Who is better, Gretzky or Esposito?
Wayne Gretzky leads with a GOAT score of 97.8 against 88.1 for Phil Esposito — a gap of 9.7 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Gretzky vs Esposito
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Wayne Gretzky above Phil Esposito: 97.8 vs 88.1. Wayne Gretzky leads on Dominance, Honours, Peak.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
GretzkyWinner
97.8Gretzky wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
Esposito
88.1Esposito wins: no category outright
Candidates
Locked to Ice HockeyShareable URL · /compare/gretzky-vs-phil-esposito
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇨🇦 Wayne Gretzky
97.8
Gretzky leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Phil Esposito
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Through age 21 · Form index per season
1. 🇨🇦 Wayne Gretzky513 points
3 seasons by age 21 · 171 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Esposito — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Gretzky97.8
Esposito88.1
FAQ
Where does Esposito beat Gretzky?
Esposito does not lead any of the five categories; Gretzky is ahead or level on all of them.
How is the Gretzky vs Esposito score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Gretzky: 97.8, Esposito: 88.1.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Gretzky vs Esposito. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.