Rafael Nadal (Photo : REUTERS/Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
Spanish tennis sensation Rafael Nadal and Filipino boxing whirlwind Manny Pacquiao are easily two of the most dynamic and entertaining athletes of this generation, leaving the sporting world in awe of their breath-taking performance after another and setting the bar higher in their respective discipline.
As phenomenal Nadal and Pacquiao have been throughout their careers, ESPN.com believes neither one of these modern day sports gladiators would crack into the prestigious list of top-20 athletes from the last 20 years.
On Thursday, ESPN.com unveiled to the public the venerable and polarizing list of the top-20 athletes who have shaken the sporting world the most over the last two decades.
Unsurprisingly topping the list is Chicago Bulls great and 6-time NBA champion Michael Jordan, who is widely recognized as the greatest player to ever play the game. Following his 'Airness' is another basketball player in Cleveland Cavaliers and four-time NBA MVP LeBron James, while golfer Tiger Woods, New England Patriots and four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady and 17-time Grand Slam tennis champion Roger Federer rounded out the top-5.
Speaking of Federer, the Swiss' rival and his clay-court waterloo Rafael Nadal isn't included on the list. Other than Federer, only Serena Williams, who occupies the no.6 spot, is a tennis player.
Nadal, 14-time Grand Slam winner (including a record 9 French Open champion) and the second player to win all Grand Slam titles and an Olympic Gold medal in men's singles, has been clearly the most electrifying tennis player in the history of the sport, and taking his accomplishment for granted is absolutely unbelievable.
Another infamous omission on the list is the eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao, whose upcoming foe Floyd Mayweather jr. made the list at no.17. While Pacquiao isn't boasting a perfect 47-0 record like Money May, the Filipino champ fought and conquered the very best the sport has offered during the course of his career. Pacquiao, the first to capture four lineal championships, kept boxing relevant during the period when the sport couldn't muster anything from the usual crowd-pleasing heavyweight division in the last 10 years.
Pacquiao's and Nadal's non-inclusion in the list would certainly raise several brows, but perhaps the race card had something to do here. Among the 20 athletes included, only sprinter Usain Bolt (Jamaica) football star Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Federer (Switzerland) are non-Americans.
As the old saying goes, everyone has their own apple of the eye. And for ESPN.com, these 20 athletes are the apples ripe for the picking. Sadly, they might have overlooked the sweetest fruits the tree of sports produced once in every 20 years.
