ESPN recently put out an article determining the greatest professional athletes of the past 25 years. Needless to say, I do not completely agree. I will be doing my own take on the list. However, my list will be a bit different. I will be picking the top five athletes from each sport. Sports include NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and Boxing/MMA. This article will take all things into consideration including talent, production and star power.

NFL
1. Tom Brady
2. Deion Sanders
3. Barry Sanders
4. Jerry Rice
5. Ray Lewis

Analysis:
Of course the top spot belongs to a man that arguably has established himself as the greatest player at the most important position. However, he is the only QB to make the list. Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and Dan Marino narrowly missed the cut. You will notice the majority of players have played a full career or are nearing the end. Prime Time comes in at No. 2. He is the definition of a star. From his incredible 40-yard dash at the combine right up to his triumphant return from retirement, Sanders has done it all. He is a multi-sport athlete with a rap album and two rings. It’s hard to top Prime. While Emmitt Smith is the all-time leading rusher and three time champ, Barry is widely considered the more talented back. He was a human highlight reel and deserving of this list. Rice would be higher, however, many of his best years came prior to 1990, knocking him down a bit. Ray Lewis is the Baltimore Ravens. Arguably the greatest inside linebacker of all-time and a Super Bowl MVP who went out on top. It’s hard to imagine this list without Lewis on it.

NBA
1. Michael Jordan
2. LeBron James
3. Shaquille O’Neal
4. Kobe Bryant
5. Tim Duncan

Analysis:
Jordan is the obvious choice for the top spot. He has the championships, MVPs and the fame. His shoes are iconic and he made Space Jam, everybody loves Space Jam. King James is next. If anyone is going to give MJ a run for his money it’s LeBron. Not only is he the most well-rounded player since Oscar Robinson, much like Jordan, LeBron is a brand. With perhaps eight more solid seasons left in his career, already being No.2 is incredible. Shaq is a star of the largest kind. Not only is he arguably the most dominant force the NBA has ever seen, he is also a star off the court. He is a rapper (a terrible rapper, but rapper nonetheless), a movie star, and we can’t forget Shaq-Fu, which I actually owned for Sega. Few stars shine brighter than The Diesel. Kobe is a tremendous player. He managed to climb out of Shaq’s massive shadow and win titles on his own. As one of the most prolific scorers of all-time playing in L.A., there is no denying Kobe’s greatness. I personally believe he’s a tiny bit overrated on an all-time scale. Surely that comment will enrage the Kobe fan boys. How dare he be No. 4! Only Duncan could quietly rack up championships and become arguably the greatest power forward of all-time. While he doesn’t have that star quality, there is no denying his ability and desire to win. Had this list had one more player on it, Allen Iverson would have been tough to keep off of it.

NHL
1. Martin Brodeur
2. Mario Lemieux
3. Scott Stevens
4. Patrick Roy
5. Wayne Gretzky

Analysis:
Marty Brodeur just wrapped up the greatest career by any goalie in NHL history. The three time Stanley Cup champion holds just about every all-time record and was so good the NHL changed half its rules to try to slow him down. Despite a bout with cancer, Lemieux was the most prolific scorer of the 90’s and a back-to-back champion. That brings us to Stevens, arguably the greatest defender of all-time, a three time champion and human highlight reel of monster hits. No one was more feared in the past 25 years. If not for Brodeur, Roy would likely be considered the greatest goalie ever. Some people will be upset “The Great One” is number five. However, you must take in to account that his entire tenure with the Oilers was prior to 1990. That’s most of his points, accomplishments and all his championships out his window. He was still great, just not as great. It was tough keeping Jaromir Jagr off this list. Especially since it feels like he’s been playing for all 25 years.

MLB
1. Barry Bonds
2. Ken Griffey, Jr.
3. Mariano Rivera
4. Derek Jeter
5. Roger Clemens

Analysis:
Say what you will about Bonds, but he was never caught and the rules in place now were not in place when he was belting 73 homeruns. Bonds is the greatest player since Babe Ruth. Be mad at MLB, not Bonds. Griffey was the player of the decade and the star of stars. He was a five-tool player with a sweet swing and everything else that comes with it. He was in movies, had the shoes and had the video game. Every kid that grew up playing little league in the 90’s turned his hat backwards and wanted to be like Jr. If not for injuries, he could be in that conversation for greatest ever. Putting Rivera over Jeter may be a bit controversial, nevertheless, Rivera was the most important player on the Yankees’ dynasty and is the greatest of all-time at what he did. Jeter of course is right behind him. He has all the star power in the world. However, he lacks the regular individual regular season accolades of Bonds of Griffey. He wasn’t a perennial MVP candidate nor was he hitting 50 plus homers. However, he was a playoff hero and the model of consistency. His captaincy in New York made him a superstar. Much like Bonds, whether you like him or not, Clemens is arguably the greatest starting pitcher the game has seen and is certainly the best of the past 25 years. There were a ton of other candidates for this list that were just edged out.

Boxing/MMA
1. Roy Jones, Jr.
2. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
3. Anderson Silva
4. Lennox Lewis
5. Jon Jones

Analysis:
MMA is relatively new to the main stream fan and hasn’t developed a ton of superstars yet. It was very tough keeping Royce Gracie off this list, but I went with the newer crop of stars being that MMA has really gained steam over the past decade. Jones, Jr. is the greatest boxer of my life time. He’s a faster Floyd Mayweather with more knockout power. Money Mayweather is not far behind Jones, Jr. He could even be 1b to Jones, Jr.’s 1a. A win against Manny Pacquiao in May could solidify his spot on the all-time list and get him in the conversation with the greatest ever. Silva is the greatest UFC fighter of all-time and even his most recent losses were a bit fluky. With all due respect to Chris Weidman, Silva was knocked out while taunting and broke his leg in a freak incident. That’s the nature of fighting. Still, Silva is the greatest. Lewis may be the most underrated Heavyweight in the history of boxing. His size, speed and ability is incredible. He is the greatest heavyweight since Foreman and that includes Mike Tyson. By the way, Tyson missed the list because he dominated the 80’s. The loss to Buster Douglas was not in the past 25 years. Jon Jones is still young but is so incredible that I had to put him on this list. He is still on the rise and isn’t necessarily a lock for this list. He’s my personal preference over some other guys including GSP.