Page 2
As ESPN celebrates the past 25 years in sports, Page 2 celebrates those athletes who transcended their teams and sports, who amazed us with the greatest individual seasons over the past 25 years.
The concept? Simple. Which athlete had the best season? We spent hours checking the numbers, analyzing their value, adjusting for the context of their stats (for example, NBA games see fewer points scored now than in the 1980s while baseball games see more home runs and higher ERAs). We factored in playoff heroics as merited. We jigged and jimmied, knocked a few athletes off at the last minute and added more deserving candidates.
And we arrived at our list of the 100 greatest individual seasons of the past 100 years.
Enjoy -- and let the debate begin.
(Note: Sports considered include NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, college football, college basketball, golf, tennis and NASCAR. One rule: no athlete could have more than three seasons on the list.)
Complete list: 1-25| 26-50 | 51-75 | 76-100
| ESPN25: 100 GREATEST INDIVIDUAL SEASONS | |||
11 wins in 29 races, points title The Dominator won seven points titles in his NASCAR career, but it could be argued that NASCAR's huge rise in popularity began in 1987 when Earnhardt won 11 races. |
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22.5 ppg, 12.8 apg, 7.9 rpg, MVP Magic could do it all on the court and even added the 3-point shot to his arsenal for the first time in '89. An injured hamstring limited Johnson in the Finals against Detroit and the Pistons swept the Lakers. |
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23.3 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.9 bpg, MVP, Finals MVP Duncan brought home an NBA title with a sterling performance against the Nets, averaging 24.2 points and 17 rebounds per game. |
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2 Grand Slam wins, won 10 of 22 tournaments, 77-12 record |
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2,427 rushing yards, 5.6 ypa, 23 TDs, Heisman winner Opponents knew Allen was getting the ball -- he carried it over 400 times -- but still couldn't stop him, as he averaged over 200 yards per game and topped 200 in five straight games. |
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26.1 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 4.2 bpg, 52.9 FG%, defensive player of year Yes, Charles Barkley was the NBA MVP that year, but Hakeem could dominate both ends of the court. Let's put it this way: the Hakeem of 1993 to 1995 is vastly underrated. |
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 2.21 GAA, 40-13-7 record, playoff MVP |
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21-7, 2.05 ERA, 264 IP, 204 H, 68 BB, 292 K's, Cy Young In his first year in Toronto, the Rocket had the best year of his career, capturing the pitching "Triple Crown" (leading the AL in wins, ERA and strikeouts). And then he'd do it again the next year. |
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21.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 57.0 FG%, NCAA title, Olympic gold medal So he didn't really contribute much to the gold medal. But he did have The Shot to beat Kentucky. And love him or hate him -- OK, hate him -- there's no denying he was one of college hoops' great clutch players. |
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4,170 yards, 8.1 ypa, 36 TDs, 12 INT, 454 rushing, 6 TDs And to think what his career would have been if he hadn't been 30 years old until he became a starting QB. |
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.336, 46 HR, 123 RBI, 129 runs, .458 OBP, .677 SLG, MVP Oh yeah, throw in a Gold Glove, 29 stolen bases, 38 doubles and, yes, fear in the faces of opposing managers -- he was intentionally walked 43 times even back then. |
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 13 wins in 33 races, points title |
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2,327 yards rushing, 6.0 ypa, 30 TDs, Heisman winner There was a reason Mike Ditka traded his entire draft to make sure Williams ended up in New Orleans. In winning the Heisman, Williams twice rushed for 300 yards and twice scored six TDs in a game. |
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28.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg, NCAA title When you score 47 points in the NCAA title game and win it 84-82, you get a spot on this list. |
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 24.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 27.2 ppg in NCAA Tournament |
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8 tournament wins, one major (PGA), POY |
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2,053 rushing yards, 6.1 ypa, 305 receiving, 14 TDs Nobody is supposed to average 6 yards per carry in the NFL. Except Barry Sanders. |
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4,353 yards, 8.7 ypa, 41 TDs, 13 INT, MVP, Super Bowl MVP Look, you can argue that he was the beneficiary of all the Rams' offensive talent. But only Dan Marino has ever thrown more TD passes and Warner added five TD passes in one playoff game and then 414 yards in St. Louis' Super Bowl win. |
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85 goals, 114 assists, 199 points Career points per game: Gretzky, 1.92; Lemieux, 1.91. |
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 11 tournament wins, one major |
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 21-6, 2.49 ERA, 249.2 IP, 181 H, 71 BB, 372 K's, Cy Young |
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2 Grand Slam wins, won 13 of 16 tournaments, 82-3 record Johnny Mac will no doubt tell you that he deserves to be on this list. |
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3,630 yards, 8.4 ypa, 28 TDs, 10 INT, 102.9 QB rating, Super Bowl MVP Bonus points: Montana outdueled Marino in the Super Bowl, throwing for 331 yards and three touchdowns. |
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92 goals, 120 assists, 212 points, MVP Wouldn't you love to turn back time a little bit and see the young Great One, owning the ice, scoring a record 92 goals ... |
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25.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 6.8 apg, 49.6 FG%, MVP, Finals MVP In the championship victory over the Rockets, Bird nearly averaged a triple double -- 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists. |
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Schoenfield