ledecky seals GOAT status, USA break world record in Olympic swimming pool" . Al Jazeera . August 3, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2025 .^ Price, Jessica Taylor (July 31, 2024). "8th Gold Makes Katie Ledecky Best Female Swimmer Ever, but Next Gen Is Catching Up" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ Holleran, Andrew (July 25, 2021). "Michael Phelps Uses 2 Words To Describe Katie Ledecky" . The Spun . Retrieved March 21, 2025 – via AOL.com . ^ Feinstein, John (June 27, 2022). "The debate about Washington's greatest athlete is over: It's Katie Ledecky" The Washington Post . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ Hill, E. Garry (February 27, 2019). "From The Editor — So Who Is The G.O.A.T. Of Men's Track & Field?" . Track & Field News . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ Katz, Michael (August 12, 2017). "Usain Bolt lost his final career race, but he's still the GOAT" . SBNation . Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ "ProCyclingStats All Time Ranking" . Retrieved August 3, 2025 .^ DeArdo, Bryan (July 3, 2024). "Ranking top 25 players in NFL history: One current player makes the cut on list of all-time greats" . CBS Sports . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Van Valkenburg, Kevin (February 6, 2017). "The GOAT crown sits on Tom Brady's head, maybe forever" . ESPN . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Battista, Judy (February 1, 2022). "From tortoise to G.O.A.T.: Tom Brady retires as the greatest dynasty in NFL history" . NFL.com . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Schein, Adam (February 1, 2023). "Tom Brady's the G.O.A.T. of G.O.A.T.s, Andy Reid's Super man and Sean Payton's the Broncos' savior" . NFL.com . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ a b Barrall, Andy (November 5, 2010). "Jim Brown Should Be No. 1, but What About Most Underrated?" . The New York Times . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Cook, Ron (May 20, 2023). "Ron Cook: I'll remember Jim Brown as the true GOAT" . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Balagué, Guilliem (December 7, 2020). "Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi: Two rivals with more in common than you might think" . BBC Sport . Retrieved March 20, 2025 .^ Barnaby, Lane; et al. (March 14, 2025). "The 55 Greatest Soccer Players of All Time" . Sports Illustrated . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Rostance, Tom (October 24, 2020). "Pele at 80: Where does he rank among the GOATs?" . BBC Sport . Retrieved April 18, 2025 . ^ Marcotti, Gabriele (December 29, 2022). "Pele was the benchmark against whom all other great players are measured" . ESPN . Retrieved April 18, 2025 . On the pitch, the fact that it took 20 years for someone else -- Diego Maradona -- to emerge who could legitimately start a 'greatest of all time' debate says it all. ^ "Pele: The greatest of them all" . FIFA . June 28, 2012. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2025 .^ "UK: Who is the GOAT men's footballer?" . YouGov . March 1, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2025 .^ Baxter, Kevin (May 6, 2017). "Column: Championships give Cristiano Ronaldo the edge over Lionel Messi as the greatest of all time" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 22, 2025 . ^ Gittins, William (September 24, 2023). "Is Megan Rapinoe the GOAT of women's soccer?" . Diario AS . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Lewis, Michael (August 3, 2016). "The 20 greatest female football players of all time" . The Guardian . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Szabo, Amelia (August 30, 2024). "The 20 greatest AFL players of all time" . GQ Australia . Retrieved March 25, 2025 . ^ a b Peña, Carlos ; Darling, Ron ; Armsinger, Greg (February 2, 2023). Who is Baseball's G.O.A.T? MLB Network . Retrieved March 20, 2025 – via YouTube .^ Lupica, Mike (June 18, 2024). "Mays' pure joy for baseball made him the GOAT" . MLB.com . Retrieved March 20, 2025 .