Top Ten Most Accomplished Athletes of All-Time

These are athletes that have set the bar high for present day players and whose records and milestones may never be reached.
The Top Ten
1 Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer and the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). When he won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps had already tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games by winning six gold and two bronze medals. At the 2012 Summer ...read more.

Most decorated Olympic athlete and became a meme. How many athletes do you know that can say that about themselves?

Most decorated Olympian of all times with 28 medals (23 gold).
He has won more Olympic medals than 161 countries (! ).

So many Olympics

2 Usain Bolt Usain St Leo Bolt is a Jamaican retired sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is a world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay.

An eight-time Olympic gold medallist, Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016). He also won two 4 × 100 relay gold medals. He gained worldwide fame for his double sprint victory in world record times at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the first person to hold both records since fully automatic time became mandatory. ...read more.

This list is one of the most distinguished in the top tens.
The answer to the question who are the most accomplished athletes and especially who deserves the number 1 is very difficult. After decades of been a sports fan, I think that the answers should be given more than a decade after the end of an athlete's career.
Usain Bolt improved the world records a lot but his main achievement is the 6 individual Olympic medals. He's definitely among the best but I can't say that he deserves the number 1. I have no answer to this question.

He has what is it 6 gold medals

3 Bill Russell William Felton "Bill" Russell was an American retired professional basketball player. Russell played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1956 to 1969.

He has so many rings

Heaps of rings

4 Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials, MJ, is an American retired professional basketball player.

In 1993 Larry Bird said : "Jordan takes the 10. All the others we deserve no more than 8".
I agree with Bird. It's an insult Bill Russell to be higher than M.J. for his rings which are based on team work.
Individually, Russell belongs were Bird claimed.

He accomplished so much he quit for a year

5 Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr., is a retired American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. Brady is known for being the only quarterback in history to win 7 Super Bowls, and was often considered one of the best quarterbacks of all time. Brady was also frequently considered to be the biggest steal in NFL history as a late 6th round pick. He had previously played for the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2019.

He has accomplished a lot

6 Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American basketball player. He was born on August 21, 1936 in Philadelphia and died on October 12, 1999 in Los Angeles due to heart failure.

Wilt Chamberlain set the books by scoring the most points scored in a single game (100), most rebounds in a game (55), and most consecutive field goals (18).

He played for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. His biggest rival was former Boston Celtics center Bill Russell, but they are also good friends. He won 2 NBA Titles, 1 with the 76ers and one with the Lakers. ...read more.

Michael Jordan is the best player ever, but the records are mostly of Chamberlain.

So many records

7 Joe Montana Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr., nicknamed Joe Cool and The Comeback Kid, is a retired American football quarterback.
8 Pele Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as "Pelé", was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. In 1999 he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century.

The 'King' won 3 World Cups.
Some people say that this happened as he is Brazilian.
But he's the only Brazilian who managed to do so.

He's in the top ten.

9 Gerd Müller

Best Germany footballer ever.

10 Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson, nicknamed "The Big O", is an American retired National Basketball Association player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks.
The Contenders
11 Ferenc Puskas Ferenc Puskás (1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, played four international matches for Spain and scored 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became an Olympic champion in 1952 and led his nation to the final of the 1954 World Cup. He won three European Cups (1959, 1960, 1966), 10 national championships (5 Hungarian and 5 Spanish Primera División) and 8 top individual scoring honors. In 1995, he was recognized as the greatest top division scorer of the 20th century ...read more.
12 Babe Ruth George Herman Ruth Jr., better known as Babe Ruth, was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935.

Unbelievable career

13 Naim Süleymanoğlu

The greatest weightlifting legend.

14 Alexander Karelin

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin is a retired Greco-Roman wrestler for the Soviet Union and Russia. Nicknamed the "Russian Bear","Russian King Kong","Alexander the Great" and "The Experiment", he is considered the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time. Karelin won gold medals at the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. He is also 9 times World Champion.
Karelin went undefeated for the first time from 1982 to 1987 and second time from 1987 to 2000. In 1985 he came to international competitions and won a junior world title. He had his first loss at the USSR championships in 1987, to the reigning champion Igor Rostorotsky. He lost for a second time from Rulon Gardner of the United States in the final of the Sydney Olympics.
His wrestling record is 887 wins and two losses, the best in individual sports.

15 Margaret Court

Margaret Court AO MBE, also known as Margaret Smith Court, is a retired Australian tennis player.
In 1970, Court became the first woman during the Open era (and the second woman in history) to win the singles Grand Slam. She won 24 of those titles (11 in the Open era), a record that still stands. She also won 19 women's doubles and 21 mixed doubles titles, giving her a record 64 major titles overall. She is the only woman to win the mixed doubles Grand Slam, which she accomplished twice. Her all surfaces singles career winning percentage of 91.68% (1,180-107) is one of the best of all time according to the Sporteology website. Her open era singles career winning percentage of 91.37% (593-56) is unequalled, as is her Open Era winning percentage of 91.7% (11-1) in Grand Slam finals.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame states, "For sheer strength of performance and accomplishment there has never been a tennis player to match (her)."

16 Vasily Alekseyev

Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev was a Soviet weightlifter who won gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics and 20 gold medals in World Championships. The 6'1 350 pounds athlete of the super heavyweight category was the first man to clean and jerk 500 pounds (227 kg).He was unbeaten and held the World Championship and European Championship titles for eight years (1970-1977). He was the first man to total over 600 kg in the triple event. He was voted as "The Greatest Sportsman" of the Soviet History.
What makes him accomplished is the number of the world records he set : 80 (! ). He is the greatest recordbreaker of all sports and all times. He received bonus funds every time he set a world record by the Soviet Union.To understand how incredible is this number you have to know that the greatest Olympian Michael Phelps set 39 world records.
Alekseyev was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated 14 April 1975, titled "World's Strongest Man".

17 Nadia Comaneci
18 Juan Manuel Fangio
19 LeBron James LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. LeBron has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and the Lakers.

A freak of nature and he still did his dreams of bringing a title to Cleveland

20 Florence Griffith Joyner

Florence Griffith - Joyner is regarded the fastest woman of all times.
In 1988 USA Olympic trials she broke the world record of 100 meters by 0.27 seconds and in same years' Olympics the world record of 200m by 0.37 seconds. She won 3 gold and one silver medal in 1988 Olympics. She also won a silver medal in 1984 Olympics.
Her world records still stand.They aren't the longest lived (J. Kratochvilova, 800m since 1983), but if there is a record of track and field that will stand for half a century, it will be her one of 100m (10.49).
She is forgotten. I'm surprised of she's not even in the list with the greatest athletes of all time (a lot of great athletes of the past even isn't there or lost in unbelievably low positions).

21 Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. is an American former professional boxer and current boxing promoter. "Pretty boy" Floyd or "Money" Mayweather is widely considered to be one of the greatest if not the greatest boxer in boxing history. Floyd Mayweather has had success not only inside the ring, but outside as a worthy businessman. Mayweather has had some of the largest if not the largest box office ratings in HBO history and has rightfully owned the sport of boxing for more than a decade.

May be a jerk, but he is still accomplished.

I agree with the list maker.

22 Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League for four teams from 1979 to 1999.
23 Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer was an American professional golfer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history.
24 Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era.
25 Lionel Messi
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