ESPN's Top 100 athletes list makes crucial mistake with Kawhi Leonard ranking

LA Clippers fans are just as aware as anyone that ESPN is one of the foremost authorities when it comes to information on just about any sport. So of course, plenty flocked to investigate when the network recently put out a comprehensive list of the Top 100 athletes since the year 2000.

They of course crafted a very well-researched and thought out list that required a lot of nuance. Ranking the best NBA players of the last 24 years is a big challenge in and of itself, but to expand that category to athletes across any and all sports makes it a completely different ballgame.

So of course, the list by and large makes a lot of sense. But as with anything, there is going to be room for difference of opinion, and Clippers fans will likely take issue with the ranking of Kawhi Leonard. LA's star player was ranked as just the 86th-best athlete since the year 2000.

ESPN ranked Kawhi Leonard as the 86th-best athlete

This placement fails to line up with logic when we consider the peaks Kawhi has risen to over his 13-year NBA career. Yes, injuries have largely limited his tenure with the Clippers thus far, but we are talking about his overall career accomplishments.

Leonard is one of just 12 players in league history to win more than one Finals MVP award. Even more impressive is that when he took home the award in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors, he joined LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to ever win FMVP with more than one franchise.

Toss in his six All-NBA selections, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, six All-Star selections, All-Star Game MVP, and there is no way Kawhi should be ranked this low. Respectfully, he should be above James Harden, who is ranked 19 spots higher than him at 67th.

There have certainly been plenty of incredible and accomplished athletes across American sports in the last 24 years, but few have reached the heights in their respective sports that Leonard has in the NBA. It seems that some recency bias played into developing this list, which is to be expected. But it feels safe to say that if Kawhi can put together a healthy postseason next year and remind everyone who he is, pundits will be adjusting their opinions accordingly.