Click here to see my criteria and or click here to see my initial list of 37 athletes. I made sure to include at least 5 athletes from Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. I then asked Claude to recommend any athletes that I missed.
Lionel Messi is the clear winner!
Ohtani has the potential to take the number 2 spot. LeBron James can still improve his rank with a Tom Brady like end to his career. Otherwise, it is very difficult to decide if Michel Phelps was a better athlete than Usain Bolt... Biases make those judgments. I put Bolt above Phelps, but I also like running more than swimming.
I can safely remove a lot of the athletes off this list for several reasons.
Modern Sports
Modern sports are so specialized that it makes it very difficult to compare athletes across sports. Each sports has a set of skills that are essential. The different sports highlight human variability. Humans are fast, strong, explosive, powerful, agile, focused, determined, attentive, coordinated, persistent, and the list goes on. Humans can achieve extreme endurance. Given the right genes, environment, and opportunities, some humans will excel in a range of sports. All of these sports require a handful of factors to be a professional. Then add another handful of factors to separate the stars from the pros and the greats from the stars.
Income
Comparing across time and sports is kind of silly to do. For that reason, I rate income as one of the best indicators of sports achievement. Sports are entertainment after all, and people like competition. Experience says people are entertained more by higher levels of competition. Championships and titles get more views than regular events.
Pre 1950s
With two exceptions, I'm removing all athletes prior to 1950. These sports and leagues did not have the competition for several factors that modern sports have. For this reason, their dominance is a lot less impressive, and, in most cases, a modern player has matched or surpassed their dominance. For the exceptions, I'll make a specific argument for why they deserve to be contenders.
Non-GOATs
Many of the athletes on my list are not even the greatest athlete in their sport. With some exceptions, most of these athletes can safely be removed.
The exceptions are athletes that played and succeeded in other sports. Having a cultural influence may influence some judgers. Being exceptional athletes may also boast rankings.
Boxing
Boxing a wrestling have weight classes. Some multiple individuals can be champions.
Boxing probably peaked in the 1970-1990s, but one boxer's record and longevity is more impressive than anyone else: Floyd Mayweather Jr! Mayweather is one of the highest paid athletes in history. He never lost and fought decades becoming a multiple champion at multiple weight classes. Mayweather didn't have the cultural influence or Muhammad Ali or even a Mike Tyson, but his total package as an athlete- the work ethic and skills- takes the title of greatest Boxer.
Baseball
Baseball is easy. Pending a career ending injury or severe drop off, no one can touch Shohei Ohtani. His MVP hitting and Cy Young level pitching is unprecedented. In addition, he is playing baseball at baseball's peak of global competition. I can easily remove all non Ohtani baseball players from the contentions.
With two exceptions, Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson played baseball and football. Or if you count Michael Jordan or Jim Thorpe as baseball players.
Football/Soccer
Having lived in Africa for over two years, I know that the poorest people in the world can and do easily play football. All they need is a plastic bag or cloth and trash. The accessibility and flexibility of a football game tops all teams sports. Baseball, American football, and basketball players can play with two people, but still. The basketball needs to bounce and a hoop is essential. Baseball needs a bat and glove though bottle caps and sticks work. Then the American football is a specific shape. Still nothing comes close to soccer football. And for that reason, football is by far the most played and popular organized sport in the world. Making success in football, more impressive due to the largest pool of competitive athletes.
So like Ohtani, Lionel Messi is a clear winner. Messi is as dominant as any footballer. And his dominance continues as he approaches his 40s. I can safely remove Pelé and Cristiano Ronaldo from my list.
As some who isn't a football fan, I'm open to arguments for Pelé or Ronaldo.
Golf
Golf has been a very popular global sport. Golfers have been among the highest paid athletes for the last 100 plus years.
With that said, golf is extremely specialized skill sets that rewards practice more than athleticism. The greatest golfers are not the purest athletes. They need to swing and walk.
American Football
Tom Brady! Brady played through the peak of NFL competitiveness although nowhere near the global pool of soccer football. He dominated into his 40s. He won a lot. Like the golfers, he is one of the lesser pure athletes, although he probably could have easily been a professional baseball player, unlike Tiger Woods.
Besides maybe Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders, no other player comes close to Brady. I can safely remove all other American football players.
