Athletes who dominated 2016

Phelps ended his Olympic career as the best swimmer in the history of the game. Heck, he might be the most accomplished athlete to ever compete. Phelps won five more gold medals to bring his career total to 23. Yeah, there's not much more we can say here. Rio was Phelps' oyster, and he ate it up big time. 

Even on the wrong side of 30, it looks like James is at the height of his career. The all-world basketball player absolutely dominated the NBA scene this past season en route to leading the Cavaliers to their first NBA title. He averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists during the regular season. Then, with everything on the line in the NBA Finals against the historic Golden State Warriors, James put up one of the best performances in Association history. He averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists in leading the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 series deficit to win Cleveland's first title in 50-plus years. 

Bolt earned three more gold medals in Rio ... the third consecutive Olympics he has won three golds. He's now tied with Carl Lewis and Paavo Nurmi for the most golds in track and field history. Oh, it doesn't hurt that Bolt retained his unofficial title as the fastest man in the world.

Curry may have pulled up lame with an injury in the playoffs. He may have struggled with everything on the line in the NBA Finals. But the two-time reigning NBA absolutely dominated the landscape of the Association during the Warriors' 73-win regular season. He led the league in scoring at 30.1 points, broke his own record for most three-pointers in a season with 402, hit on 91 percent of his free throws and led the Association in steals. To put Curry's performance into perspective, the 402 threes he hit is 126 more than any other player in Association history. Think about that for a second. 

Whether he's playing linebacker, corner, safety, defensive end or returning kicks on special teams, Peppers is one of the best athletes we have ever seen come down the pike. The 2016 regular season saw Peppers record 66 tackles (13 for loss), three sacks, five passes defended and an interception. He added 6.2 yards per rush, three rushing scores and 570 yards on kickoff/punt returns. That's just silly. 

How good is Trout? He almost unanimously won the AL MVP for a team that finished 14 games under .500. A generational talent and true five-tool player, Trout put up a .315 average with a .441 OBP and an absurd .991 OPS. He racked up 66 extra-base hits, led the league with 123 runs scored and walked 116 times, also an AL-best. Trout has now earned an All-Star appearance and finished in the top-two of the MVP voting in all five of his full seasons in the Majors. If the 25 year old continues at this pace, he might go down as the greatest player in history.

Elliott entered the NFL as one of the top running back prospects in the modern history of the draft. A No. 4 overall pick from Ohio State, the youngster was coming off a 179-yard, four-touchdown performance against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, his final college game. Many expected Elliott to perform at a high level as a rookie. Not many expected him to continue absolutely dominating. Sharing a backfield with Dak Prescott, Elliott compiled 1,199 rushing yards and over 1,500 total yards to go with 12 scores in his first 11 NFL games. That's Eric Dickerson and Adrian Peterson level domination right there. 

Talk about coming out like gangbusters. Over the first four games of the 2016 season, Jackson put up a total of 25 total touchdowns compared to three interceptions. While the Cardinal signal caller did slow down as the regular season drew to a conclusion, he still put up 51 touchdowns in 12 games. That's absurd level stuff right there. 

Despite his struggles in the postseason, Russ's 2015-16 season will go down as one of the best for a point guard in recent NBA history. He averaged 23.5 points and 10.4 assists while leading OKC to a top-three seed out west. Now, without Kevin Durant, Westbrook is off to a tremendous start in 2016-17. The first month-plus of the season saw him average 31.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 11.3 assists. Yes, that's a triple-double. The Big O would be proud. 

Kershaw is the most dominating pitcher of the modern era. The only player that compares favorable to him is Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, who made his living as a closer. Despite injury setbacks this past season, Kershaw continued to absolute mow down opposing hitters. He posted a 12-4 record with a 1.69 ERA and obscenely low 0.73 WHIP in 21 starts. More than that, Kershaw struck out 172 batters in 149 innings while walking a grand total of 11 hitters. That's just dumb.

Miller earned the Super Bowl MVP as a defensive player this past February. That's a rare accomplishment. It came after he recorded five sacks in Denver's final two postseason games, including 2.5 against NFL MVP Cam Newton in the Broncos' Super Bowl 50 win over the Carolina Panthers. This led to a six-year, $114.5 million deal in the offseason. Now, through the first 11 games of the 2016 season, Miller has recorded a league high 12.5 sacks, including three against the Chiefs in Week 12.

This former Sooner simply scored and scored a whole heck of a lot in his final college season. The All American averaged 25.0 points while shooting an absurd 46 percent from three-point range. This drew comparisons to Stephen Curry. Hield would go on to score 37 points in his second-to-final college game against Oregon in the tourney. 

With pitchers that have clocked upwards to 106 MPH, Chapman is nearly an unhittable commodity when he's on. This was proven in Games 5 and 6 of the World Series, when he struck out five batters in four innings of work. That's just exceptional. Overall this past season, the All-Star closer struck out 90 batters in just 58 innings. Think about that for a second before deciding to conclude Chapman isn't one of the top athletes in sports today.

