Who'll Go Down in History, 10 Years Later

 

Ten years ago I endeavored to guess which contemporary athletes would be remembered forever. Which to me is a combination of accomplishment, longevity, championships, and the "wow" factor. You have to be the best in your field, for a long time, and have ascended to the very pinnacle of your sport. And you have to have done it in a way that no one could take their eyes off you.

That's a high bar! I played it safe and only have a few regrets. But first, a round of applause for folks still killing it 10 years later, particularly LeBron James and Tom Brady. These guys were 10 years in the league at the time of my last post and are still at the top of their respective games 10 year later!

Everyone else on my list from before is a shoo-in, although Mariano Rivera, while certainly a G.O.A.T. in his circles, has receded from memory a bit as he has kept a lower profile upon retirement. 

I do regret having a blind spot when it comes to our female athletes. Serena Williams was dominant back then and I had to have known that but chose not to include her. This time around, I'd have to add her, since she too is chugging along, albeit at the twilight of her career. Let's also pencil in Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and Diana Taurasi as all-timers.

I didn't include Kobe Bryant last time and it's clear he'll go down in history, his untimely death robbing us of what could've been a long and illustrious post-retirement influence on generations of hoop stars. We're left with a legacy of excellence, determination, and hustle, which will last forever.

Steph Curry was playing 10 years ago and it's clear he's changed the geometry of the NBA with his 3-point shooting. Let's put him in, and time will tell if uber-stars like Giannis and Luka (first names only needed) will have the sustained success and mega-watt impact that the early part of their careers have already had. Same with Patrick Mahomes and Shohei Ohtani in football and baseball, although no need to wait and see on Mike Trout as he's likely an all-timer in a game that reveres its all-timers.

I know nothing about hockey but should've known back then that Sidney Crosby was going to be in the pantheon. Apparently he's still playing, so I'll take advantage of that fact and add him in now.

I similarly know nothing about soccer (football to the rest of the world) but should've known in 2012 to put Christiano Ronaldo and David Beckham on the list (to my credit: I did have Messi but that was a no-doubter). Who else in this sprawling space that I have zero knowledge of? Zlatan? Neymar? Mbappe? 

I said I know nothing about hockey and soccer, but I really know nothing about a bunch of other sports that are globally popular, in which there are likely pantheon-level athletes that should be on this list. Boxing? MMA? Cricket? Literally couldn't name one athlete right now, but surely there are ones with almost universal name recognition?

You might argue for others and you might be right. I'm just playing it safe and thinking about the no-doubters. Let's check back in 10 more years and we'll see who's held the test of time.