There are, no lie, hundreds of incredible sports moments that happened in 2025. This year was such a fun one in the sports world, both internationally and in the U.S.
We had Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner create the next great tennis rivalry. College football continued to lose its mind, with many programs still picking up the pieces as the ball drops on 2025. Gambling scandals hit the NBA hard, with an active player and an active coach embroiled in a federal probe. Bud Crawford became the next big thing in boxing by beating Canelo Álvarez. The Knicks finally made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals and were beaten by one of the greatest comebacks we've ever seen in the sport of basketball.
And yet, none of that made the list. This year was insane, and we have the honor of going back and ranking the 10 most important moments. First, a few honorable mentions.
Honorable mentions:
Game 3 and 7 of the World Series
The Toronto Blue Jays-Los Angeles Dodgers World Series might be the best baseball championship series of this century. It's probably the best series overall since Yankees-Red Sox in 2004. It was insane, with stars across both lineups and rotations. Major storylines every night, and heroic moments, including Miguel Rojas's World Series tying home run. Plus, Game 3 went 18 innings, and Shohei Ohtani made it on base nine times.
Cooper DeJean sets the stage for a dominant Super Bowl
We'll get to Patrick Mahomes in a bit, but first we have to talk about this dominant Super Bowl performance by the Philadelphia Eagles. It started with rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean's interception for touchdown in the second quarter, making it 17-0. The Eagles never looked back, scoring 34 points before the Chiefs got on the board. They finished the game with a 40-22 victory.
A'ja Wilson takes her throne again
Most believed that the WNBA was being propped up by Caitlin Clark, but she missed most of this season, and the ratings remained up. The Las Vegas Aces kept a lot of interest, building a dynasty behind A’ja Wilson, who not only won the championship but also won her fourth MVP. She’s not even 30 years old yet.
Lindsey Vonn makes the Olympics again
This one is very recent: Lindsey Vonn, at 41, made a comeback in downhill skiing and showed that age is indeed just a number. The former top skier in the world is back where she deserves to be. Vonn retired for five years before returning in 2024. She worked all year to show she’s still elite, and her recent work at the World Cup shows she’s still one of the best. She qualified for the 2026 Olympics in Milan.
Oklahoma City Thunder win the NBA Finals
We just mentioned the Knicks, but there was plenty to love about the NBA playoffs in general. Still, we came out of it with two things: star players need better Achilles tendons, and the Oklahoma City Thunder might be our next dynasty. The Thunder are so deep, and they brought home their first title since moving from Seattle. On top of that, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became one of the top players in the league.
10. Shedeur Sanders falls in the NFL Draft
Someone might look at this entry making the list over the Super Bowl as an insane proposition, but really think about what has taken on more headlines this year. Have we talked about the Eagles winning the Super Bowl or Shedeur Sanders going from an expected top-five pick (and in the conversation for first overall) to a fifth-rounder?
There might never be a further fall from grace in the draft. Sanders was apparently trying to choose his destination in the draft, but instead, he became desperate to go anywhere. The league was wondering if he would get drafted at all.
This wasn’t a player who had a bad senior season and ruined his draft stock. He helped Travis Hunter win the Heisman Trophy as a receiver (and cornerback). He had a 74% completion percentage and finished his career with the greatest completion percentage for any college career (71.8%). He threw for 37 touchdowns. Sanders was incredible. Yet, he fell down the draft, with quarterback-needy teams like the Steelers, Jets, Raiders, Colts, Dolphins, and Cardinals saying no thanks. The Browns eventually ended his fall, but they had already taken Dillon Gabriel in the third round. Fast forward to today, and Sanders is the Browns’ starter, but we’ll see if that lasts through the offseason.
9. Rory McIlroy wins the Masters
Golf isn’t always the most enticing sport. It’s normally considered slow, going at a pace that allows old people to keep playing the game deep into their elderly years. There’s even a PGA Champions Tour, made for golfers over 50 years old. There’s no old-age league for the NFL. Yet, there’s no denying that when there’s drama around a golf event, it’s impossible to look away.
The go-to narrative for golf is the guy who either hasn’t won a major in a long time or hasn’t won a particular major ever. Both were in play at the Masters this season. Rory McIlroy made a name for himself when he won the U.S. Open in 2011. He became a household name when he won the Player’s Championship in 2012, and when he won two majors in 2014, he appeared to be poised to take Tiger Woods’ place as the guy in golf. Then, he stopped winning.
