Ranking the best superstar athletes under 23 years old

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In all of sports, you need to prove yourself for a while at the professional level before you are solidified as a star and looked at as a great. For example, Tom Brady didn’t walk into the NFL as the biggest thing in the league; it took him years to establish himself as the face of the league, and it required 23 seasons of excellence for him to become the greatest player in NFL history. However, there seems to be a surplus of young stars in sports across the world right now, specifically athletes 23 years old or younger.

Every so often, a generational prospect is supposed to enter his/her respective sports league and become an immediate star. These type of players don’t emerge every year, but for whatever reason, the stars have aligned, and a bunch of players have been labeled as elite prospects recently. Some have even proven themselves right away at the professional level, and if not, they seem destined to do so in the near future.

Because of that, we decided to rank the 10 best superstar athletes under 23 years old. These players might not be the biggest stars in the league right now, but they were expected to be great right away, and they have not only proven themselves in that regard, but they have that megastar potential going forward as well. This isn’t necessarily a ranking of these players’ skill sets currently, although we did take that into account. Instead, we ranked these players off of how big their star can/should become in the near future, so check out the gallery below.

1. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs – NBA

Everything about Victor Wembanyama is just different, and that is why, coming into the 2023 NBA Draft, he was viewed as arguably the best prospect in NBA history besides LeBron James. Wembanyama is 7-foot-4, yet he can shoot and dribble the ball like a guard. He even has uber-elite skills as a rim protector/shot blocker to boot.

The San Antonio Spurs star has quickly proven himself in his first year and change in the big leagues. Wembanyama was not only the Rookie of the Year last season, but he finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. His 3.6 blocks were the most in the league last year, and he is against leading the league in that category through the early portion of his second season. Wembanyama’s nod on the All-Defensive First-Team made him the youngest player with that honor ever.

Wembanyama seems destined to fill the stat sheet in ways we haven’t seen before for years to come. He is already one of only three players with multiple five-by-five games, and quadruple-doubles could be in his future. His uniqueness is highlighted by when he recently became the first player ever with 20 three-pointers and 13 blocked shots within a three-game span.

2. Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever – WNBA

Women’s basketball has never been more popular, and that is largely thanks to Caitlin Clark. The guard led Iowa to the national championship game in each of the last two women’s college basketball seasons, and she became the all-time leading NCAA scorer in the process. That includes the men’s division, as Clark surpassed Pete Maravich with her 3,951 career points.

Clark scored at such a high level in a fashion that we’ve never seen before in the women’s game. Clark pulls up with ease from multiple feet behind the three-point line in a similar fashion to Stephen Curry. She also used a variety of step-backs and side-steps to get her shots off.

Clark then immediately became one of the best players in the WNBA after the Indiana Fever drafted her first overall. While Clark is most known for her scoring, she actually became the all-time WNBA single-season leader for assists with 337 total dimes. Clark has a long ways to go before she becomes one of the best WNBA players ever, but it would almost come as a shock if she didn’t reach the top of that list by the end of her career.

3. Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks – NHL

There are only a couple of names in hockey history, if any, who were viewed at as elite of a prospect as Connor Bedard was. Because of this era of social media, none of them were under the microscope as much as the center who was taken first overall in 2023 by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Bedard is still only 19 years old, and he has already proven that the hype was real. The then-rookie would have become the youngest NHL All-Star ever, but he suffered a broken jaw and was forced to miss the game. The injury forced Bedard to miss significant time, but he still did enough to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the Rookie of the Year. Bedard is still so young, so we could see him getting better and better for the next decade or so, and he could contribute at a high level in the NHL for much longer than that.

4. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans – NFL

C.J. Stroud perhaps wasn’t viewed at as generational of a prospect as some of his peers on this list. After all, he was only the second overall pick in 2023. Stroud has quickly proven doubters (and the Carolina Panthers who took Bryce Young first overall) wrong, and he now clearly belongs in the conversation as one of the best up-and-coming young stars in all of sports.

Stroud’s rookie year was the stuff of legend. The Rookie of the Year was in the conversation for the MVP because he was only the fifth rookie to ever throw for more than 4,000 yards. Stroud also became the third player ever to lead the league in passing yards per game (273.9) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (4.6). The other two players on that list were NFL greats Tom Brady and Joe Montana, which put Stroud in historic company in only his first season.

Stroud hasn’t put up the biggest numbers in his second year, but by no means is that because of a sophomore slump. The quarterback has the Houston Texans at 7-4 and in Super Bowl contention despite the team suffering a number of injuries, and that is because Stroud has been good enough to do whatever it takes to win, even if that means sacrificing huge statistical games.

5. Carlos Alcaraz, Spain – Tennis

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal are all retired or nearing retirement, the latter of which just played his last match. Luckily for tennis fans, there is a new rising star who can carry the sport for the next two decades. That star is Carlos Alcaraz, a Spaniard who has teamed up in doubles with Nadal.

