Greatest Athletes of All Time Community Rankings
The cumulative ranking of all 32 entrants, built from 30 completed Greatest Athletes of All Time brackets and 898 head-to-head picks. Lionel Messi currently leads on win rate.
Last updated October 1, 2026
Play the Greatest Athletes of All Time bracket30
brackets completed
898
picks recorded
32
entrants with results
Full community ranking
- 1
Lionel Messi
64W - 23L · won 6 brackets
74%
win rate
- 2
Cristiano Ronaldo
65W - 24L · won 6 brackets
73%
win rate
- 3
Michael Jordan
66W - 28L · won 1 bracket
70%
win rate
- 4
Michael Phelps
48W - 24L · won 4 brackets
67%
win rate
- 5
LeBron James
53W - 28L
65%
win rate
- 6
Tom Brady
46W - 26L · won 3 brackets
64%
win rate
- 7
Muhammad Ali
45W - 28L · won 1 bracket
62%
win rate
- 8
Usain Bolt
44W - 29L · won 1 bracket
60%
win rate
- 9
Diego Maradona
37W - 28L · won 2 brackets
57%
win rate
- 10
Pele
36W - 29L
55%
win rate
- 11
Simone Biles
29W - 28L
51%
win rate
- 12
Wayne Gretzky
28W - 28L · won 1 bracket
50%
win rate
- 13
Kobe Bryant
29W - 29L
50%
win rate
- 14
Stephen Curry
26W - 28L · won 1 bracket
48%
win rate
- 15
Novak Djokovic
26W - 29L · won 1 bracket
47%
win rate
- 16
Tiger Woods
26W - 29L
47%
win rate
- 17
Babe Ruth
20W - 27L · won 1 bracket
43%
win rate
- 18
Mike Tyson
20W - 28L
42%
win rate
- 19
Lewis Hamilton
21W - 30L
41%
win rate
- 20
Shaquille O'Neal
18W - 29L
38%
win rate
- 21
Jim Brown
18W - 29L
38%
win rate
- 22
Roger Federer
18W - 30L
38%
win rate
- 23
Serena Williams
17W - 29L
37%
win rate
- 24
Bo Jackson
16W - 28L · won 1 bracket
36%
win rate
- 25
Barry Bonds
15W - 28L
35%
win rate
- 26
Jackie Robinson
15W - 30L
33%
win rate
- 27
Rafael Nadal
13W - 29L
31%
win rate
- 28
Nadia Comaneci
9W - 29L
24%
win rate
- 29
Jesse Owens
8W - 28L
22%
win rate
- 30
Connor McDavid
8W - 29L
22%
win rate
- 31
Jack Nicklaus
7W - 28L · won 1 bracket
20%
win rate
- 32
Carl Lewis
7W - 29L
19%
win rate
How this ranking works
How is the Greatest Athletes of All Time community ranking calculated?
Every completed Greatest Athletes of All Time bracket adds one result to the pool. Each head-to-head pick is recorded as a win for one entrant and a loss for the other, and entrants are ordered by win rate across all 898 matchups played so far. Champion counts are tracked separately so a lucky draw cannot pass as a favourite.
Why use win rate instead of how often something wins the bracket?
Brackets are shuffled, so an entrant can reach the final without beating anything difficult. Win rate counts every matchup an entrant appeared in, which is a fairer read on how people actually feel about it. Champion counts are shown next to it for the entrants that keep taking the title.
How often does this ranking update?
Continuously. The page rebuilds every few minutes, so a bracket you finish now shows up here shortly afterwards. Last refreshed October 1, 2026.
Does my own ranking have to match this one?
No — this is the aggregate, not a verdict. Play the greatest athlete of all time yourself and you get a private result page with your own order, which you can share and compare against the community list here.