Top 10 Athletes Of 2023

What is sports without athletes? 2023 was full of performances that wowed, defied, and defined their individual sports. As the year winds down, HotNewHipHop is here to reflect on some of the athletes that we feel defined the last year of sport.

10. Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 12: Erling Haaland of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on November 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)

The big question in the summer of 2022 was where Norwegian soccer superstar Erling Haaland was going to go after leaving Borussia Dortmund. The answer ended up being Manchester City, where Haaland proceeded to redefine individual success in England (and European football). Manchester City achieved a historic treble behind Haaland’s record-breaking 52 goals in all competitions. Jump ahead to the start of the 2023-24 season and Haaland already has another 17 goals. There are few soccer players on the planet as in form as Erling Haaland.

9. LeBron James

LeBron James
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 19: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates a three-point basket during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena on November 19, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

While the 2022-23 season wasn’t LeBron’s best, it was certainly historic. In February, the veteran NBA star became the league’s all-time scorer, surpassing the mark set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1989. In November, LeBron became the first player in league history to surpass 39,000 career points. Furthermore, the 2023-24 season saw LeBron join the elite group of just five other players who played at least 21 seasons in the league. Additionally, age doesn’t appear to have dulled LeBron’s instincts as he continues to play at an elite level on a potential contender team.

8. Sha’Carri Richardson

Sha'Carri Richardson
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – AUGUST 26: Sha’Carri Richardson of Team United States wins the Women’s 4x100m Relay Final during day eight of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at National Athletics Centre on August 26, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

Sha’Carri Richardson roared back onto the track in 2023. That began with running the fourth-fastest women’s 100m in history in April. The following month, she set a new meet record in Doha as she claimed her first Diamond League title. Arguably her peak came in August as she captured gold in the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest. While she missed out on a medal at the Diamond League Final, Richardson undoubtedly set herself up to be a gold medal favorite at the Olympics next year.

7. Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen
Las Vegas, NV – November 19: Race winner Max Verstappen sprays champagne following the inaugural Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in Las Vegas, NV on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images)

Max Verstappen has once again been in a league of his own when it comes to Formula 1. With a record 19 race wins, and a record-breaking 10 in a row, Verstappen cruised to a second consecutive title. To put an even finer point on things, Verstappen is over 270 points clear of the second-place driver, Sergio Pérez. Verstappen has redefined the meaning of success in motorsport and is set for a long period of dominance in the years to come.

6. Jake Paul

Jake Paul
DALLAS, TEXAS – AUGUST 05: Jake Paul poses for a photo after defeating Nate Diaz at the American Airlines Center on August 05, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

The world of boxing saw a lot of great fights and fighters this year. However, few achieved the visibility of Jake Paul. Paul continued his trend of cherry-picking big-name fights with marquee opponents. However, he opened the year with a fight against actual boxer Tommy Fury. That ended up being the first loss of Paul’s career, while also highlighting that Paul could hold his own against real boxers. That said, he immediately turned around and challenged former UFC fighter Nate Diaz. While the fight wasn’t as much of a tomato can as people thought it would be, it still didn’t push Paul. He will close out his biggest year yet with a fight against established boxer Andre August in December.

5. Simone Biles

Simone Biles
Simone Biles (USA) compete on the floor during the 2023 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at Antwerp Sportpaleis on October 8, 2023 in Antwerp, Belgium. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

After two years away from gymnastics, Simone Biles made an explosive return to the sport in 2023. It all started with a stunning return at the US Championships. That earned Biles a place at the World Championships in Belgium. Biles came away with four golds and a silver, as well as a qualification berth at the Olympics next year. Biles made an inspiring return to the sport that she loves, and showed that she hadn’t lost a single shred of the talent that helped her define it. All this sets up is another chance for Biles to redefine the sport in Paris next summer.

4. Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 03: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts after fouling off a pitch against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the seventh inning at RingCentral Coliseum on September 03, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Even those who don’t follow baseball know who Shohei Ohtani is. The Japanese two-way star is so prolific that several outlets set up running trackers of all the historic things that Ohtani did during the season. Sadly, the Angels were once again terrible, meaning that Ohtani’s unanimous MVP season was ultimately wasted. However, he is now set to become a free agent with a value in excess of $500 million. No one is playing baseball like Shohei.

3. Angel Reese

Angel Reese
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 06: Angel Reese #10 of the LSU Lady Tigers is introduced before a game against the Colorado Buffaloes during the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Series at T-Mobile Arena on November 06, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Buffaloes defeated the Lady Tigers 92-78. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark may have been the National Player of the Year, but Angel Reese was undoubtedly the star of college basketball this year. From her record-breaking double-double streak to hitting the “You Can’t See Me” in the National Championship Game, Reese stole the spotlight. However, things didn’t end with LSU’s title. Reese immediately began a beef with the First Lady. Before she mysteriously took an absence from the team, Reese opened the 2023-24 season with double-doubles in her first three games and was well on her way to a fourth before she got benched against Kent State.

2. Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – NOVEMBER 20: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs scrambles with the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on November 20, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Heading up the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes more than earned his MVP award for the 2022 season. Last season, Mahomes threw for over 5200 yards and 41 touchdowns. That culminated with Mahomes leading a second-half comeback against the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Jumping ahead to the start of the 2023 season, Mahomes is already having another great season as the Chiefs look well on their way to another Super Bowl.

1. Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic
DENVER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 30: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets calls for the attention of a teammate against the Utah Jazz during the first quarter at Ball Arena on October 30, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)

Nikola Jokic is perhaps one of the most fascinating athletes of the modern NBA. And a big part of what makes him so fascinating is how much Jokic appears to hate being one of the faces of the NBA. He is a man who plays some of the best basketball in the world but has no interest in participating in the media circus, or really any basketball that he’s not legally contracted to play. Jokic is a man who would rather race horses in his home country of Serbia than play in the offseason. But despite this, he powered the Denver Nuggets to their first-ever NBA title and was arguably snubbed for his third consecutive MVP award. There really isn’t a player quite like Nikola Jokic.

Do you agree with our list? Did we miss your favorite athlete? Let us know in the comments. 2024 promises to be another exceptional year. Will someone knock Mahomes and Jokic from their thrones? Who will shine at the Olympics in Paris next July? It’s going to take a lot to top the excitement of 2023, but 2024 might just be the year to do it.

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