^ Colin Cowherd says Shohei Ohtani is GREATEST baseball player of all time | THE HERD Dodgers Reaction The Herd with Colin Cowherd Fox Sports 1 . March 20, 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2025 – via YouTube .^ Mansfield, Aaron C. (July 17, 2024). "The Greatest MLB Players Of All Time" . Complex . Retrieved March 20, 2024 . ^ Augustyn, Adam (July 2016). "10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time" . Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ "Top 100 MLB players of all time: Nos. 25-1" . ESPN . February 1, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2025 .^ a b c d e f g h Bisson, James; Wile, Brandon; Birenbaum, Jonah; Bradburn, Michael; Wilson, Jason; Mcwilliam, Brian; Sharkey-Gotlieb, Simon; Perego, Dylan; Wegman, Josh (January 26, 2018). "Ranking the greatest position players in baseball history: Nos. 20-1" . theScore . Retrieved March 28, 2025 . Bisson, James; Wile, Brandon; Birenbaum, Jonah; Bradburn, Michael; Wilson, Jason; Mcwilliam, Brian; Sharkey-Gotlieb, Simon; Perego, Dylan; Wegman, Josh (January 25, 2018). "Ranking the greatest position players in baseball history: Nos. 40-21" . theScore . Retrieved March 28, 2025 . ^ Aikins, Mike (June 7, 2018). "The Greatest Player in NBA History: Why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Deserves the Title" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved March 22, 2025 . ^ Hollinger, John (November 26, 2024). " . The Athletic the original . Retrieved March 20, 2024 – via The New York Times . ^ Augustyn, Adam (April 2014). "The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time" . Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ a b c Marks, Bobby ; MacMullan, Jackie ; Spears, Marc; Arnovitz, Kevin; Pelton, Kevin (April 14, 2020). "NBA GOAT debate: Big questions on Michael Jordan and the greatest players ever" . ESPN . Retrieved March 20, 2025 .^ a b "78 greatest NBA players ever: The HoopsHype list" . HoopsHype . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . NBA75 list, we're updating our GOAT rankings [...] For the first time, Michael Jordan, the unassailable GOAT for so many years, doesn't hold the No. 1 spot in our ranking [...] Full disclosure: The HoopsHype vote was split 50/50 on who the No. 1 should be and our editor-in-chief broke the tie in James' favor".^ Taylor, Grant (June 7, 2018). "The Ultimate NBA G.O.A.T. Debate" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Jackson, Scoop ; et al. (February 10, 2016). "All-Time #NBArank: Jordan No. 1" . ESPN . Retrieved March 21, 2025 .^ Friedell, Nick; et al. (May 13, 2020). "Ranking the top 74 NBA players of all time: Nos. 10-1" . ESPN . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ "Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Everything you need to know about the NBA GOAT debate" . ESPN . October 15, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2025 .^ Barnes, Katie (September 21, 2021). "WNBA's greatest players of all time: Ranking the 25 best in league history" . ESPN . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Bassett, Bailey (June 11, 2024). "25 greatest WNBA players in history, ranked" . ClutchPoints . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ "Diana Taurasi voted by fans as WNBA's greatest player of all time" . NBA.com . Retrieved March 20, 2025 .^ "TSN Top 50 CFL Players" . The Sports Network . 2006. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007.^ Brenkley, Stephen (August 24, 2008). "The Don's century: Why Bradman reigns as greatest ever sportsman" . The Independent . Retrieved July 11, 2025 . ^ "The Greatest Cricketer of All Time – your votes revealed!" . BBC Asian Network . 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2025 .^ "Virat Kohli Is "The Greatest Cricketer": Virender Sehwag Settles G.O.A.T Debate" . NDTV . February 17, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2025 .^ "Virat Kohli the greatest One-Day cricketer of all time: Michael Clarke" . India Today . Retrieved March 23, 2025 .