The Best of 2025
THE Best in
Sports & Athletics
Recognizing athletes, teams, and organizations that exemplify excellence through dedication, achievement, and sportsmanship.
2025 Edition
The Best Sports & Athletics of the Year — 2025 Edition
The world's premier athletes and sports organizations, recognized for their athletic excellence, legacy, and global influence.
Men's Top Athletes
| Athlete |
|---|
| Mondo Duplantis Athletics (Pole Vault) • Sweden World Athletics Men's Athlete of the Year, World Athletics Field Athlete of the Year |
| Emmanuel Wanyonyi Athletics (800m) • Kenya World 800m champion, Men's Track Athlete of the Year |
| Sabastian Sawe Athletics (Marathon) • Kenya Won London Marathon and Berlin Marathon (2:02:16), Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year |
| Noah Lyles Athletics (200m) • USA World 200m champion |
| Max Verstappen Formula 1 • Netherlands F1 World Champion 2025, 3 consecutive victories to end season |
| Nikola Jokic Basketball • Serbia NBA MVP candidate, led Denver Nuggets, ranked #1 NBA player |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Basketball • Canada NBA MVP, Finals MVP, NBA Champion with Oklahoma City Thunder, scoring title winner |
| LeBron James Basketball • USA 40 years old, still competing at elite level, signed extension with Lakers |
| Luka Doncic Basketball • Slovenia Led Slovenia to EuroBasket quarterfinals (34.7 ppg), signed $165M extension |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo Basketball • Greece Elite two-way player, MVP candidate |
Kevin Durant Basketball • USA 15th All-Star selection at age 37, traded to Houston Rockets |
Stephen Curry Basketball • USA Elite performance post-trade deadline with Warriors |
| Lionel Messi Football • Argentina MLS Cup champion with Inter Miami, MLS MVP, 63 goal involvements in 34 games |
| Kylian Mbappe Football • France La Liga top scorer (31 goals), 59 goals for Real Madrid in calendar year |
| Erling Haaland Football • Norway 19 goals in 17 Premier League games, 16 goals in 8 World Cup qualifiers |
Lamine Yamal Football • Spain Youngest player in FIFPRO World 11 history (18 years), La Liga top assist provider, Kopa Trophy winner |
Vinicius Junior Football • Brazil Key player for Real Madrid, elite winger performance |
Jude Bellingham Football • England Elite midfielder for Real Madrid, 3.62 touches/90 mins in opposition penalty area |
Ousmane Dembele Football • France PSG treble winner, Ligue 1 top scorer (21 goals), Champions League winner (8 goals), Player of the Season |
Harry Kane Football • England Bundesliga top scorer (26 goals), won league title with Bayern Munich, 78 England goals |
Mohamed Salah Football • Egypt Elite performance for Liverpool |
Cristiano Ronaldo Football • Portugal Continued elite performance at 39 years old |
Vitinha Football • Portugal PSG's 6 trophies winner (Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, Trophee des Champions), Nations League winner |
Achraf Hakimi Football • Morocco African Footballer of the Year, 6th in Ballon d'Or, 11 goals and 16 assists for PSG |
Pedri Football • Spain Elite midfielder for Barcelona, orchestrator role |
Carlos Alcaraz Tennis • Spain Won French Open and US Open, ended year as #1 ranked men's player, 8 tournament wins |
Jannik Sinner Tennis • Italy Shared dominance with Alcaraz in Grand Slams |
Novak Djokovic Tennis • Serbia Continued elite performance at 37 years old |
Shohei Ohtani Baseball • Japan Unprecedented dual-threat pitcher and hitter for Los Angeles Dodgers |
Malcolm Marx Rugby • South Africa World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year 2025 |
Ardie Savea Rugby • New Zealand Ranked #1 rugby player in world by FloRugby |
Antoine Dupont Rugby • France Ranked #2 rugby player globally despite limited play due to ACL injury |
Pieter-Steph du Toit Rugby • South Africa World Rugby Dream Team, key player in Springboks dominance |
Maro Itoje Rugby • England British and Irish Lions captain, first series victory since 2013, 5 lineout steals vs New Zealand |
Cheslin Kolbe Rugby • South Africa Rugby Championship winner, World Rugby Dream Team |
Tom Curry Rugby • England World Rugby Dream Team, 20 tackles and 4 turnovers in Six Nations |
Harry Wilson Rugby • Australia World Rugby Dream Team, Australia captain, 105 metres vs New Zealand |
Tadhg Beirne Rugby • Ireland British and Irish Lions Player of the Series 2025 |
Cam Roigard Rugby • New Zealand World Rugby Dream Team, 60 metres vs Australia, 3 try assists |
Scottie Scheffler Golf • USA Top ranked golfer, multiple tournament wins |
Terence Crawford Boxing • USA Beat Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision, Undisputed Super Middleweight World Champion |
Jalen Hurts American Football • USA Philadelphia Eagles QB, defending Super Bowl MVP, TIME 100 |
Lamar Jackson American Football • USA Elite NFL quarterback performance |
Patrick Mahomes American Football • USA Kansas City Chiefs QB, multiple Super Bowl champion |
Leon Marchand Swimming • France Most successful Olympic swimmer at Paris 2024, TIME 100 |
Caeleb Dressel Swimming • USA Multiple Olympic gold medalist, continued elite performance |
Victor Wembanyama Basketball • France NBA Rookie sensation, 25/12/4 stat line with 3.5 blocks per game |
Tyrese Haliburton Basketball • USA Elite playmaker, clutch performer before Achilles injury in NBA Finals |