McIlroy was looking to become the sixth player ever to win a career Grand Slam, and he was looking to end a decade-long drought without a major victory. It wasn’t easy, as McIlroy blundered a huge lead on Sunday and allowed Justin Rose to force a playoff with a 20-foot birdie putt on 18. It was McIlroy’s day, and he beat Rose in the playoff after an insane shot from the fairway that ended up just three feet from the cup. Rose tried a 15-foot putt to keep himself alive, but he missed, and McIlroy secured his first green jacket.
8. Alexander Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky's goals record
The NHL has put all its eggs post 2004-05 lockout in the basket of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. It couldn’t have worked out better. They became two of the best players in the history of the league, and their rivalry has often been considered must-see TV. So, when Ovechkin was trying to break probably the most important record in the sport’s history, the league was glued to the race.
Ovechkin was in doubt about breaking the record in 2023-24. He looked like he was slowing down (despite still scoring 31 goals). Then, he dominated the next season, scoring 44 goals. He helped the Washington Capitals win the Metropolitan Division, making them one of the best teams in the league.
But his most important goal came on April 6. With the season winding down, many were worried he would get stuck on 893 goals, one away from what many thought was Wayne Gretzky’s unbreakable record. We would have to wait six long months until hockey returned and Ovechkin could take the record for his own. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. Ovechkin beat Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin “from his office,” which is just the one-timer position in the right circle.
7. Micah Parsons is traded to the Green Bay Packers
This one would be much bigger if the results weren’t as lackluster as they’ve been, but we have to acknowledge how monumental the trade was when it happened. Micah Parsons, the star of the Dallas Cowboys and widely considered to be the best defensive player in the league, was traded to the Green Bay Packers. Not only did the Cowboys trade their best player, but they traded him within the conference that the Cowboys claimed they wanted to compete in.
The initial reaction to the trade was how monumental the mistake the Cowboys just made was. However, as time went on, many felt like this was just taking out a distraction from the Cowboys locker room. Parsons was looking for a quarterback contract at linebacker. The Packers were happy to give him such a deal, signing him to a four-year, $188 million deal. However, Cowboys legends like DeMarcus Ware felt that Dallas made the right decision.
Unfortunately, the results haven’t worked out. The Packers were supposed to be the favorites to win the Super Bowl, but they are limping into the playoffs. The Cowboys have been eliminated from the playoffs despite trading one of the picks they got from the Parsons trade for Quinnen Williams (although there are conditions on the picks). On top of all that, Parsons is out for the season. Still, this trade will be discussed for years, and most teams will see how the world reacted to the Parsons trade before making a move of their own.
6. Colleges can now pay athletes directly
In years past, this would have been number one, but there have been monumental changes in the landscape of college sports for years and years. Everything about the NCAA is about dollar signs, and they are losing some of its luster. NIL changed the way players get paid, and honestly, it was a long time coming. However, years into this process, it still feels like a free-for-all.
That only got worse when a major court case that went all the way to U.S. Congress allowed schools to pay players directly through revenue sharing. This officially ended the term “amateur athlete” in college. These are just pre-professionals.
The annual cap that a school can spend is between $20 million and $23 million. This ruling gives the College Sports Commission oversight of all of this. The hope is to break through some of the seediness of the previous process, where it was all boosters and sponsors paying the players, and it allowed the players to make more money. However, it has turned the college game into a pay-for-play. While that’s fair, as most of these athletes are taking advantage of their one chance to cash in, it has taken the sport in a different direction, especially when it comes to recruiting.
5. 4 Nations Face-Off
A second hockey moment on a list of year in review? It was a VERY big year for the NHL. Nothing was bigger than the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off. The NHL was trying to find a way to test the fan interest in a “best-on-best’ tournament before going all in on returning to the 2026 Winter Olympics, and they couldn’t have been more impressed with the response.
Four countries were represented in the tournament: Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland. Some of the best players in the world got to play together for the first time. Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid were teammates. Matthew and Brady Tkachuk got to play on a line together. It was everything hockey fans wanted. Heck, it was what sports fans wanted.
The big takeaway from this was the rivalry of U.S. hockey and Canadian hockey. The team up north always takes advantage of their red, white, and blue brethren on ice. The U.S. hasn’t won a gold medal at the Olympics in men’s ice hockey since 1980, while Canada has won three since then. The U.S. and Canada split their matchup, with Jordan Binnington playing a big part in net and Connor McDavid scored eight minutes into overtime to give Canada the victory. It was a moment that put hockey back in the spotlight, and now millions of people are looking forward to the rubber match in Milan.
4. Ohio State wins the first 12-team College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff made its debut as a 12-team format in 2024-25. We kicked off the year with a flawed but fair system to choose our national champion. Yes, the seeding was not correct and has since been fixed for next year’s games, but getting 12 teams in this tournament was an important first step towards the sport getting the right champion every time.
