It is said that “youth is wasted on young people. “But this is true in all cases, especially in professional sports.
While an athlete’s career can take a number of paths, excellence shows excellence at a very young age.
Take, for example, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who turns 25 on Thursday, in just two seasons as a starter, won an NFL Most Valuable Player award and led his team to a championship. of the Super Bowl.
If someone was stupid enough to make a list of athletes over the age of 25 or younger, Mahomes would be included, but who else would happen?
Here are 25 other sports stars over the age of 25 who are prematurely prolific in the accumulation of sports awards:
Ronald Acua Jr. , 22, baseball. The Atlanta Braves outfielder won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2018, then followed him on an All-Star crusade in 2019. He led the National League last season in scored trouble (127) and flew bases (37), while hitting 41 home runs and 101 runs for The National League East Champions.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, 25, basketball. The 2019 NBA MVP and defensive player of the year this season, the 6-foot-11-inch “Greek Freak” has been named to the East Conference All-Star team in the last four seasons, the last two as team captain. ahead averaged 29. 5 issues and 13. 6 rebounds, a career record this season.
Ashleigh Barty, 24, tennis. Currently, the world’s No. 1 female player, the Australian has won eight titles on the 2019 WTA Tour, the French Open, and is also a full doubles player, winning the US Open. USA 2018 with his wife CoCo Vandeweghe.
Simone Biles, 23, gymnastics. World champion for the first time at the age of 14, Biles can claim the name of the greatest gymnast in history. He led the United States to team gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Individually, Biles won gold on the floor, jump and general festival. occasions with a bronze medal on the beam and won seven more individual gold medals at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships.
Nick Bosa, 22, football. It’s a tough decision between the 2019 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and his 25-year-old older brother Joey, who won the same award in 2016. However, Nick is the time chosen in the draft, while Joey is No. 3 in the overall standings. And san Francisco’s 49ers outperforms his older brother among the 100 best NFL Network players by 2020, peaking at number 17 overall.
Luka Doncic, 21, basketball. The Dallas Mavericks goalkeeper has established himself as one of the NBA players this season, averaging 28. 8 points, 9. 4 rebounds and 8. 8 assists, and reached an even higher point in the playoffs, fitting one of the three players to record a triple of 40 points. -double, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a postseason game, joining Oscar Robertson and Charles Barkley.
Chase Elliott, 24, race car. NASCAR legend Bill Elliott’s son has already made a call for himself in just six seasons as a Cup driver. As the 2020 season comes to an end, Elliott has 8 Cup victories at his disposal, adding this year’s All-Star Race. He was titled the most popular driver of the series in 2018 and 2019.
Sam Grewe, 22, Paralympic, Although he had an osteosarcoma at age 13, which resulted in the amputation of his right leg below the knee, Grewe has become a world-class jumper. He won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics among consecutive gold medals at the 2015 and 2017 World Championships.
I watch Heiskanen, 21, hockey. The Finn has only 68 problems in 150 regular-season games in his career, however, he has temporarily become the Dallas Stars’ top full defender. He had a series of playoffs with 22 problems in 21 games for the Stars to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Lamar Jackson, 23, football. Last year’s unanimous variety for the NFL MVP led the Baltimore Ravens to a 14-2 league record. He set a yard record on the court through a quarterback (1206) and also led the league with 36 landing passes.
Chloe Kim, 20, snowboarder. Kim, the youngest woman to win an Olympic gold medal on skiing in 2018 when she won the gold medal in the women’s halfpipe at the age of 17. He is also a four-time gold medalist at the Winter X Games.
Rose Lavelle, 25, football. One of the key gears of the USWNT Women’s World Cup champion team, Lavelle scored the purpose of victory in the final against holland. The midfielder has lately played for Manchester City in the English Women’s Super League, in addition to her duties in the U. S. Women’s National Team.
Katie Ledecky, 23, nothing. Simply the top dominant loose swimmer in history, Ledecky set 14 world records and won 15 gold medals at the world championships (the one ever awarded to a swimmer). The focus of his career to date came here at the 2016 Rio Games, where he won gold in the 200, 400 and 800 meters loose.
Christian McCaffrey, 24, football. The Carolina Panthers offensive lineman led the NFL with 2,392 half scrum in 2019, the third-highest overall in league history. It had more than 1,000 yards per land and reception, something only Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk have achieved. leads the league with 19 touchdowns.
Connor McDavid, 23, hockey. The first overall pick in the 2015 draft, McDavid scored a hundred or more problems three times in five seasons and was 97 this season before the coronavirus pandemic ended. The center of Edmonton Oilers has two notable titles and a Most Valuable Player award.
Donovan Mitchell, 24, basketball. The Utah Jazz escort averaged at least 20 points in each of his first three nba seasons. During this year’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, Mitchell became the third player in NBA history to have 50-point games in a series of singles. .
Naomi Osaka, 22, tennis. Osaka, reigning U. S. Open women’s singles champion, now has three Grand Slam titles on her belt, has won a total of six WTA titles and already ranks No. 1 in the world.
Christian Pulisic, 21, football. Widely regarded as the long-term career of football, Pulisic made his U. S. national team debut. But it’s not the first time In 2016 at the age of 17. As the youngest player to serve as captain of the current national team, Pulisic took the United States to CONCACAF Gold 2019. Cup Final. Play professionally at Chelsea in the English Premier League.
Mikaela Shiffrin, 25, skis. The world’s dominant slalom skier has won six times the name of the World Cup season. At the 2014 Olympics at the age of 18, she was the youngest to win Olympic gold in slalom. Four years later, Shiffrin won gold in the giant slalom and silver in The Combined.
Juan Soto, 21, baseball. The Washington Nationals outfielder made his primary league debut in 2018 at the age of 19 and immediately became one of the team’s most productive players, completing the ronald Acua Jr. moment for the National League rookie of the year. In 2019, he hit 34 home runs, with 110 RBIs to take the Nationals to the franchise’s first World Series title.
Fernando Tatis Jr. , 21, baseball. One of the top exciting players of the majors, the San Diego Short-field Parents entered Tuesday’s games leading the National League in home runs (15) and scored issues (46). Rookie of the Year ticket after achieving 0. 317 with 22 home runs and 16 stolen goals.
Jayson Tatum, 22, basketball. The Boston Celtics ahead emerged this season as a player in the top 10, reinforcing that with his flexible score and defense in the playoffs. A third pick in the 2017 draft, Tatum was an All-Star for the first time this year, averaging 23. 4 issues and 7. 0 rebounds consistent with the game.
Lexi Thompson, 24, golfer. Thompson made headlines at the age of 12, when she was the youngest golfer to qualify for the US Women’s Open. But it’s not the first time She turned professional at age 15 and the following year as the youngest player to win an LPGA event. an important one: the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship (now ANA Inspiration).
A’ja Wilson, 24, basketball. Wilson, selected as number one in the 2018 WNBA draft and rookie of the year, has just been named WNBA AP Player of the Year after averaging 20. 5 points, 8. 5 rebounds and two blocks for Las Vegas Aces in the 2020 regular season. she helped take South Carolina to the 2017 national championship and was the school player of the year after the 2017–18 season.
Contribution: Mike Brehm, Jimmy Hascup, Ellen Horrow, Mark Medina, Roxanna Scott, Jeff Zillgitt
Have we left it out obvious?Give us your comments on Twitter @USATODAYSports.