GOAT Rank · 1370

Greatest Athletes from United States

This ranking is led by Michael Phelps, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Carl Lewis. GOAT Rank currently ranks 1370 eligible athletes from United States using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, Michael Phelps ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 95.2.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

2491

Jimmy Smith

75.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1992–2005
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Jimmy Smith

2493

Meadowlark Lemon

75.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1954–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 80.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 72.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Meadowlark Lemon

2495

Joseph Brennan

75.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1925–1942
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 74.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Joseph Brennan

2499

Bronko Nagurski

75.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1930–1943
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Bronko Nagurski

2500

Pat LaFontaine

75.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1983–1998
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Pat LaFontaine

2501

Russ Grimm

75.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1981–1991
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Russ Grimm

2502

Stan Jones

75.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1954–1966
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Stan Jones

2503

Art Donovan

75.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1950–1961
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Art Donovan

2504

Fred Dean

75.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1975–1985
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Fred Dean

2512

J.J. Watt

75.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2011–2022
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: J.J. Watt

2517

Julie Chu

75.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2000–2018
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Julie Chu

2518

Rollie Fingers

75.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1968–1985
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Rollie Fingers

2519

Vitas Gerulaitis

75.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1971–1986
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Vitas Gerulaitis

2520

Pete Hill

75.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1899–1925
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Pete Hill

2524

Lou Whitaker

75.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1977–1995
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Lou Whitaker

2525

Zion Williamson

75.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2019–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Zion Williamson

2527

Charles Haley

75.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1986–1999
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Charles Haley

2528

Tom Fears

75.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1948–1956
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Tom Fears

2529

Lem Barney

75.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1967–1977
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Lem Barney

2530

George McAfee

75.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1940–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: George McAfee

2535

Jennifer Capriati

75.0

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1990–2004
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Jennifer Capriati

2539

Frank Gifford

75.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 1952–1964
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Frank Gifford

2540

Harry Heilmann

75.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1914–1932
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Harry Heilmann

2542

LeRoy Butler

75.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 1990–2001
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: LeRoy Butler

2545

Wade Boggs

75.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1982–1999
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Wade Boggs

2547

Dave Casper

75.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 1974–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Dave Casper

2548

Sam Mills

75.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 1986–1997
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Sam Mills

2549

Frederick Hovey

75.0

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1890–1896
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Frederick Hovey

2553

Johnny Bench

74.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1967–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Johnny Bench

2555

Frank Thomas

74.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1990–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Frank Thomas

2556

Mike Piazza

74.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1992–2007
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Mike Piazza

2557

Tim Raines

74.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1979–2002
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Tim Raines

2558

Trae Young

74.9

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2018–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 64.0

Athlete: Trae Young

2559

Roy Campanella

74.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1937–1957
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Roy Campanella

2562

George Musso

74.9

Sport: American Football
Career: 1933–1944
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: George Musso

2563

Mike Munchak

74.9

Sport: American Football
Career: 1982–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Mike Munchak

2564

Lee Roy Selmon

74.9

Sport: American Football
Career: 1976–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Lee Roy Selmon

2568

Melanie Buddemeyer

74.9

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1976–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Melanie Buddemeyer

2575

Andre Reed

74.8

Sport: American Football
Career: 1985–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Andre Reed

2576

Steve Hutchinson

74.8

Sport: American Football
Career: 2001–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Steve Hutchinson

2577

Buck Ewing

74.8

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1880–1897
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Buck Ewing

2580

Sinjin Smith

74.8

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 1977–1996
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Sinjin Smith

2581

Thomas Barlow

74.8

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1921–1939
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 80.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 72.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Thomas Barlow

2582

Richard Sears

74.8

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1881–1887
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 55.0

Athlete: Richard Sears

2583

Bill Johnston

74.8

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1915–1927
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Bill Johnston

2584

John Henry Johnson

74.8

Sport: American Football
Career: 1954–1966
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: John Henry Johnson

2585

Mike McCormack

74.8

Sport: American Football
Career: 1951–1962
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Mike McCormack

2588

Max Scherzer

74.7

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Max Scherzer

2593

Alex Karras

74.7

Sport: American Football
Career: 1958–1970
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Alex Karras

2594

Maurice McLoughlin

74.7

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1909–1919
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Maurice McLoughlin

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
2491	Jimmy Smith	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1992–2005	75.2
2493	Meadowlark Lemon	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1954–1980	75.2
2495	Joseph Brennan	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1925–1942	75.2
2499	Bronko Nagurski	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1930–1943	75.2
2500	Pat LaFontaine	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1983–1998	75.2
2501	Russ Grimm	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1981–1991	75.2
2502	Stan Jones	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1954–1966	75.2
2503	Art Donovan	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1950–1961	75.2
2504	Fred Dean	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1975–1985	75.2
2512	J.J. Watt	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2011–2022	75.1
2517	Julie Chu	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	2000–2018	75.1
2518	Rollie Fingers	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1968–1985	75.1
2519	Vitas Gerulaitis	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1986	75.1
2520	Pete Hill	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1899–1925	75.1
2524	Lou Whitaker	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1995	75.1
2525	Zion Williamson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2019–active	75.1
2527	Charles Haley	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1986–1999	75.1
2528	Tom Fears	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1948–1956	75.1
2529	Lem Barney	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1967–1977	75.1
2530	George McAfee	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1940–1950	75.1
2535	Jennifer Capriati	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1990–2004	75.0
2539	Frank Gifford	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1952–1964	75.0
2540	Harry Heilmann	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1914–1932	75.0
2542	LeRoy Butler	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1990–2001	75.0
2545	Wade Boggs	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1982–1999	75.0
2547	Dave Casper	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1974–1984	75.0
2548	Sam Mills	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1986–1997	75.0
2549	Frederick Hovey	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1890–1896	75.0
2553	Johnny Bench	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1967–1983	74.9
2555	Frank Thomas	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1990–2008	74.9
2556	Mike Piazza	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1992–2007	74.9
2557	Tim Raines	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1979–2002	74.9
2558	Trae Young	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2018–active	74.9
2559	Roy Campanella	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1937–1957	74.9
2562	George Musso	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1933–1944	74.9
2563	Mike Munchak	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1982–1993	74.9
2564	Lee Roy Selmon	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1984	74.9
2568	Melanie Buddemeyer	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1980	74.9
2575	Andre Reed	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1985–2000	74.8
2576	Steve Hutchinson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2001–2012	74.8
2577	Buck Ewing	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1880–1897	74.8
2580	Sinjin Smith	Volleyball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1996	74.8
2581	Thomas Barlow	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1921–1939	74.8
2582	Richard Sears	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1881–1887	74.8
2583	Bill Johnston	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1915–1927	74.8
2584	John Henry Johnson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1954–1966	74.8
2585	Mike McCormack	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1951–1962	74.8
2588	Max Scherzer	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2008–active	74.7
2593	Alex Karras	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1958–1970	74.7
2594	Maurice McLoughlin	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1909–1919	74.7

Compare the leaders

Michael Phelps vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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