ESPN placed the NFL GOAT at the fifth position in the list of Top 100 professional athletes of the 21st century, but not everyone agrees with it. Among the many who objected to LeBron James’ fourth rank on the list, Stephen A. Smith argued that Tom Brady should have been placed above him.
In the recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, sports analyst Smith questioned ESPN’s decision to place the NBA superstar with four championships above the NFL legend with seven Super Bowl rings– the highest in the history of the league.
No, he should not. Brady is a seven-time champion, period. LeBron is four. Brady is 7-3 in 10 trips to the Super Bowl. LeBron is 4-6. It’s that simple to me.
Stephen A. Smith said when asked did James deserved to have ranked above Brady
Smith further added that both the Los Angeles Lakers superstar and former New England Patriots legend deserved to be ranked higher, but if asked between the two, Brady deserved a higher rank in the list of best 100 athletes of the century. Many also argued that no other athlete has dominated any sport for as long as Brady did in the NFL.
In addition to that, fans also expressed shock over Serena Williams‘ second rank above prominent athletes such as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal.
Tom Brady set to make broadcasting debut as lead analyst
After 23 years of dominating the sport, Brady retired from the NFL in 2023. He is making a comeback in the coming season, but in the broadcasting booth. Brady is joining Fox Sports as lead analyst for Fox Sports in the opening game of the Dallas Cowboys against the Cleveland Browns.
Tom Brady (Via Imago)Brady previously talked about the high expectations of everyone which he admitted has put pressure on him to do well, when in fact he is unsure whether he would do a good job as an analyst.
I don’t want to let the people at Fox here down and I don’t want to let the great NFL fans down either.
Tom Brady said
There’s been added pressure on the former quarterback as he is replacing the Emmy-award-winning analyst Greg Olsen from the booth. Many even criticized this move, claiming Brady has no experience as an analyst, yet he is replacing one of the best analysts of Fox Sports.
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