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Tom Brady Reveals His Childhood Sports Idol Without Hesitation

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cole Sullivan | Last updated Jun 6, 2025 7:54 PM ET

It’s hard to believe that someone as accomplished as Tom Brady—owner of seven Super Bowl titles, countless NFL records, and a legacy as the ultimate winner—was once just like any other kid, idolizing athletes and dreaming of one day becoming one himself, even if it seemed out of reach.

Now retired and widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes and NFL players of all time, Brady recently reflected on his inspirations during an interview with Bleacher Report.

When asked to name the all-time greats on his personal “Mount Rushmore” of athletes, he didn’t hesitate with his first pick: Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan. Brady revealed that Jordan was his childhood idol growing up, which is surely a popular answer for anybody who was a major sports fan in the late 1980's throughout the 1990's.

"Michael Jordan," Brady said when asked who was the first name on his 'GOATs' list. "He was my childhood idol, he was unbelievable."

TRENDING: Tom Brady gives his Mount Rushmore of GOATs

pic.twitter.com/9nRACSGAlF
— TB EGO (@TomBradyEgo) June 6, 2025

The biggest omission from Brady’s list—and one that quickly drew attention—was LeBron James. While a “Mount Rushmore” typically includes only four names, Brady went on to list a wide range of athletes across multiple sports.

Alongside Michael Jordan, he named Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Shohei Ohtani, Barry Bonds, Michael Phelps, Michael Johnson, A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese.

While some of these names—particularly Clark and Reese—are still building their legacies, there’s no denying the impact they’ve had on women’s basketball. From an attention and viewership standpoint, they’ve helped shift the trajectory of the sport in a major way.

Fans had mixed reactions to the list and having Jordan over LeBron:

"He doesn’t know what a Mount Rushmore is lmao," a fan said.

"tTom Brady putting caitlin and angel on his mount rushmore but not Lebron is the most dad core thing i've ever seen," another fan posted,

Someone else added, "Tom Brady just picked Jordan over Lebron and put Caitlin Clark on his mount rushmore… y’all still calling him a system qb?"

One more fan commented, "that mount rushmore really started collapsing at the end lol."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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