The 10 Most Dominant Athletes of 2019

Image via Complex Original

Ever since he left the University of Louisville to enter the NFL Draft, Lamar Jackson has been repeatedly questioned. Can he play quarterback in the NFL? Should he move to wide receiver? The doubting and skepticism never stopped, and they still lingered after his terrific rookie season. People asked if his game was sustainable. Can he do anything else besides scramble? Can the Ravens win with that offense? Well, all he’s done this year is light it up. 

As we end 2019, I’m happy to tell you he’s answered every single one of your questions and proved all the doubters wrong. Lamar Jackson is a superstar and he’s not going anywhere. What a season it has been for LJ. He was quickly labeled with all of the black quarterback stereotypes. Everyone harped on his negatives and what he couldn’t do. What people failed to realize was that we hadn’t seen a playmaker of this caliber at the QB position in the NFL before. The Mike Vick comparisons are great and all, but Lamar is much better in the pocket than Vick ever was. Even Vick will tell you that himself. Lamar has taken his game to another level this year and the Ravens are following his lead.

The man is only in his second season in the NFL and his first full season as a starter and he’s put the league on notice. Barring a Ravens meltdown, we’ll likely see Lamar hoist the MVP trophy, and if the Ravens continue to play the way they’re playing, we might see him hoist up the Lombardi Trophy, as well. This dude is only 22 years old and is only going to get better. Let's also not fail to mention that it’s impossible to hate the man. He’s true to himself and doesn’t shy away from showing his personality. He embraces the hate, he embraces the doubts, and he continues to flourish. —Zion Olojede

There's almost nothing you could say about LeBron James’ dominance that hasn’t been said before. We already told you he dominated the entire decade, so of course he makes this list, albeit on the lower side. Essentially, we saw a very different LeBron to start 2019 than we ever have before. He was hurt and the Lakers missed the playoffs. That is far from dominant, but when you look at overall impact, Bron will forever be a guy we see dominate. Whether it be deals off the court or through social media, LeBron is everpresent.

So, yes, the start of 2019 did start shakily, but when you look at his growing empire and the fact that he led the charge to get student athletes paid in the state of California, you understand that his influence will always reach way beyond the court. But let’s go ahead and fast-forward to the present day. LeBron James is back. The Lakers are not only the best team in the NBA, but LeBron should be the frontrunner for MVP. He's playing at an absurd level this season, which is nuts, since he’s been doing this every year since 2003.

Imagine any other player putting up 25/7/10 in their 17th season. You just don't see that. LeBron is low on this list this year, but his dominance is still a very real thing, and what’s crazy is he’s not slowing down. Watch him be top five on this list next year. Please show some respect to the #WashedKing. —Zach Frydenlund

On and off the court, the only individual who captivated the basketball world near Kawhi Leonard levels in 2019 was Kevin Durant. But, really, the reason Durant made our list has way more to do with what went down off the court than anything the brilliant baller did on it.

That’s because Durant’s free agency was the dominant narrative around the Warriors during the 2018-19 season despite the fact they were gunning for a 3-peat. Would Durant stick it out with Golden State for another year or two, or take his talents elsewhere? Labeled a follower, a ring chaser, or whatever other derogatory term his haters prefer upon joining the Warriors in 2016, the prevailing feeling from NBA insiders was that Durant would probably say peace to the Bay Area so he could cement his own legacy someplace else. His teammates were constantly questioned about his future. So was coach Steve Kerr. And when Durant was directly asked about it there were times he popped off, frustrated that the media wanted to psychoanalyze his future life decisions rather than nerding out about basketball while he and his teammates chased immortality.

Reports claiming Durant was leaning toward this team or that team were breathlessly shared on social media throughout the season. Some thought he was destined to be a Knick. Others thought a return to the Warriors was inevitable. Brooklyn made the most sense if you took a step back and really thought about it. But the Nets weren’t seriously considered by a lot of fans, and media members, as his most likely destination. Rumors and innuendo—basically all the things Durant detests about being a modern day superstar—hovered over him like a black cloud until June 30.