Now a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, Crosby is coming off a 2015-16 season that saw him earn the Conn Smythe Trophy as the league's most valuable player in the playoffs. This performance culminated in Crosby putting up four assists in the Stanley Cup Finals against the San Jose Sharks. 

What Towns did as a wide-eyed 20-year-old rookie was nothing short of amazing last season. Performing at a clip that's usually reserved for veterans in their prime, the Kentucky product average 18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 54 percent from the field. More than this, he appeared in and started all 82 games for the Timberwolves. That's an amazing accomplishment considering he played in a total of 39 games in college. 

Ledecky absolutely dominated the 800-meter freestyle in Rio, leaving the competition in the dust en route to breaking the world record; she wound up 11 seconds ahead of the silver medal finisher. It was really a sight to behold. 

Leonard went from being a role player for the Spurs to the face of the franchise within a three-year span. Through his hard work and dedication to improving his play, Leonard has now won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award in consecutive seasons. More than that, he's improved his offensive game every season he has been in the Association. This past season saw the MVP candidate put up a career high 21.2 points per game while shooting at a ridiculous 51 percent from the field, including a 44 percent mark from distance. Leonard is now one of the top all-around players in the NBA. A far cry from a player the Indiana Pacers traded away on draft day for chump change. 

How good has McCaffrey's 2016 calendar year gone? It started out with a 368-yard performance against Iowa in the Rose Bowl. Since then, all McCaffrey did during the 2016 regular season was put up 1,913 yards from scrimmage to go with 16 touchdown. His last regular season game as a member of the Cardinal also resulted in a four-touchdown performance against Rice. 

It wasn't a great few months for Tom Brady to start of the 2016 calendar year. First, he threw two interceptions in the Patriots' loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Chmpionship game. He then dropped the appeal of a four-game suspension he received for his alleged involvement in the Deflategate scandal. Fortunately for the Patriots, Brady returned from his suspension with a vengeance. In his first seven starts of the 2016 season, the future Hall of Famer completed 68 percent of his passes for 2,201 yards with 18 touchdowns and just one interception. Yeah, that's some dominating stuff right there. 

The first pick of the 2016 WNBA Draft, Stewart absolutely dominated with the Huskies during her college career. She earned four NCAA titles to go with four NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Awards. This past season saw Stewart average 19.4 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 58 percent from the field. 

Little known due to playing at a small school out west, this 5-foot-9 youngster has absolutely dominated his competition over the past couple seasons. This past regular season alone, Pumphrey put up 2,113 total yards and 15 touchdowns. It's the third consecutive year that he's tallied more than 2,000 total yards. A specific game against Cal back in September stands out the most. This Aztec gained 310 total yards and three touchdowns on 33 touches. That's insane. 

A member of the national champions, Hart earned a spot on the All-Tournament team this past spring. He averaged 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the Final Four, including a 23-point performance against Oklahoma in the national semis. 

A clear Heisman candidate and potentially the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Watson put up a tremendous regular season for the Tigers. The junior tallied 300-plus yards seven times in 12 games, including an absolutely absurd 580-yard outing against Pittsburgh back in November. And while Watson has been turnover-prone over the past two seasons, his electrifying play-making ability cannot be denied. All said, the talented signal caller put up 38 touchdowns during the 2016 regular season. 

Browning put the Huskies back on the map big time during an 11-1 regular season that saw this previously fledgling program dominate Pac-12 competition. All said, Washington tallied 40-plus points in all but three of its regular season outings. For Browning's part, he finished the regular season with 44 total touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions. No wonder Washington showed itself to be a true national title contender. 

It's never easy replacing someone of Ezekiel Elliott's ilk, but that's exactly what Samuel was tasked with doing for the Buckeyes this past regular season. The junior responded by putting up over 1,500 total yards and 15 touchdowns in 12 regular season games. Not only did Samuel average 7.7 yards per rush, he caught 65 passes for 822 yards. Wow. 

Prescott's 2015 season and college career at Mississippi State came to a conclusion with a win over North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl. That game saw him record over 400 yards and four touchdowns. Little did we know that this wouldn't be anywhere near close to his best accomplishment. Prescott was then selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft to be a project quarterback behind Tony Romo. That all came crashing down like a house of cards after Romo injured his back in the preseason. Prescott's response was to display an ability to perform at a high level as a rookie that we haven't seen in the history of the NFL. In his first 11 starts for the Cowboys, Prescott put up 23 total touchdowns compared to two interceptions en route to leading the Cowboys to a 10-1 record. Just amazing. 

The reigning National League MVP, this still young 24-year-old infielder was one of the primary reasons the Cubs broke their 100-plus year World Series drought. Bryant posted a .292 average with 39 homers, 77 extra-base hits and 102 RBI. It was just his second season in the majors. Look for this youngster to take off and be right there with Mike Trout among the faces of the sport moving forward. 