Swimming
Swimming has a lot of overlap between events, even more so than track and field. The best swimmers are usually the best at multiple events. Plus, there being multiple team relays. This gives swimmers a potential to hold more championships and medals than other athletes.
Socio-economic Barriers
Cycling, golf, swimming, tennis, and gymnastics all have barriers that prevent most kids and people from playing the sport- another reason why football and running dominance is so impressive.
Cycling requires power and endurance, but it also requires bikes, roads, and races. Getting a bicycle is relatively easy, but getting a racing bike is expensive. Cycling, with some exceptions, is mostly a European sport.
Golf is expensive and elitist. It takes a lot of time and money to become good at golf.
Tennis is more accessible and cheaper than golf, but it is still more of a country club sport. Outside of rich neighborhoods, there is not a lot of tennis courts globally.
Swimming needs pools which need memberships. Gymnastics needs gyms and memberships too.
Less Popular Sports
For an athlete of a less popular sport, even if extremely dominant, the competitive pool holds them back.
Sports IQ
Players like Messi, Brady, and James maintain their dominance despite their age. These athletes show extremely high sports IQs. Their sports IQ allows them to compensate for their loss of athleticism due to aging. Their abilities to see a field of players all reacting to what everyone else is doing displays an additional cognitive skill set that track and field events, wrestling, tennis, golf, swimming, do not have.
Game Play
These fast paced team sports add complexities that should be rewarded over more simple skills like running and sprinting. The sports IQ matters because the games and sports have so many moving pieces.
My Final List
Click here to see my spreadsheet.
| GPT Rank | Athlete | Country | Sport / sports | Active athletic career | Dominance | Pure athleticism | Competitive pool | Cultural / historical relevance | Career earnings | Positive Justification | Negative Justification | Final Judgement |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Soccer / football | 2004– present | High | High | Extremely high | High | Extremely high | Best fit for your global-depth criterion: the strongest résumé in the world’s deepest sport, plus World Cup, Ballon d’Ors, longevity, and massive income. | | GOAT |
| 2 | Shohei Ohtani | Japan | Baseball | 2013– present | High | High | High | High | High | The best modern unprecedentedness case: MVP-level hitting plus high-level pitching in an era of extreme specialization; baseball’s peak global pool. All around athleticism | Mid career | #1 Contender, Stock Rising |
| 3 | Jim Thorpe | United States | Track and field, American football, baseball, basketball | 1907–1928 | High | Extremely high | Low | High | Low | One of the strongest all-around athlete cases ever: Olympic multi-event dominance plus multiple pro sports; overcame native discrimination | Weak competitive pool, limited professional opportunities | Top 5 Contender |
| 4 | Mijaín López | Cuba | Greco-Roman wrestling | 2002–2024 | Extremely high | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low | Five straight Olympic golds in Greco-Roman wrestling, in the same event (120kg chnaged to 130kg. One of the cleanest non-analogue dominance cases in sports history. All around athleticism | Unpopular sport, low global participation | Top 10 Contender |
| 5 | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | United States | Track and field, golf, basketball | 1930–1956 | High | High | Low | High | Low | Olympic track champion plus dominant golfer; among the best multi-sport candidates, overcame sexism, female barrier breaker | Exetremly weak competitive pool, limited professional opportunities | Top 5 Female Contender |
| 6 | Simone Biles | United States | Gymnastics | 2013– present | Extremely high | High | Medium | High | Medium | Extreme Olympic/world dominance plus technical innovation; all around athleticism | Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers | Top 5 contender |
| 7 | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | Track and field | 2004–2017 | High | High | Extremely high | High | High | Fastest human ever in the two most culturally obvious sprint events; less unprecedented than Ohtani because sprint-dominance archetypes existed before him. | Sprinting is relatively narrow and specialized skill set | Top 10 Contender |
| 8 | Kenenisa Bekele | Ethiopia | Track, cross country, marathon | 2001–2024 | High | Medium | High | Medium | Low | Best all-around distance-running résumé: track, cross country, and marathon; weaker money/fame but excellent fit for universal-running criteria. | Specialized athleticism, lesser pure athelciticsm | Top 20 Contender, Distance Running GOAT |
