Best Athletes of 2026 Staff ballot v1.2

How to vote

Rank up to 99 athletes. No. 1 sits at the top of Your Ballot.
Add someone with + Ballot, drag them onto Your Ballot, or type a number in the # box next to any athlete in The Pool or Cut and press Enter. They drop in at that spot and everyone below moves down. A number past the end of your ballot adds them at the bottom.
Reorder with the arrows, by dragging, or by typing a new number in the red box.
Cut anyone you're sure doesn't belong. Cut is a holding pen; send them back to The Pool any time. Dragging a card onto the Cut or The Pool tab works too.
Search and the league chips filter The Pool and Cut. Tap any card to see all of its accolades.
Your ballot saves in this browser as you go, so you can come back anytime.
Hit Submit when you're done. Submitting again under the same name replaces your earlier ballot.
Ballots are due .

What we're ranking

The 99 best athletes of 2026. Only what happened between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2026, counts.

What they won and did this year: titles, MVPs and major awards, records, league-leading seasons.
How far above their own sport's competition they were.
The size of the stage. Finals, playoff runs, majors and Olympic golds count more than regular-season numbers.
For seasons that straddle two years, only the 2026 part. The NFL and college football playoffs in January and February count, and so do awards handed out in 2026 for a 2025 season.

Each did something in 2026 that ranks among the best in their sport: a title, a major award, a record or a league-leading season.
The pool covers 12 leagues and sports, with the NFL and NBA deepest.
Cards marked "Early-season flag" are NFL cases built on part of the 2026 season. Judge them on what they've done by the time you vote.
Missing someone? Add them as a write-in at the bottom of Your Ballot.

Your name

Type a number in any # box and press Enter to drop that athlete onto Your Ballot at that spot.

Your Ballot

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