Ohio State limped into the Playoff, coming off a loss to Michigan in the Big Game. They were an eight seed, and they had to face Tennessee to start (which actually happened in 2024). Their next game was against top-seeded Oregon, and Ohio State dominated the Ducks. They ended up winning the game 41-21, shocking the college world and shaking the foundation of the Playoff.
They went on to beat Texas in the semi-finals before a pretty convincing victory over Notre Dame in the Peach Bowl. The win did many things, including saving Ryan Day’s job as head coach. It also shut up those who doubted the Playoff as just getting to the same inevitable winner each year that the four-team College Football Playoff produced. This was WAY better, and the Buckeyes were an interesting team to kick it off.
3. The Chiefs dynasty ends on the weight of Patrick Mahomes' knee
There may not be a more consequential drive in recent history than the one that essentially ended the Kansas City Chiefs as a dynasty. Since Patrick Mahomes took over as starter in 2018, the Chiefs have been a top contender for the Super Bowl. They’ve won three Super Bowls and made it to two others. Since Mahomes took over, they’ve been to five Super Bowls and every other AFC team has been to two combined. This was a true dynasty.
And now it’s over. It’s not just that the Chiefs are going to miss out on the Super Bowl this year. They won’t even make the playoffs as they’ve already been eliminated. That elimination came at a much steeper price. Patrick Mahomes was desperately trying to keep his season alive in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers, but he landed on his foot at an awkward angle, and his knee popped.
Mahomes suffered the dreaded torn ACL. Not only was his season done, but it could impact his ability to return by Week 1 2026. It was as impactful an injury as we’ve seen in years. Mahomes, considered by many to be the best player in the league, now has to go through the rest of his career knowing he’s had at least one major knee injury. Of course, this isn’t the end for most quarterbacks. Tom Brady tore his ACL in 2008 and went on to be the GOAT. This could still happen for Mahomes, but the Chiefs themselves have to reset this offseason.
2. Shohei Ohtani produces the greatest baseball performance of all time
There’s a lot of hyperbole in sports talk today. We all want to feel like we’re watching history, so debate shows will ask if someone is the greatest of all time, or if we’ve seen something that hasn’t ever happened a million times before. The social media era of sports is all about the “takes,” and it can be exhausting. However, we saw the greatest baseball performance in the history of the game this year. We are confident in saying that nobody has come close to what Shohei Ohtani did
The Los Angeles Dodgers were on the cusp of another trip to the World Series. They were trying to write the script of their current dynasty. Ohtani was their star, and this was the first year he could really go all in as a pitcher and a hitter. Against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4, he showed there is no limit to his ability. That’s crazy to think about after we just saw him hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in 2024, but this was somehow more impressive.
Ohtani became just the ninth player since Reggie Jackson to hit three home runs in one playoff game. He destroyed Brewers pitching all night. On the mound, he was even more dominant, striking out 10 batters and allowing zero runs. One of his home runs was a moonshot that went a predicted 469 feet from home plate. There may not be a player like Ohtani for another 100 years, and we should cherish the greatness that’s bestowed upon the sport of baseball right now.
1. Luka Dončić trade shocks literally everyone
Everything has a rumor nowadays. We have too many news breakers working their sources and releasing rumors for anything to be kept a secret. Nothing is sacred, and information travels fast across social media in 2025. So, for nobody to know that Luka Dončić, one of the best players on the planet and a top performer in last year’s NBA Finals, was getting traded to the most important franchise in the league is preposterous.
This trade happened 10 months ago, and the league is still feeling its effects. This is not a normal trade. This alters multiple franchises, changes the timelines of conferences, factors into the value of teams, and likely changes the future of the second-greatest player to ever grace hard courts. LeBron James was already on the Lakers, and he hadn’t done much since winning the bubble championship in 2020. He wanted to reach Michael Jordan’s six rings before it was too late, and his best chance was getting him a dominant teammate to take the weight off of him.
Dončić moved on to the Lakers, and he helped them win the Pacific Division, finishing with a three-seed in the Western Conference. They were actually upset in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but they are back in the championship conversation this season. Obviously, the Thunder are a powerhouse that might be unstoppable, but Dončić being on the Lakers at least makes those matchups interesting.
And we haven’t even mentioned that Nico Collins, the fall guy for this trade, has already been fired as Dallas Mavericks GM. This would have long-term damage to the franchise, but they somehow won the number-one overall pick in the NBA Draft with the right to take Cooper Flagg.