Jaylen Brown Basketball • USA NBA Finals MVP, two-way wing excellence |
Christian Pulisic Football • USA Excellent season at AC Milan, ESPN FC 100 selection |
Women's Top Athletes
| Athlete |
|---|
| Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Athletics (400m) • USA World Athletics Women's Athlete of the Year, World 400m champion (47.78), first athlete to win both 400m and 400m hurdles world titles |
| Femke Bol Athletics (400m Hurdles) • Netherlands World 400m hurdles champion |
| Beatrice Chebet Athletics (Distance) • Kenya World Athletics #1 ranked female athlete (1544 points) |
| Nicola Olyslagers Athletics (High Jump) • Australia Women's Field Athlete of the Year |
| Maria Perez Athletics (Race Walk) • Spain Unbeaten in 2025, World titles in 20km and 35km race walk, Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year |
| Sha'Carri Richardson Athletics (Sprint) • USA World Championships sprint triple (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay), 4th fastest woman in history |
| Coco Gauff Tennis • USA Highest-paid female athlete ($31-33M), French Open champion, ranked #3 WTA |
| Aryna Sabalenka Tennis • Belarus #1 WTA ranking (2nd consecutive year), 4 tournament wins, 9 finals, $30M earnings, Australian Open and US Open champion |
| Iga Swiatek Tennis • Poland #2 WTA ranking, dominant baseline game and strategic excellence |
| Elena Rybakina Tennis • Kazakhstan WTA Finals champion (Riyadh), largest single-event prize in women's tennis history ($5.235M) |
Qinwen Zheng Tennis • China Top WTA performer, major breakthroughs |
Jasmine Paolini Tennis • Italy $8.3M earnings, strong WTA tour performance |
Caitlin Clark Basketball • USA WNBA Rookie of the Year, fastest to 1,000 points & 300 assists, $28M Nike signature shoe deal, revolutionized women's basketball |
A'ja Wilson Basketball • USA WNBA elite player, leading Las Vegas Aces |
Breanna Stewart Basketball • USA Founded new women's basketball league, TIME 100, New York Liberty star |
Napheesa Collier Basketball • USA Co-founded new women's basketball league with Stewart, TIME 100 |
Sabrina Ionescu Basketball • USA New York Liberty point guard, high-earning athlete |
Angel Reese Basketball • USA WNBA rookie sensation, $9.4M earnings, set rebounding records, first female athlete with McDonald's signature meal |
Paige Bueckers Basketball • USA $9.1M earnings, expected #1 WNBA draft pick 2025 |
JuJu Watkins Basketball • USA USC freshman, national freshman scoring record breaker at 19 years old, NBC docuseries |
Simone Biles Gymnastics • USA Most decorated Olympic gymnast in history, Paris 2024 success, TIME 100, mental health advocate |
Alexia Putellas Football • Spain Barcelona midfielder, 11.8% engagement rate (highest in top 10), $36,535 per sponsored post |
Aitana Bonmati Football • Spain Elite midfielder for Barcelona, Ballon d'Or contender |
Sam Kerr Football • Australia Chelsea striker, elite goal scorer |
Keira Walsh Football • England Barcelona midfielder, most expensive female footballer |
Alex Morgan Football • USA USWNT veteran, influential female athlete |
Ghizlane Chebbak Football • Morocco FIFPRO Women's World 11, 2nd African footballer in history to achieve this, AFCON 2024 top scorer (5 goals) |
Serena Williams Tennis (Retired) • USA TIME 100, continued influence in sports world 3 years after retirement |
Venus Williams Tennis • USA 44 years old, $12M in endorsements, founded Palazzo AI platform, 7 Grand Slam singles titles legacy |
Nelly Korda Golf • USA $12.5M earnings in 2024, Nike/Goldman Sachs/BMW deals, battling back from injury |
Jeeno Thitikul Golf • Thailand $10.3M earnings ($8.3M on-court) |
Eileen Gu Freestyle Skiing • China 16th World Cup victory, tied record for most World Cup wins in freestyle skiing, $22.1M earnings |
Lindsey Vonn Alpine Skiing • USA $8.2M earnings, skiing legend |
Mikaela Shiffrin Alpine Skiing • USA Elite skier, multiple World Cup wins |
Ilona Maher Rugby • USA $8.1M earnings, social media influence |
Sophie de Goede Rugby • Canada World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year 2025, 58 points at RWC 2025 |
Jorja Miller Rugby • New Zealand Women's SVNS Player of the Year, 5 tries in 6 tests at RWC 2025, World Rugby Dream Team |
Megan Jones Rugby • England World Rugby Player of the Year nominee, started 11 of 12 England matches |
Braxton Sorensen-McGee Rugby • New Zealand World Rugby Women's 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year 2025, 18 years old, World Rugby Dream Team |
Josifini Neihamu Rugby • Fiji Breakthrough Player nominee, 7 tries in 6 tests including hat-trick on debut |
Hannah Botterman Rugby • England World Rugby Dream Team, elite prop |
Emily Tuttosi Rugby • Canada World Rugby Dream Team hooker |
Maud Muir Rugby • England World Rugby Dream Team prop |
Alex Matthews Rugby • England World Rugby Dream Team flanker |
Katie Taylor Boxing • Ireland Elite boxer, high-profile matches |
Amanda Serrano Boxing • Puerto Rico Elite boxer, major fights |
Candace Parker Basketball • USA 38 years old, WNBA veteran presence |
Shericka Jackson Track and Field • Jamaica Elite sprinter, multiple medals |
Elaine Thompson-Herah Track and Field • Jamaica Olympic sprint champion |
Selection Standards
Excellence Criteria
Our industry-specific criteria ensure that only the most deserving receive THE Best distinction in Sports & Athletics.
01
Athletic achievement
02
Leadership
03
Fair play
04
Community impact
05