| 9 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Soccer / football | 2002– present | High | High | Extremely high | High | Extremely high | Soccer depth, longevity, international scoring, Champions League dominance, and income make him a top-10 candidate, though Messi’s total case is stronger. | 2nd to Messi | Top 10 Contender |
| 10 | Michael Phelps | United States | Swimming | 2000–2016 | Extremely high | Medium | Medium | High | High | Greatest Olympic medal résumé ever; discounted slightly for swimming’s high medal-opportunity structure and Mark Spitz analogue. | Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers | Top 10 Contender, Swimming GOAT |
| 11 | Carl Lewis | United States | Track and field | 1979–1996 | High | Extremely high | High | High | Medium | Sprint and long-jump Olympic dominance gives him broader track-and-field athleticism than Bolt, though Bolt has the cleaner fastest-human claim. All around athleticism | Less dominance than Bolt | Top 10 Contender |
| 12 | LeBron James | United States | Basketball | 2003– present | High | High | High | High | Extremely high | Elite combination of size, skill, longevity, and earnings in a global sport; all around athleticism | team context and Jordan/Kareem/Wilt analogues lower unprecedentedness. | Top 5 Contender |
| 13 | Pelé | Brazil | Soccer / football | 1956–1977 | High | Medium | High | Extremely high | Medium | Three World Cups in the world’s deepest sport gives him a huge case, but era adjustment and comparison with Messi/Ronaldo complicate the ranking. | 3rd to Messi | Top 10 Contender |
| 14 | Muhammad Ali | United States | Boxing | 1960–1981 | High | Medium | High | Extremely high | Medium | Boxing is globally prestigious and individually controlled; Ali’s cultural/historical weight is unmatched, but his pure athletic breadth is narrower. | Top 5 boxer | Top 10 Contender |
| 15 | Serena Williams | United States | Tennis | 1995–2022 | High | High | Medium | High | High | One of the strongest individual-sport cases: global sport, long dominance, major-title résumé, and high skill/athletic demands. | Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers | Top 20 Contender |
| 16 | Novak Djokovic | Serbia | Tennis | 2003– present | High | High | Medium | Medium | High | Best men’s tennis résumé, plus Olympic gold; Federer/Nadal analogues reduce unprecedentedness. | Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers | Top 20 Contender |
| 17 | Michael Jordan | United States | Basketball, minor league baseball, celebrity golf | 1984–2003 | High | High | Medium | Extremely high | High | Peak and cultural case are enormous; Jordan shoes prove cultural influence. | LeBron/Kareem/Wilt analogues. Great teams and supporting cast. Pre global NBA. | #1 Contender |
| 18 | Wayne Gretzky | Canada | Ice hockey | 1978–1999 | Extremely high | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium | One of the best statistical dominance cases ever, but hockey’s smaller global participation pool limits his overall score. | Lower global participation | Top 20 Contender |
| 19 | Manny Pacquiao | Philippines | Boxing | 1995–2021 | High | Medium | High | Medium | High | Eight-division boxing achievement gives him a rare range-based combat-sport case; high career earnings in a global sport | Top 5 Boxer | Top 20 Contender |
| 20 | Jackie Joyner-Kersee | United States | Track and field | 1981–2001 | High | High | High | Medium | Low | Heptathlon and long jump give her one of the best athletic-breadth profiles; low income/fame should not penalize her much. | Top 5 Track and Field | Top 20 Contender |
| 21 | Tadej Pogačar | Slovenia | Road cycling | 2019– present | High | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium | Rising all-time cycling case because of Grand Tour, classics, and world-title range; | Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers, specialized athleticism | Stock Rising |
| 22 | Don Bradman | Australia | Cricket | 1927–1949 | Extremely high | Medium | Low | Low | Low | Possibly the greatest statistical outlier in major sport, but cricket’s regional concentration and weak Olympic history lower the total score. | Extremely weak competitive pool | |
| 23 | Aleksandr Karelin | Russia | Greco-Roman wrestling | 1987–2000 | High | Medium | Medium | Low | Low | Near-mythic combat-sport dominance; Mijaín López’s five Olympic golds now gives López the cleaner Olympic claim. | 2nd to Lopez | |
