GOAT	Years		GOAT	Years
1	Laurence Doherty	1903-1920	1	Lottie Dod	1893-1920
2	Bill Tilden	1920-1958	2	Molla Mallory	1920-1922
3	Pancho Gonzales	1958-1966	3	Suzanne Lenglen	1922-1930
4	Rod Laver	1966-1998	4	Helen Wills Moody	1930-1970
5	Pete Sampras	1998-2009	5	Margaret Court	1970-1980
6	Roger Federer	2009-2023	6	Chris Evert	1980-1986
7	Novak Djokovic	2023-present	7	Martina Navatilova	1986-1996
			8	Steffi Graf	1996-2016
			9	Serena Williams	2016-present

Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are the two greatest golfers of all-time by just about the size of the universe. There is nobody else even remotely close to challenging the throne. So while golf features the closest two-player GOAT race in sports, the race for the third spot is wide open. There are no fewer than seven golfers who have a legitimate argument as the third greatest of all-time. It’s not hard to put together a compelling case for each, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Phil Mickelson has the best argument of the group. Among golfers born since WWII, only Tiger Woods (82) has more PGA Tour titles than Mickelson (45). In fact, besides Woods, only Tom Watson (39) is within 10 of Mickelson’s mark, and only Vijay Singh (34), Rory McIIroy (27) and Johnny Miller (25) are within 20. Mickelson’s case doesn’t just rely on being the most prolific golfer on the PGA Tour outside of Tiger Woods since WWII. His performance at major championships and The Players Championship (TPC) also supports his claim. Among golfers outside of Woods born since WWII, only Tom Watson (8) has won more majors than Mickelson (6). Watson is among the golfers who have a legitimate claim to the third spot, but Mickelson just might have a more impressive resume despite winning fewer majors. Mickelson won the TPC which Watson did not, and in the history of golf, nobody outside Nicklaus (37) and Woods (22) has more top-two finishes at majors than Mickelson (18). The same is true for top-three, top-five, and top-10 major finishes.

It’s clear that Mickelson’s competition for the 3rd spot really only includes Watson and people who were born prior to WWII when golf was nowhere near as competitive as it has been in the 21st century. Not only did Mickelson face the most competitive field the sport has ever seen, he had the misfortune of his peak coinciding with the juggernaut that was Tiger Woods. Watson, for all his accolades, did not have to contend with Nicklaus’s peak. Mickelson had no such luck as he landed smack dab in the eye of the Tiger storm. Yet, Mickelson still managed to outperform every golfer of the past 50 years outside of Woods. This is a significant advantage in Mickelson’s favor over the others in the running.  

However, it’s not just the degree of difficulty that gives Mickelson the inside track at the third spot, it’s how much more impressive he was than every other golfer outside of Woods from his era. Walter Hagen (1913), Bobby Jones (1916) and Gene Sarazen (1920) all debuted at majors within seven years of each other and have fairly similar career accomplishments. Ben Hogan (1934), Sam Snead (1937), and Byron Nelson (1937) all debuted at majors within three years of each other, and have fairly similar career accomplishments. Arnold Palmer (1952) and Gary Player (1956) debuted at majors within four years of each other and also have fairly similar career accomplishments. Outside of Tiger Woods, there isn’t a golfer who debuted in the last 50 years who is even in the same stratosphere as Mickelson. No golfer other than Woods in that span has more major championships, 2nd place finishes, or top-two finishes. In fact, nobody outside of Woods is even close. Mickelson has a whopping 18 top-two finishes at major events. Outside of Woods, only Greg Norman (10) and Ernie Els (10) are within eight of Mickelson over the past 50 years. Similarly, nobody who debuted outside of Woods in the past 50 years is even close to Mickelson’s 25 top-three finishes. Only Els (15) is within 10 of Mickelson. The same goes for top-five and top-10 finishes. Outside of Woods, only Els (23), Norman (20), and Nick Faldo (19) are within 10 of Mickelson’s 29 top-5 finishes, and only Els (35), McIIroy (31), and Norman (30) are within 10 of Mickelson’s 40 top-10 finishes. 

