As determined by Yahoo Sports Staff.

https://sports.yahoo.com/yahoo-sport...181639554.html

25. Karl-Anthony Towns
Averaging 26.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists, Towns could be one of the 25 best players in the game if he never got a lick better. . . .

24. Joey Bosa
The only argument against Joey Bosa on the list is that his brother Nick, already a star with the San Francisco 49ers, might be even better. Time will tell. But Joey was first into the NFL and made an instant splash, winning NFL defensive rookie of the year despite a rare rookie holdout. It was apparent right away why the Chargers made him the third overall pick in the 2016 draft. . . .

23. Bianca Andreescu
In June 2019 it was “We the North” that rang out through Canada after the Toronto Raptors captured their first NBA championship. Three months later the nation shifted to “She the North,” throwing support behind 19-year-old tennis star Bianca Andreescu at the U.S. Open. . . .

22. Joe Burrow
The author of perhaps the greatest season by a quarterback in college football history, Burrow is often referred to as a comet who descended magically from the sky early in LSU’s championship-winning campaign in 2019. . . .

21. Ronald Acuña Jr.
The greats always make the impossible look easy.

Steph Curry shooting a jumper. Patrick Mahomes flicking a touchdown pass. And Ronald Acuña Jr. doing … well, pretty much anything on a baseball field. . . .

20. Christian Pulisic
In almost four seasons as a regular with German titan Borussia Dortmund, the Pennsylvania native established himself as not just the most promising American soccer player in Europe, but as one of the best attacking prospects anywhere in the sport. . . .

19. Auston Matthews
When it comes to Auston Matthews, there is a truly unique cross-section at work.

This is both the most talented U.S.-born hockey player of his generation and among the handful of most famous and influential athletes in Canada. He started on his improbable ascent from the grassroots programs of a foremost non-traditional hockey market in Arizona to star in the mecca of hockey as the face of the franchise with the Toronto Maple Leafs. . . .

18. Juan Soto
In Game 6 of the World Series, 2019 Cy Young winner Justin Verlander threw a high-and-inside fastball to Juan Soto. The pitch was correctly called a ball, leading to chirping from Verlander and his catcher.

Soto responded by calmly nodding his head, grabbing his groin and staring at the pitcher. After that, he stepped back into the batter’s box, smiled and confirmed to the ump that it was a ball.

And then he devoured Verlander’s soul. . . .

17. Jayson Tatum
When you think of talented young players, the Boston Celtics forward is near the top of the list. It’s because rarely do you see a 6-foot-8 player utilizing guard skills. His offensive repertoire has been compared to those of Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. . . .

16. Deshaun Watson
Watson is the rarest of athletes, the guy who started winning big as a kid and kept on winning at every level, no matter how tough the competition grew. . . .

15. Trae Young
In just his sophomore campaign, Young emerged as one of the elite point guards in the NBA. His soaring popularity led to him being voted in as an All-Star starter, becoming the first Atlanta Hawks player since Dikembe Mutombo in 1998 to receive the honor. . . .

14. Kylian Mbappe
Before he was even out of his teens, more than a billion people saw what Kylian Mbappe is capable of. . . .

13. Connor McDavid
It isn’t just that hockey fans are losing out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s also that they’re missing out on something they’re never assured to see: the single greatest player on the planet involved at the time the sport is played at its highest level. . . .

12. Cody Bellinger
In his first three seasons in the majors, Cody Bellinger has passed nearly every test. Rookie of the Year award? Check. Multiple All-Star appearances? Check. Gold Glove award? Check. Silver Slugger award? Check. MVP? Also check. . . .

11. Naomi Osaka
For many, the first memory of Naomi Osaka is a strange one: in her greatest tennis moment, she was in tears, the little sister we wanted to comfort. Osaka beat Serena Williams in the 2018 U.S. Open final, a match marred by controversial umpiring. . . .

10. Ja Morant
What’s special about Morant is his ability to walk into Memphis, at 20 years old, and take command of the city. Morant’s arrival and his quick and easy chemistry with teammates Jaren Jackson and Dillon Brooks have revitalized the identity of the rebuilding Grizzlies and led them to the No. 8 seed in the playoff hunt. . . .

9. Saquon Barkley
It wasn’t that long ago that drafting a running back in the top five wouldn’t get you laughed out of the room. Saquon Barkley was the reason why.

A weight-room champion with 4.4 speed and wide receiver skills out of the backfield, the Penn State standout was as close to a sure thing as there is coming out of Happy Valley. He more than lived up to the hype during his 2018 rookie campaign after being selected with the No. 2 overall pick. . . .

8. Katie Ledecky
With four gold medals and a silver in Rio de Janeiro, Ledecky was the most decorated female athlete of the 2016 Olympics when she was still below drinking age. She won the 400m and 800m freestyle golds by a total of 10.45 seconds. By comparison, the winners of the equivalent male events prevailed by a combined 1.36 seconds. . . .

7. Christian McCaffrey
After a solid rookie campaign with 1,086 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns in 2017, McCaffrey broke through as a one-of-a-kind talent during his second year as a pro. He tallied 1,098 yards while averaging five yards per carry on the ground and catching an astonishing 107 of 124 targets out of the backfield for 867 receiving yards. He crossed the goal line 13 times in the process. . . .

6. Sabrina Ionescu
The 2K-1K-1K club in NCAA Division I basketball is a group of one. One woman. . . .

5. Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic didn’t play college basketball in the United States. Many here knew very little about him upon his arrival to the league last year.

Yet in just a season and a half, Doncic has more than transformed himself into a household name — and is well on his way to being a true superstar in the NBA. . . .

4. Zion Williamson
In terms of electricity, who provides more than Zion? His debut was delayed and the sample size is small, but the confidence in his ability to deliver is second to none — or maybe second to Patrick Mahomes once we realized Zion’s early games were no fluke. . . .

3. Lamar Jackson
“Not bad for a running back.”

With those now-famous words following a Week 1 evisceration of the Miami Dolphins, Lamar Jackson sent a message to the football world: He remembers.. . .

2. Simone Biles
Imagine being 23 years old and considered the best in the history of your sport. The sport is gymnastics, where anything past 19 is usually considered old, but Simone Biles has sewn up the GOAT title at an age when most of us are still trying to figure out what we’re great at. Or at least what we’re good at. . . .

1. Patrick Mahomes
We didn’t know a lot about Patrick Mahomes when he was drafted in 2017. He was raw, in a pass-friendly offense at Texas Tech. He went 10th in the draft, the second quarterback selected — the Chicago Bears will never live down picking Mitchell Trubisky second overall — and one pick after receiver John Ross went to the Cincinnati Bengals. Mahomes clearly had potential, but nobody knew he’d be a superstar.

Three years later, he’s the biggest athlete in American sports under 25 years old.

Mahomes checks every “face of the league” box. He’s cool yet able to laugh at himself, whether it’s his Kermit the Frog voice or putting ketchup on everything. He’s wise beyond his years thanks to growing up as the son of a major league pitcher. He’s instantly recognizable in a sport that hides its stars in helmets. Oh, and he’s a joy to watch, with his cannon arm and no-look passes.
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