| 24 | Tiger Woods | United States | Golf | 1996–present | High | Medium | Medium | High | Extremely high | Dominant peak, money, and cultural impact; golf access limitations and Nicklaus analogue reduce his all-athlete case. Undisputed golf GOAT | Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers, | |
| 25 | Jesse Owens | United States | Track and field | 1933–1936 | High | High | Medium | Extremely high | Low | Career limited. Four golds in Berlin carry enormous historical weight; short elite window limits him against multi-cycle athletes. World records from 50y-220y/200m, most standing 10-20 years. | Extremely short career, not even top 10 for Track and Field | |
| 26 | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | Track, road running, marathon | 1992–2015 | High | Medium | High | Medium | Medium | Excellent track-to-road distance case; Bekele ranks slightly higher because of cross-country plus stronger all-around distance résumé. | Specialized athleticism, lesser pure athelciticsm, 2nd to Bekele | |
| 27 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya | Marathon, track | 2002–present | High | Medium | High | Medium | Medium | Strongest marathon candidate ever, with Olympic marathon dominance; | Specialized athleticism, lesser pure athelciticsm, less broad than Bekele/Gebrselassie across track and cross country. | |
| 28 | Eric Heiden | United States | Speed skating, cycling | 1977–1986 | High | High | Low | Medium | Low | Sweeping all five Olympic speed-skating distances is extraordinary; | Winter-sport participation pool is the major limitation. | |
| 29 | Emil Zátopek | Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic | Track, marathon | 1944–1957 | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low | 1952 Olympic 5,000m/10,000m/marathon triple is nearly unique; | Not even top 5 distance runner | |
| 30 | Hicham El Guerrouj | Morocco | Middle-distance running | 1994–2006 | High | Medium | High | Medium | Medium | Strongest 1500m/mile case; World record still stands | narrower event range placed behind Bekele | |
| 31 | Floyd Mayweather Jr. | United States | Boxing | 1996–2017 | Extremely high | High | High | Medium | Extremely high | Undefeated, highly skilled, and extremely wealthy; lower on Olympic relevance and broad athleticism. Boxing GOAT | Never boxed heavy weight | Top 5 Contender |
| 32 | Babe Ruth | United States | Baseball | 1914–1935 | High | Medium | Low | High | Medium | Huge baseball and cultural case, but pre-integration MLB and weaker global pool are major deductions under your framework. | Weak competitive pool, segregated leagues | |
| 33 | Deion Sanders | United States | American football, baseball | 1989–2005 | High | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | Hall of Fame NFLer. One of the greatest defenders and punt returners in NFL history, also played offensive. More longevity than Bo. | Not NFL GOAT, only pat time baseball player | |
| 34 | Bo Jackson | United States | Baseball, American football | 1986–1994 | Low | Extremely high | Medium | Medium | Medium | Elite raw-athlete case and rare two-sport All-Star/Pro Bowl profile. | Short career, very limited NFL dominacne | |
| 35 | Wilt Chamberlain | United States | Basketball, track and field, volleyball | 1958–1973 | High | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | Maybe the best raw physical basketball specimen, but era, team context, and basketball analogues limit him. | Not NBA GOAT | |
| 36 | Jim Brown | United States | American football, lacrosse | 1954–1965 | High | High | Low | Medium | Low | Excellent all-around American athlete; global/Olympic relevance is too low for your top tier. | Not NFL GOAT | |
| 37 | Roger Federer | Switzerland | Tennis | 1998–2022 | High | High | Medium | Medium | High | High skill, longevity, and global fame. | Djokovic and Nadal weaken his unique GOAT case. Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers. | |
| 38 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | Golf | 1961–2005 | High | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium | Best major-title golf résumé; golf’s access limits and Tiger analogue keep him below the main top-20 group. | 2nd to Woods | |
| 39 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | Cricket | 1989–2013 | High | Medium | Low | Low | High | Massive cricket résumé and cultural relevance; Olympic absence and regional concentration lower him under your criteria. | Weak competitive pool | |
| 40 | Ma Long | China | Table tennis | 2006– present | High | Low | Low | Low | Medium | Tremendous Olympic/world table-tennis dominance, but narrower global commercial and athletic breadth than top candidates. | Extremely weak competitive pool | |