Alcaraz, who is only 21 years old, has already been ranked as the top singles player in the world, and he has 16 ATP-tour-level singles titles, four major titles, and five Masters 1000 titles to his name already.

6. Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates – MLB

Paul Skenes is fresh off of one of the best rookie seasons in MLB history, and everyone saw it coming. The former LSU pitcher was handed the generational label before the Pittsburgh Pirates took him with the first pick in 2023, and then he was fast-tracked to the major league level.

Skenes was dominant in year one, which was demonstrated during MLB award season. He walked away with the National League Rookie of the Year award, and he was a top-three finalist for the Cy Young despite not making his debut until mid-May. He ended up becoming the National League All-Star Game starter, and his rookie season included a 1.96 ERA.

In a full season next year, Skenes should get even better. Nonetheless, it is impressive how dominant he was right away, and making it to the majors so quickly is impressive in its own right.

7. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears – NFL

Caleb Williams was a tough player to rank because he has been a pretty big disappointment in his rookie year. The 2024 first-overall pick of the NFL Draft was viewed as such a generational prospect that he was expected to dominate right away despite most first-year signal-callers having early struggles.

That has proven to be an unfair expectation, especially considering how weak the Chicago Bears offensive line is. Williams has actually been worse than fellow first-round rookie quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix (there was a record six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft), which means the USC product probably won’t win the Rookie of the Year award that fans assumed he was a shoo-in for coming into the season.

Even so, the sky is still the limit for Williams. His killer arm strength and ability to make plays happen out of script give him Patrick Mahomes-like potential. The quarterback has already shown flashes, too. While he has struggled since, Williams’ Week 5 and 6 performances, which everyone thought were his breakout games, saw him throw for six touchdowns and 530 yards combined.

With more time to develop and a better offensive line, those big-number performances should become less of a rarity. It would have been nice to see Williams have an incredible rookie season like C.J. Stroud did last season, but bursting onto the scene in year one like that is a rarity, and Williams still has plenty of time to become the player everyone expected he’d be.

8. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves – NBA

When thinking about players to write about for this article, it was rookie and second-year players who came to mind, with some collegiate players worth mentioning as well. Because of that, Anthony Edwards didn’t 100% fit the vibe, as he is an established star and has already been in the NBA for five seasons now.

Edwards is still only 23 years old, though, so there was no way to leave him off of this list. Having such a young star is a luxury for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They drafted him first overall in 2020, and he immediately showed off his star power. Edwards has only continued to get better since then, and not only does he have MVP potential, but he should be competing at a high level for over a decade to come. It can even be argued that Edwards will become the face of the NBA after aging veterans like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry retire. After all, Edwards does have a joyful and infectious personality that makes him a fan-favorite across the league.

He is pretty dang good on the hardwood, too. Edwards is arguably the best dunker in the NBA, but he can really score however he wants. That is evidenced by the 28.1 points per game he is scoring this season (23.1 PPG for his career). Ant Man is the rare superstar who gets it done on the less glamorous end, too, though.

Edwards truly has a case as a top-10 defensive player in the NBA, and he takes pride in clamping star opponents. If this ranking was only based on how good players are right now, then Edwards might rank number one. Some of the players above him do have a little bit more of the “generational” label attached to their potential, though.

9. Travis Hunter, Colorado – NCAA football

Travis Hunter – the best player in college football – is revolutionizing the sport itself. First off, he became the first five-star to commit to an HBCU. Then, he became arguably the biggest transfer of all time when he joined Deion and Shedeur Sanders at Colorado. Now, he is the front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy.

All of these historic things stem from Hunter’s ability as a two-way player. He has a case as both the best receiver in college football and the best cornerback in college football. That two-way ability isn’t something we’ve seen with regularity in close to a century. Hunter has 74 receptions and 911 yards on offense, and opposing quarterbacks refuse to throw his direction when he is lined up as a defensive back. Hunter’s insane snap count this season is a testament to his hard work and freakish ability as an all-around football player.

It is unclear how Hunter will be used at the NFL level because plenty of experts think that playing two ways against professionals will be impossible. I wouldn’t doubt Hunter, though, as he has proven himself as a generational player.

10. Cooper Flagg, Duke – NCAA men’s basketball

Cooper Flagg is only a freshman in college at Duke, but he has already captivated the nation, and he was a big deal in athletes even early in his high school career. Flagg is the projected number-one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and he already has a case as the best player in college basketball.

Four games into his collegiate career, Flagg is showing off his versatility. He is averaging 16.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and four assists per game. Flagg can shoot the jump shot, explode above the rim in the painted area, absorb rebounds at an elite level for a power forward, play lockdown defense, and get his teammates involved.

As a talented white American playing for Duke, Flagg might become a legendary (but disliked) Blue Devil like Christian Laettner, Grayson Allen, Shane Battier, and JJ Redick, but his talent means he should have much more success at the NBA level than those players did. Even so, those legendary Dukies are among the best players in college basketball history or the best players of the 21st century, and Flagg can certainly join them.

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