^ "Kohli moves up to No.5 on ICC rankings, Ponting calls him 'best ODI player' . ESPNcricinfo ESPN . February 26, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2025 . In fact, I think I'm on record before saying I don't think I've ever seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli. ^ a b Versalles, Laz (December 19, 2022). "Who are the GOATs of golf and soccer?" . Golf Digest . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ "Top 10 greatest field hockey players" . The Daily Telegraph the original on May 29, 2014.^ "Top 10 greatest field hockey players" . The Daily Telegraph the original on May 29, 2014.^ Botta, Emilio (March 6, 2018). " . ge.globo . Retrieved April 19, 2025 . ^ Helal, William (December 6, 2018). "Relembre momentos da carreira de Falcão, maior nome do futsal de todos os tempos" . O Globo . Retrieved April 19, 2025 . ^ Kludt, Tom (October 11, 2023). "Wayne Gretzky, Hockey's GOAT, Is Still the Sport's Biggest Booster: "Everybody Has to Be an Ambassador" . Vanity Fair . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ "Ranking the Top 10 NHL Hockey Players of All Time" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved March 20, 2025 .^ Tikkanen, Amy (August 5, 2021). "10 Best Hockey Players of All Time" . Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Beck, Jason (2011). "Gary Gait" . BC Sports Hall of Fame . Retrieved March 21, 2024 . ^ "How Gary Gait developed 1 of college lacrosse's largest coaching trees" . The Daily Orange . Retrieved March 21, 2025 .^ Rosenthall, Chris (February 15, 2022). "Hall of Fame Inductee: Gary Gait" . Premier Lacrosse League . Retrieved March 21, 2024 . ^ Tutka, Paul (December 25, 2016). "All-Time National Lacrosse League Top 50: The Greatest Players Ever" . US Box Lacrosse Association. Retrieved March 21, 2025 . ^ Arthur, Darren (May 17, 2020). "The ten greatest players in rugby league history" . ESPN . Retrieved March 23, 2025 . ^ Nauright, John. "Gareth Edwards" . Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved March 23, 2025 . Some experts argue that Edwards was simply the greatest rugby player ever. ^ Austin, Nicola (February 23, 2023). "Best rugby players of all time ranked" . Radio Times . Retrieved March 23, 2025 . ^ "Top Rugby Players of All Time" . The Rugby Paper . August 8, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2025 .^ Thomas, Simon; Woolford, Anthony (August 20, 2018). "The 50 best rugby players of the professional era" . WalesOnline Media Wales . Retrieved March 23, 2025 . ^ Schizer, Meredith Wolf (June 23, 2022). "Softball Great Lisa Fernandez on How Sports Teaches 'So Much About Life' . Newsweek . Retrieved March 23, 2025 . Lisa Fernandez, 51, has often been called women's softball's greatest-of-all-time. ^ Goh, ZK (March 17, 2023). "Table tennis GOAT Ma Long: I still get nervous before playing" . Olympics.com International Olympic Committee . Retrieved May 31, 2025 . ^ Gregory, Sean (August 7, 2024). "Ma Long, China's Table Tennis GOAT, More Than Delivers at the Paris Olympics" . Time . Retrieved May 31, 2025 . ^ Phillips, B.J. (June 30, 1980). "The Tennis Machine Meet faultless Bjorn Borg. Is he, at 24, the best player ever to lift a racquet?" . Time (magazine) . Retrieved July 16, 2025 . But is he the greatest of all time? No one, of course, will ever know how many Wimbledon titles Laver might have won had not the rules against professional players of that era exiled him from the tournament for five years. Nor can it be said how Fred Perry, Big Bill Tilden, Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzalez and Don Budge might have fared against Borg. But the quality of his competition suggests he may be the best ever. Undoubtedly, more fine players contest tournaments today than at any time in history; incontestably, Borg is the best of them. ^ Riddell, Don (January 9, 2025). "Is Novak Djokovic the Greatest of All-Time (GOAT)?" . CNN . ^ a b Whelan, Chloe; Zapanta, Kiara (January 12, 2025). "The 16 top tennis players of all time" . GQ . Retrieved March 20, 2025 . ^ Zagoria, Adam (May 18, 2021). 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