| 41 | Joe Louis | United States | Boxing | 1934–1951 | High | Medium | Low | High | Low | Great heavyweight dominance and historical relevance; Ali and Pacquiao have stronger total cases under your framework. | Lower competitive pool, maybe top 5 boxer | |
| 42 | Yuzuru Hanyu | Japan | Figure skating | 2010–2022 | High | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | Strong Olympic and technical/cultural case, but judged-sport structure and smaller pool lower his rank. | Lower competitive pool | |
| 43 | Abebe Bikila | Ethiopia | Marathon | 1956–1969 | High | Low | Medium | Medium | Low | Historically important marathon pioneer. Won Olympic marathos barefoot | Not even top 5 distance runner, less broad and less professionally deep than Bekele/Kipchoge/Gebrselassie. | |
| 44 | Willie Mays | United States | Baseball | 1951–1973 | High | High | Medium | Medium | Low | Great five-tool baseball player, longevity | Only top 5 MLB | |
| 45 | Hank Aaron | United States | Baseball | 1954–1976 | High | Medium | Medium | High | Low | Historic longevity and home run record; | Maybe top 5 MLB, less athletic breadth and unprecedentedness than top candidates. | |
| 46 | Jackie Robinson | United States | Baseball, football, basketball, track and field | 1939–1956 | Low | High | Low | Extremely high | Low | One of the most historically important athletes ever, pure athlete (brother Mark was silver medalist behind Owens) | Not even top 20 MLB | |
| 47 | Tom Brady | United States | American football | 2000–2022 | Extremely high | Medium | Medium | High | High | NFL GOAT, longevity, extremely high sports IQ | Team dependant, limited pure athleticism, team dependence, and lower global pool | Top 5 Contender |
| 48 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Austria / United States | Bodybuilding, powerlifting | 1963–1980 | High | Low | Low | Extremely high | High | Dominant and influential in bodybuilding. Acting career and political success | Steroids, body building is asthetics over athleticism | |
| 49 | Bruce Lee | United States / Hong Kong | Martial arts, film | 1958–1973 | Low | High | Low | Extremely high | Low | Huge martial-arts influence and physical skill. Cultural icon | Extremely limited athletic career | |
| 50 | Dwayne Johnson | United States | College football, professional wrestling | 1991–2019 | Low | High | Medium | High | High | Major entertainment-athletic figure, | Not even the best football player on his college team | |
| 12–18 | Diego Maradona | Argentina | Soccer / football | 1976–1997 | High | High | Extremely high | High | Medium | Led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, with the England quarterfinal producing both the “Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century.” | Shorter career, behind Messi and Ronaldo | |
| 15–25 | Katie Ledecky | United States | Swimming | 2012– present | Extremely high | High | High | High | High | Most decorated female swimmer in history and dominant distance freestyler. “female Phelps”- 14 Olympic medals, 9 golds, world records in the 800m and 1500m freestyle. | Strong top-20 candidate. She is the best female swimming candidate and arguably the clearest | |
| 18–28 | Larisa Latynina | Soviet Union / Ukraine | Gymnastics | 1956–1966 | Extremely high | High | Medium | High | Low | Won 18 Olympic medals, including nine golds, and held the all-time Olympic medal record before Phelps. | Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers + discrimination against females athletes | |
| 20–30 | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union / Ukraine | Pole vault / track and field | 1981–2001 | Extremely high | High | High | Medium | Medium | Broke the men’s pole vault world record 35 times and won six consecutive world outdoor titles. | More narrow and specialized than sprinting | |
| 20–30 | Rafael Nadal | Spain | Tennis | 2001–2024 | High | High | Medium | High | Extremely high | Won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles. | 2nd to Djokovic, Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers | |
| 25–40 | Nadia Comăneci | Romania | Gymnastics | 1971–1981 | High | High | Medium | High | Low | First gymnast to receive a perfect 10 at the Olympic Games. | 2nd to Biles. Lower global participation- socio-economic bariers | |
| 25–45 | Florence Griffith-Joyner | United States | Track and field | 1979–1988 | High | Extremely high | High | High | Medium | Still holds the women’s 100m and 200m world records from 1988. | Sprinting is relatively narrow and specialized skill set | Top 10 Contender |
| 28–40 | Al Oerter | United States | Discus throw / track and field | 1956–1968 | Extremely high | High | Medium | Medium | Low | Won four consecutive Olympic discus gold medals from 1956 to 1968. | Narrower athleticism, lower global participation |
