2023 was a year to remember for Sha' Carri Richardson as she reclaimed her status as one of the best sprinters in the world after winning several races on the world’s biggest stage. At the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August, Richardson  won the bronze in the 200 meters and with a time of 10.65 seconds beat out Jamaican standouts Shericka Jackson and five-time world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who were considered favorites in the event in the 100 meters. 

Also, she anchored the 4x100 relay team to a first-place finish in stunning fashion. Richardson now sets her sights on the 2024 Paris Olympics, in a chance to redeem herself after missing the 2020 Tokyo games after testing positive for marijuana.

Throughout his storied career, LeBron James has racked up numerous accolades that rank him as one of the greatest players in NBA history. But when James surpassed the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league's all-time leading scorer, a record that stood for 39 years, is undoubtedly one of the crown jewels of his collection. 

James accomplished the feat on Feb. 7, 2023, by dropping his patent 21-foot fallaway jumper in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder, scoring his 38,388th point at Crypto.com arena. “To be in the presence of such a legend and great as Kareem, it means so much to me. It’s very humbling. To everybody who’s ever been a part of this run with me the last 20 years, I just want to say thank you so much,” James said in his speech.

Now in his 21st season, James is closing in on 40,000 points.

At just 19 years old, CoCo Gauff captured her first Grand Slam Championship after winning the U.S. Open in September. With her victory, she became the youngest to win the tournament since Serena Williams won the U.S. Open at 17 years of age in 1999. After a slow start, Gauff took her game to another level defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the U.S. Open. Speaking to the crowd after her victory, Gauff addressed those who doubted if she had what it takes. 

“Tried my best to carry this with grace, and I've been doing my best, so honestly, to those who thought they were putting water in my fire: You were really adding gas to it and now it's really burning so bright right now,” she said to standing applause from the capacity crowd. 

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts made history as they became the first two Black quarterbacks to start in a  Super Bowl. As two of the best players in the NFL, Mahomes’s duel against Hurts made Super Bowl LVII an instant classic.

Playing on an injured ankle, Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and led the Chiefs on a go-ahead drive that led to Harrison Butker kicking a 27-yard field goal with eight seconds left that gave Kansas City a 38-35 victory. Mahomes won his second Super Bowl MVP award. In a losing effort, Hurst scored three touchdowns, and completed 27 of 38 passes for 304 yards, with no interceptions.

The “Bayou Barbie” became a household name in the basketball world after leading the LSU Tigers to the national championship with a convincing 102-85 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in April. Posting a double-double scoring 15 points and securing 10 rebounds, and tallied a season-high five assists Reese was voted the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the Final Four.

LSU scored the most points in a Women’s Final Four game, knocking down 11-of-17 shots from three-point range. Now in her junior year and with several NIL deals under her belt, Reese has become one of the game's nost recognizable stars .

After a year of waiting, boxing fans finally were treated to a duel when two of the sports best to ever lace up gloves, Terence “Bud” Crawford and Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr., battled in a unification bout on July 29th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In what was hailed as one of the most anticipated fights in recent years, it was expected to be a close fight between two titans of the sweet science. 

But Crawford had other plans and he dominated Spence in every way imaginable in a ninth-round technical knockout. Crawford made history as the first male to win the undisputed championship in two different weight classes in the four-belt era. Following his convincing victory, Crawford now stands alone as arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport of boxing.

Superstar gymnast Simone Biles won her 21st gold medal at the World Gymnastics Championships in October at Antwerp, Belgium where she made history as the most decorated gymnast of all time. In her remarkable career, she has a total of 34 championship medals. 

After a two-hiatus, Biles returned to dominant form by winning the individual all-around title for the sixth time, defeating champion Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, who won the silver. Shilese Jones, Biles’ U.S. teammate, took home the bronze. Also, Biles led the U.S. women’s gymnastics team to the world championship title proving that she still holds the title of GOAT of the sport.

The Aces can be counted as one of the premiere teams in the WNBA after winning back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. With Wilson posting 24 points and 16 rebounds from Wilson and making a key defensive play in the waning seconds of the contest, the Aces bested the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the Finals in October.

“It’s not easy, as you know. This is what it’s all about,” Wilson said. “Not a lot of people get to do it. To be short-handed and win is amazing. It makes the win that much better. It’s hard to get back to the Finals to win again.”  Aces joined the Los Angeles Sparks (2001-02) and the Houston Comets (1997-2000) as the only teams in WNBA history to win consecutive titles.

After 294 days of being detained in Russia, Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner returned to WNBA this year after being released in a prison swap. Undergoing a horrific experience, Griner was found guilty of drug smuggling and possession charges and received a nine-year prison sentence. 

This year, she averaged 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 blocks in 31games. Since entering the league in 2023, Griner is four time All-Star including being named to the 2023 team, is a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and is an Olympic gold medalist. 

Deion Sanders aka Coach Prime took the college football world by storm in his first year as the head coach of the University of Colorado Buffaloes. Johnson proved his cache as coach by bringing national attention to Jackson State University and HBCUs during his three-year tenure. In his debut game as head coach at Colorado, he pulled off a major upset with a 45-42 win over then 17th-ranked TCU who was the national runner-up last year. 

"We told you we coming," Sanders said after his first win. "We told you we coming. You thought we was joking. And guess what? We keep receipts." Although the Buffaloes would finish with a 4-8 record, the buzz Sanders created and the strides he made in his first year was incredible to say the least.