Biles became the first American gymnast to win four gold medals in the same Olympics. And if you don't want to call gymnasts athletes, we suggest you try try to get up on a vault and see how it goes. 

Despite his on-court antics, we have to give Green credit for improving his game to All-Star levels during the 2015-16 season. A former second-round pick from Michigan State, no one expected Green to eventually become one of the best all-around players in the Association. That's exactly what happened during the Warriors historical 73-win campaign. The overall numbers were absurd. Green averaged 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He shot at a 49 percent clip from the field, including a stellar 39 percent mark from distance. Defensively, Green finished second behind the aforementioned Leonard for the Defensive Player of the Year award for a second consecutive season. Guarding every position on the court, he was an absolutely dominating force in that aspect of the game. Way to be, Mr. Green. 

This former World Series hero just continues to dominate the landscape of MLB pitching. Here's a dude that's posted an ERA of under three in each of the past four seasons. He's coming off a 2016 campaign that saw him post a 2.74 ERA and 1.03 WHIP while striking out more than a batter per inning. MadBum also posted a near five-to-one strikeout/walk ratio. That's just tremendous.

Now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dunn's final season with the Friars was absolutely amazing. He averaged 16.4 points and 6.2 assists while shooting at a 38 percent clip from distance. In a loss to North Carolina in the Round of 32, Dunn's final college game, he put up 29 points on 7-of-11 shooting. That's a tremendous way to end a great college career. 

Remember when Scherzer was traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Detroit Tigers back in 2010? He was considered a throw-in there. Now, six years later, that's obviously been proven to be foolish. Scherzer is coming off a 2016 campaign that saw him post a 2.96 ERA and 0.97 WHIP while striking out an NL-best 284 batters in 228.1 innings. This earned Scherzer the second Cy Young of his career.

This goaltender was absolutely dominating during the 2015-16 season, posting 48-9-7 record with a 2.20 goals against average. Needless to say, Holtby earned the Vezina trophy as NHL's best goalie. 

Donaldson was never expected to be this good. Here's a guy that the Cubs gave to the A's as a package for Rich Harden years back. The infielder sprung to life in Oakland before taking his game to an elite level with Toronto in 2015, hitting .297 with 41 homers and 123 RBI en route to earning the AL MVP. While Donaldson didn't match those numbers this past season, he still put up 37 homers and 99 RBI while nearly hitting the .290 mark from the plate. In the field, Donaldson is considered one of the best defensive third basemen we have seem come down the pike in generations.

Before going No. 25 overall to the Los Angeles Clippers in June's draft, Johnson proved that hard work does indeed pay off. Here's a guy that averaged just 5.4 points as a freshman, only to see his numbers increase all four years he was with the Tar Heels. As a senior in 2015-16, Johnson averaged 17.0 points and 10.4 rebounds. And in North Carolina's run to the title game, he tallied 20-plus points three times. 

After upsetting Sergey Kovalev for the light heavyweight championship in Vegas in November, this Oakland, Calif. native is now 31-0 with 15 wins coming by the way of knockout. November's win was Ward's first in the boxing mecca of the world and put him in the mainstream within the boxing community. 

Carr put up five fourth quarter comebacks in just the first 12 weeks of the 2016 NFL season. He also led the Raiders to a surprising 9-2 record while throwing 22 touchdowns compared to five interceptions. A surprise if there ever was one, Carr entered the final month of the regular season as a true MVP candidate. 

One of the primary reasons the Wildcats pulled off the shocker against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament Final this past spring was Jenkins. A true junior, put up 14 points while hitting two key threes against the Tar Heels in the championship round, including the legendary buzzer-beating game winner. This came after he put up 18-plus points in two of his past three games. Overall, Jenkins shot at a ridiculous 50 percent from distance in the tourney. 

Now licensed to box in the state of California, McGregor is the most popular male MMA figure out there. The brash Irishman stepped up to become the face of UFC, entering 2016 as the UFC Featherweight champion. After his bid to fight for the Lightweight championship fell through, McGregor made his welterweight debut against Nate Diaz in February, who promptly stunned McGregor by handing him a defeat by submission - his first ever. McGregor got his revenge in a July rematch against Diaz, and would later defeat Eddie Alvarez to claim the UFC Lightweight Championship. Though recently forced to vacate his Featherweight belt, McGregor is back on top of the MMA world.

John Scott was known his entire NHL as an enforcer, a grinder, and much to the NHL’s displeasure, a fighter. Despite this, fans online rallied together to vote the likable guy from the Coyotes to the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. In a twist just before the All-Star Game, Scott was traded to Montreal and sent to the minors and no longer eligible for the honor. As Scott wrote for The Players’ Tribune, it was tough for “guys like him” to be treated this way by the league. The ensuing firestorm from fans and players alike saw Scott not only sent to the All-Star Game, he was the MVP.