KD drama, of course, wasn’t limited to free agency. After he suffered a serious calf strain in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, the speculation shifted to Durant’s health and heart instead of his summer plans. As he missed a month of action before returning for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, many questioned Durant’s toughness. Why didn’t he rush back when his teammates desperately needed him to beat Leonard and the Raptors? Eleven points and 11:57 into his heroic return, his Achilles snapped. Durant disappeared for a while after that, laying low post-surgery until his signing with the Nets was widely reported and confirmed. Hopefully the questions about his toughness were answered with that incredible performance on a clearly compromised limb. Unfortunately, we have to wait a lot longer to answer the other questions looming large over KD: Will he ever be the same player again, and did he make the right decision taking his talents to Brooklyn? —Adam Caparell

Whether Floyd Mayweather is seriously coming out retirement in 2020 for a couple of fights or just trolling the sports world, we don’t have the answers. What we do know is that after a second straight year of not boxing professionally, Mayweather relinquished the title as the face of boxing to Saul “Canelo” Alverez.

The 29-year-old Mexican pugilist has vaulted up the ranks of sports superstardom over the past few years, especially after his epic, and controversial, bouts with Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017 and 2018. But Canelo cemented his status as one of the most dominant athletes in 2019 by taking on new challenges like moving up two weight classes to knock out the heavy-handed Sergey Kovalev at 175 pounds just six months removed from a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Danny Jacobs at 160 pounds. A brilliant counter-puncher with an incredible chin and awesome power, Canelo became a champion in a fourth weight class by stopping Kovalev and made a serious case to be crowned the mythical best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. 

Like Mayweather, Canelo attracts his fair share of controversy. He refuses to fight Golokin again because he believes he’s too good for GGG (he might be right) and has nothing left to prove or gain in a third fight (debatable). He calls out other fighters and never hesitates to clap back at whoever criticizes him. He openly feuded with his promoter Oscar De La Hoya and suffered zero consequences because Golden Boy Promotions needs Canelo more than Canelo needs Golden Boy. You can do that when you earn approximately $33 million per bout, since Canelo’s in the middle of a staggering 11-fight, $365 million deal with streaming service DAZN. 

With an incredibly devoted fanbase and the ability to move between three different weight classes and fight whoever he feels like as he chases greatness, Canelo possesses the kind of clout most boxers can only dream about. His haters, and there are many, will continue to lament that no one man should have all that power. —Adam Caparell

Lionel Messi's 2019 was much like every other year for Messi: dominant. Fresh off his record-breaking sixth Ballon d’Or trophy, the 32-year-old forward is just as dominant as he’s been for the majority of his career. Despite Barcelona’s terrible collapse against Liverpool in Champions League this year, Messi was still the best player over the two-game series. He was so good that Virgil van Dijk, who came in second place in Ballon d’Or voting and ultimately won Champion’s League, said so himself. “Messi is still the best player in the world,” van Dijk said. “He deserves it as long as he plays. It doesn’t matter if he was in the Champions League final or not.”

Speaking of Champions League, Messi scored 12 goals in 10 games last year, only losing one. He scored two incredible goals against Liverpool in the first leg, including a mind-blowing free kick. Funny enough, defender of the year Virgil van Dijk couldn’t stop, either. I watched the second leg with a certain Liverpool fan (cough, Damien Scott, cough) and even he held out on celebrating the win until the final whistle was blown, saying, verbatim, “With Messi on the other side, you’ll never know how the game ends.” That’s because there’s no player in the world who can decide a game like Messi.

Even when he doesn’t score, he’s staying low, surveying the field, and creating chances for his teammates. This past weekend, Barcelona found themselves in a scoreless match against rivals Atlético Madrid until Messi pulled another otherworldly goal out of his pocket in the 86th minute. Atlético Madrid’s coach, Diego Simeone, didn’t know what to do when he saw Messi running after the ball other than shake his head and salute the man. Longtime rival goalkeeper Iker Casillas—whom Messi has scored some of the greatest goals of his career against—called him the GOAT on Twitter after watching the game. With that goal at the Wanda Metropolitano (Atletico’s home stadium since 2017), Messi successfully achieved a goal at every single stadium in La Liga.

Additionally, this week, he celebrated 700 games for FC Barcelona. In those 700 games, he has scored 613 goals and had 239 assists. One hundred and fifteen of those have come in Champions League matches. Soccer is very much a team sport, but if we’re talking about individual dominance, Messi is still the best in the world. —Rawan Eewshah

It’s best to start with the stats. From 250 race starts, Lewis Hamilton has won 84 grands prix in Formula 1. He’s notched 88 pole positions and wound up on the podium 151 times. And now, after his 12th season in the world’s premiere open-wheel racing championship, he’s won six championships while racking up 3,431 career points.

