Posted by By Julius Star-Gandelsman
2025 has been quite a year for professional sports, from a first banner being raised into the rafters in Oklahoma City, to old favorites completing the ultimate goal again, such as the Philadelphia Eagles and the Florida Panthers. This is my ranking of the top 10 athletes this calendar year, including individual and team accomplishments.
Honorable Mentions: Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Aaron Judge (New York Yankees), Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), Amanda Anisimova (WTA), Coco Gauff (WTA)
10. Merab Dvalishvili (UFC)
Originating from Tbilisi, Georgia, Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili is in the rare air of the Bantamweight division of UFC fighting. In the year of 2025, The Machine has defended his Bantamweight title 3 times already, including victories over Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley, and Cory Sandhagen. On Saturday, December 6, Dvalishvili became the first fighter ever to defend his title 4 times in the same calendar year, fighting against Petr Yan. He has gotten the last spot on this list for the rare history he made in the Bantamweight division.
Jalen Hurts Philadelphia Eagles
NFL players were hard to rank in this, because the calendar year of 2025 only includes last season’s playoffs, and the start of this season. It came down to Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen for the NFL representation on this list, and Hurts was the one with the Super Bowl MVP so that is who gets the spot. 293 yards in the Super Bowl speaks for itself, and not many quarterbacks can squat 600 pounds and run the physically demanding “tush push” to perfection. However, the real deal is that Hurts can beat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs and Allen cannot. The only reason Hurts isn’t higher on this list is because of the abysmal start to the 2025-26 season.
8. Aitana Bonmati (FC Barcelona)
“Football is played with the feet, but it’s won with the mind.” This is what Aitana Bonmati lives by. The brilliant minded midfielder doesn’t blow teams away with her physical prowess, standing only 5’ 4”, but with her mind, with incredible vision on the pitch and eyes in the back of her head. This year, Bonmati helped FC Barcelona win their sixth straight Liga F title, and led them all the way to the Champions League final, where they eventually lost to Arsenal. However, she is not on this list for her club accomplishments, but for those of her country, Spain. Bonmati helped her national team to their first ever UEFA Euro final, scoring the game winning goal in the semifinal over Germany, and being named Player of the Tournament. To top it off, she received the Ballon D’Or, the trophy for the best soccer player in the world each year for one man and one woman, being the first woman to receive this award 3 times.
7. Cal Raleigh (Seattle Mariners)
The Big Dumper broke all kinds of MLB records this season. Power-hitting catchers deserve more attention in the big leagues, handling each pitcher’s attributes on a daily basis, while stepping up to the plate 4 times a game themselves and delivering. Raleigh ranked 1st in the MLB with a whopping 60 home runs on the season, while driving in 125 runs, good for 3rd in the league. Match that with the steady defensive presence behind the plate, Cal is the 1st of 2 MLB players on this list, as he attempts to lead the Seattle Mariners on a deep playoff run.
6. Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain)
From the shadow of Lionel Messi at FC Barcelona, Ousmane Dembele is now in the limelight at Paris Saint-Germain. He finished the 2024-25 season with 35 goals and 16 assists in 53 appearances, also being named Ligue 1 Player of the Year and its top goal scorer. He led Paris Saint Germain to the famed “treble,” winning the French League, French Cup, and Champions League titles. Like Bonmati, Dembele also won the Ballon D’Or. His rise to the top is inspirational, in just 1 year, he has gone from a slightly above average player, to a household name.
5. Jannik Sinner (ATP Tour)
Two tennis players are in the top 5 of this list, and it does not seem fair to put someone who seemingly won a lot at only number 5. Jannik Sinner won the Australian Open to start the tennis season in January, continuing his magical run in hard court tournaments. Unfortunately, after this tournament, it started to go downhill in big moments for the Italian. He lost the final of the Rome Masters to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets, and that was just the start of it. After not losing a single set going into the final at Roland Garros (French Open), Sinner had 3 championship points just 3 and a half hours into the final. Alcaraz saved all three, and the match lasted another 2 hours, ending in heartbreak for Sinner in what may have been the match of the century. Despite beating Alcaraz in the final of Wimbledon, Sinner lost again in the US Open final, and simply did not win smaller tournaments, retiring in a few of them due to injury. He needs to not only show up in the grand slams to get a higher ranking.
4. Aja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)
Aja Wilson is entering the greatest of all time conversations in the WNBA. She just cannot stop winning. Averaging over 23 points and over 10 rebounds throughout the entire season, Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to win 4 Most Valuable Player awards. She also won her third Defensive Player of the Year award, and her second WNBA finals MVP award, while leading the Las Vegas Aces to their 3rd title in the last 4 years. She is the first player in WNBA history to win a championship, MVP, DPOY, and Finals MVP in the same season. And guess what; she is still only 29 years old. If she continues on this pace, there is no way that she does not end up as the greatest of all time, up there with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.
3. Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Shohei Ohtani, like Aja Wilson, is entering serious conversations in terms of all time players in their respective leagues. He continues his ever consistent pace, hitting 55 home runs during the regular season. He does all this while being one of the standout starting pitchers in the league, reaching triple digits on his fastball, and nasty off speeds to match. He was originally lower on this list, until he had the greatest game in MLB history, hitting 3 home runs and pitching 6 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, to send the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series. This leapfrogs him into the top 3, now winning back to back championships with the Los Angeles Dodgers after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in a thrilling game 7.
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Maybe the most underrated player in sports, despite making history last year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets silver on this list. He became the first player in NBA history to win the scoring title, Most Valuable Player, and NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in the same season, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to their first ever NBA championship. Deemed the “free throw merchant” by NBA fans and ESPN analyst Doris Burke, SGA uses his smarts and craftiness to hypnotize defenses into fouling him, leading to practically free points. Pair that with the smoothest jumpshot in basketball, and true defensive smarts as well, causing him to be debated as the best player in the league.
1. Carlos Alcaraz (ATP Tour)
This was the year for tennis. Just passing Jannik Sinner for #1 in the world in the last month, that rivalry has sparked into one of the most closely followed in all of sports. Winning 2 grand slams this year, the thriller in the French Open at Roland Garros and the US Open, Alcaraz’s incredible touch and elegance has made him a fan favorite throughout. With a record of 67-7 on the year and 8 total titles won so far, Alcaraz gets the #1 slot on this ranking, and should be in the top 3 each year for a long time, at still only 22 years old.
The Maroon 