Ernie Els, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Brooks Koepka, and Rory McIIroy are the most accomplished golfers to debut in the last 50 years outside of Woods and Mickelson. However, the resume comparisons between those four and Mickelson end in a blowout in favor of Mickelson. With Woods and Nicklaus in a different dimension, Mickelson’s relative dominance over the most competitive 50-year stretch of golf that the PGA Tour has ever seen makes him a worthy selection for the 3rd spot on the all-time list. The argument for someone in the Hogan, Snead, Nelson triumvirate could’ve been strengthened had eight* major championships not been canceled during WWII. However, without knowing who would’ve won those tournaments, there’s no way to prorate resumes.

* There were actually 14 majors that were canceled, but the best American golfers like Hogan, Snead, and Nelson typically did not compete in the Open Championship (The British Open) during this era. Therefore it is unlikely that their resumes were negatively impacted by the six Open Championships that were not held.        

On the surface, Pau Gasol’s resume doesn’t necessarily pop like other elite big man resumes. He was never named 1st Team All-NBA, and made the 2nd and 3rd teams just twice each over 18 seasons. Throw in the fact that he never received a single MVP vote, and you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. However, if we dig just a little deeper, a pretty stellar resume starts to emerge. First, it’s important to note that Gasol was a strong player for Memphis during his first 6.5 seasons in the NBA, averaging 18.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg, and 1.8 blocks per game on 51% shooting. His Player Efficiency Rating (PER) was among the top-20 in the league over this stretch. Had Gasol just continued that level of output for the remainder of his career, he would’ve been an easy inclusion in the top-100. Instead, Gasol’s second act not only saw him become a playoff powerhouse, but also a star on the international stage. 

Gasol might be most known for his 6.5-year run with the Lakers, where he helped LA win back-to-back NBA Championships and reach three consecutive NBA Finals. Using the word “help” to describe Gasol’s impact is probably already in the pantheon of understatements. It would be more accurate to say that he had arguably the biggest impact that any mid-year acquisition has ever had on an NBA franchise. That sounds crazy, but the results bear it out. Following Shaquille O’Neal’s departure from the Lakers after the 2003-04 NBA season, Kobe Bryant struggled to gain traction as the focal point of the franchise. The Lakers missed the playoffs altogether in 2005, and then were bounced from the playoffs in the first round in 2006 and 2007. LA’s record over this stretch was an unremarkable 121-125 (49.1%). The moment the Lakers acquired Gasol, the team went on a 22-4 run with Gasol in the lineup to close out the 2007-08 regular season, and the rest is history. The Lakers would win at least 57 games over Gasol’s first four years with the team, including 65 wins in 2008-09.  Gasol provided the Lakers the low-post grit that they had sorely missed following Shaq’s departure. He averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in the Finals during LA’s back-to-back championship runs, and he piled up the most Win Shares in the 2010 NBA Playoffs.  

Gasol’s impact on the Lakers was sudden and extraordinary, and it’s probably the capstone achievement on his resume. However, coming in a very close second is what he did on the international stage against countries stacked with NBA talent. Gasol played at five Olympic Games, garnering Spain two silver medals and a bronze. Spain had not finished better than 7th at the previous five Olympic Games before breaking through with Gasol in Beijing in 2008. Gasol led the Athens (‘04) and Beijing (‘08) Olympic Games in scoring and finished 4th in scoring in both London (‘12) and Rio (‘16). He has the 3rd most points, 2nd most rebounds, and the most blocks in Olympic basketball history.

Gasol also led Spain to the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, where he was named the tournament MVP. Prior to Gasol’s heroics, Spain had never finished better than 4th at the World Championships. Gasol was a top-5 scorer at all three FIBA World Championships that he participated in, and is the 8th leading scorer in the history of the tournament.

Every year, NBA teams make deals at the trade deadline, hoping to find lightning in a bottle for a franchise looking to make noise in the playoffs. Even in a sport notorious for optimistic general managers, nobody expects a player to have the type of impact that Gasol had on the Lakers. Similarly, there are fans in basketball-starved countries all across the world who dream of seeing their countries legitimately compete for the first time at the highest levels on the international stage. For Spain, that happened when Pau Gasol entered the building. Few players in the history of basketball have had such an immense impact on not just an NBA franchise, but also an entire country.