This season? Eleven race wins (out of 21). Five hundred and eleven laps led. Four hundred and thirteen points—nearly 100 more than his teammate and nearly 200 more than his closet competitor on another team. And the driver’s championship. His fifth in six years. 

Now, if you don’t follow Formula 1, all of this may seem trivial. So, here: The guy widely considered to be the best Formula 1 race car driver of all time—the Michael Jordan of F1—is Michael Schumacher. He has seven championships and 91 wins from 306 race starts. He finished his 17-year career with 1,566 career points and 68 pole positions. Schumacher was 43 when he retired. 

Lewis Hamilton is 34. 

So, yeah, he’s good. And, as evidenced by this past season, he’s not slowing down. Lewis has always been a daring, blisteringly quick driver. Someone who could wring the neck of any car, no matter its shortcomings. He prefers a car with a playful rear end, but he’ll work with pretty much anything. Despite Mercedes not having the best car at the start of the season, Lewis managed to win six of the first eight races. The trick is his ability to always perform at a very high level. Like the greats of the sport’s past—the Sennas, the Schumachers, the Prosts, the Laudas—Lewis is somehow good all the time. He rarely crashes. Rarely misjudges a corner. Rarely mismanages his strategy. He really slipped up only once this season. But he could be forgiven, as that’s when nearly every driver could barely make it around a rain-soaked Hockenheimring. 

Lewis has had better seasons, but that only goes to show just how special and dominant he is. It’s unfair to say we’ve never seen anything like him—but it’s accurate to say we’ve never seen one person exhibit all of what he’s able to show. The speed, the charisma, the cool, the daring, the charm. It’s scary to think that he feels like he’s in the best shape of his life. If history is any indication, he’s on pace to best Schumacher and become the most winningest driver in F1 history. 

You don’t need stats to understand that. —Damien Scott

In a sport in which the margin of victory is one-tenth of a point, Simone Biles is outscoring her opponents by a full point, sometimes more, something truly unheard of. Biles is setting a new standard with every single competition, but that’s because the gymnast specializes in the unheard of. She came into the 2016 Olympics with two skills named after her—“The Biles” on the vault apparatus and “The Biles” on floor apparatus—both of which received their titles after she was the sole person ever to successfully perform them in international competition. Let that sink in. 

This year alone, she accomplished two more never-before-done feats—a triple-double on the floor apparatus, named ‘The Biles II”—and a show-stopping dismount on the balance beam apparatus. Her skills are so advanced that FIG—the international governing body for gymnastics—lowered the difficulty rating on her balance beam dismount “out of concern for gymnast’s safety,” a decision Biles herself scoffed at. We can talk about the titles she won alone this year—like her fifth all-around World Championship title, making her the most decorated gymnast of all time, with 25 total World Championship medals, or her sixth all-around U.S. National title—or you can just watch her perform.

Biles makes her out-of-this-world routines look so easy that she barely breaks a sweat while performing them. In a sport in which you’re lucky to peak during Olympic years, she’s has been the most dominant gymnast for six years running, with virtually no competition. It’s safe to say she’s going to double her Olympic medal haul in Tokyo next summer, so watch out. —Rawan Eewshah

Zion Williamson took the world by storm when he arrived at Duke. He was pretty much a celebrity before, but folks were questioning if he was actually as good as advertised. The common narratives were, “Oh, he’s playing small white kids every game—of course he’s dominating.” That narrative pretty much died after his first game against Kentucky. In this era of the internet, there’s NEVER been a player in college basketball to garner this much attention. Even if LeBron had gone to college, I’m not sure he would’ve received as much attention as Zion. He was built for this period of social media, with the spectacular dunks and incredible defensive plays. Williamson was essentially must-watch TV before he even played one college game. 

I mean, JAY-Z pulled up to one Zion’s games on the road in Pittsburgh. LeBron pulled up to a road game against Virginia, and Barack Obama pulled up to Cameron Indoor Stadium. Three of the most powerful people in the world came to watch Zion Williamson play basketball in college. That’s how good he is. Everyone was running to the TV to see him, whether you loved college basketball or not.

