Top 20 Sports Icons
BET.com recognizes Black icons in sports.
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Top 20 Sports Icons - From track to golf, tennis to boxing, BET.com honors athletes across the breadth of the sports world. Let’s recognize their personal achievement, first-class athleticism and the inspiration they’ve provided millions over the years.
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LeBron James - King James has taken the NBA by storm since coming straight out of high school from St. Vincent-St. Mary. He won his first of many MVP Awards in 2009 and has his best chance of winning a NBA Championship this season with future hall-of-famer Shaquille O’Neal patrolling the paint.
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Jim Brown - Arguably the greatest football player to play the game, Jim Brown was a three-time MVP running back for the Cleveland Browns. Brown rushed for 12,312 yards in just nine seasons before walking away from the game at the age of 31.
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Derek Jeter - Love or hate the New York Yankees, you have to respect “The Captain,” Derek Jeter. The Yankees shortstop is well on his way to 3,000 hits and has been the heart and soul of the team since his rookie season in 1995. The five-time World Series champion is a lock for Cooperstown when he retires.
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Serena Williams - The world’s best tennis player, Serena Williams has won more Grand Slam titles than any other active female. Williams also sits on top of the of the career prize money list, more than any woman athlete in history. Williams is going for her 12th singles Grand Slam currently at the Australian Open.
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Muhammad Ali - The greatest heavyweight champion of all time, Muhammad Ali brought a swagger into the ring that the boxing world had never seen before. Fighting in legendary matches like “The Rumble in the Jungle” and “The Thrilla in Manila,” Ali defeated every top heavyweight in his era.
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Wilt Chamberlain - Wilt Chamberlain put up numbers in the NBA that will never be matched. From scoring 100 points in a game to averaging 50 points in a season, Chamberlain was the most dominant player in league history.
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Venus Williams - The older of the Williams sisters, Venus has 10 Grand Slam titles under her belt. At the age of 29, Williams is showing no signs of slowing down on or off the court, as she’s an entrepreneur and fashion designer in her free time.
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Magic Johnson - There will never be a more charismatic player than Earvin “Magic” Johnson. The 6-foot-9 Lakers point guard won five NBA Championships before his career was cut short because of the HIV virus. Johnson took that passion and applied it to the business world, becoming a successful businessman since retiring.
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Michael Jordan - There will never be another Michael Jeffrey Jordan. A six-time NBA Champion with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan is the greatest basketball player of our generation. His legacy carries on with his Air Jordan sneaker line and his role as part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.
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Arthur Ashe - Arthur Ashe was more than just a tennis player. He was an activist and civil rights supporter. The three-time Grand Slam winner’s life was tragically cut short at the age of 49 from the AIDS virus in 1993.
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Tiger Woods - All jokes aside, Tiger Woods has done more to increase the popularity of golf than any other golfer before him. Woods has won 14 Major Championships and counting, on his way to breaking Jack Nicklaus' record of 18. Despite his hiatus from the sport, he’s still the game’s best player.
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Jackie Robinson - Best known for breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson was the face of the Dodgers in the ‘40s and ‘50s. He won the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947 and was the first Black player to win the MVP Award in 1949.
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Kobe Bryant - The Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant, overcame legal troubles off the court to continue his dominance in the NBA. Bryant proved in 2009 that he was able to win an NBA Championship without Shaquille O’Neal, winning his fourth ring. He recently became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points.
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Usain Bolt - Jamaica’s Usain Bolt took the world by storm at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Not only did Bolt win three gold medals in the 100M, 200M and 4X100 relay, he set Olympic records in all three events. Bolt holds the title for the fastest man in the world with a blazing 9.58 time in the 100M.
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