He had fans watching 30-point blowouts just to see if he would do something otherworldly. Zion put together one of the best college basketball seasons for an individual ever, and some fail to factor in that he had to share the spotlight with another top-three pick in RJ Barrett. Williamson was virtually unguardable, scoring through every double team, and he was just as electric on the defensive end, from locking up to 5’11" guards to battling 7’6" Tacko Fall.

He swept pretty much all postseason individual awards, including National Player of the Year. Of course, he fell short in the NCAA Tournament, but you can’t really fault him—the man dropped 24 points and 14 rebounds. He dominated college basketball like no other, and the glimpses we’ve seen of him with the Pelicans suggested that he was going to do the same on the highest level before his injury that was felt on the stock market. Zion is a generational talent, and what he did in college basketball in terms of impact, performance, and entertainment for one year may never be replicated. Appreciate the greatness he gave us in 2019 and get ready for much more in the very near future. —Zion Olojede

Who became as synonymous with a major sporting event in 2019 the way Megan Rapinoe did with the World Cup? Thanks to her scintillating run through the tournament in France—which she slayed, scoring six goals and earning the tournament’s top individual honor while carrying the US to its fourth title—the World Cup was, for all intents and purposes, the Megan Rapinoe Invitational. The captain of the USWNT was so electric, so captivating, so breathtakingly dominant that countless fans dyed their hair pink to mimic her mane, donned her No. 15 jersey as a political statement, and gave her the loudest ovation out of anyone during the tournament. When you’re expected to annihilate the competition and deliver, how can you disrespect?  

But the 34-year-old’s domination went way beyond what we saw on the pitch. A fashion icon and a highly influential member of the LBGTQ community, Rapinoe expertly used her sport’s biggest spotlight to showcase her refreshingly honest, open, and confrontational takes on all the bullshit she sees in her sport and beyond. Whether it was calling out FIFA for its perceived lack of support for women’s soccer or earning the ire of President Trump when she said she would never visit the White House, Rapinoe morphed from soccer player to international instigator. She threw shade at corrupt organizations, hypocrites, and antiquated societal expectations while destroying the world’s best soccer squads. It earned her the adulation of millions, including LeBron James who posted a pic of Rapinoe demonstrably celebrating another goal on Instagram. He captioned it, “MOOD.”

Charismatic, incredibly stylish (she’s a celebrated sneaker enthusiast), and, frankly, just as fearless on the pitch as she is off it, it kind of felt like a new American hero was born this summer. Maybe that sounds hyperbolic, but Rapinoe’s out-spoken, no-fucks given attitude about the controversy surrounding the US’s goal celebrations and her blunt assessment of the positivity drawn from President Trump’s negative tweet about her were refreshing—and necessary. Few women in a team sport have taken such defiant stands like Rapinoe has, earning her plenty of enemies, but millions of more admirers and supporters. Sure, more athletes are speaking their minds and using their platforms to challenge the status quo than ever before, but few have done it like Rapinoe did while simultaneously kicking ass. —Adam Caparell

Kawhi has methodically snatched the crown from LeBron James as the NBA’s Boss of All Bosses. It was James who was the one to shift narratives on a whim as he made moves behind the scenes like a puppet master. LeBron orchestrated trades, handpicked coaches and executives, built championship-caliber teams on the fly. Now it’s Kawhi’s turn. He walked through last year’s playoffs like the Terminator, destroying everything in his wake.

Yes, he had some good luck go his way with all the injuries the Warriors had to deal with in the Finals, and yet still he was able to not get complacent and get it done. He then passed on LeBron’s invite to join him and Anthony Davis in LA’s most cherished franchise to instead orchestrate a trade the Clippers so monumental it shook the league to its core. With that other franchise in LA that happens to play in the same building as the Lakers, Leonard brought the game’s other best two-way player to join him. Kawhi chose to go toe to toe against the Lakers instead of making a super team, in turn bringing balance to the Force. 

He’s now looking to win his third ring and third Finals MVP with a third team, and—barring major injury—he will accomplish that task. The fun, quiet guy took the narrative from not only LeBron James but also from Steph Curry and the Warriors. It’s his league now and will be for the foreseeable future. —Angel Diaz