For a few of New York’s groups, the selection was apparent.
For others, it was far harder.
Yankees: Aaron Decide
This was essentially the most loaded pool of candidates, with Corridor of Famers, MVPs and World Collection champions populating the listing.
How may somebody eclipse Derek Jeter, who recorded 2,658 hits from 2000-14, or Mariano Rivera, who saved 523 video games from 2000-13?
That’s a testomony to the greatness of Decide.
Since his MLB debut in 2016, Decide leads the majors in house runs (368), OPS (1.028) and wins above substitute, or WAR (61.6).
Decide set the American League single-season document with 62 house runs in 2022.
He reached 350 homers in his 1,088th profession sport — sooner than anybody else in MLB historical past.
Since 2000, there have been 20 cases during which a participant recorded an OPS of 1.111 or larger. Three of these seasons belong to Decide.
Decide is one in every of 4 gamers in MLB historical past with a minimum of 4 50-homer seasons, and one in every of 13 gamers to win a minimum of three MVP Awards.
And during the last 4 seasons, Decide delivered arguably the best peak for a right-handed hitter ever, batting .311 with 210 homers and a 1.117 OPS in 573 video games.
His profession OPS+ — a complicated metric that adjusts OPS to account for park elements and league averages — of 179 ties him with Lou Gehrig for the fifth-best mark in MLB historical past.
Decide nonetheless seeks his first World Collection championship. Jeter and Rivera gained two from 2000 on. However whether or not he wins one or not, Decide can be becoming a member of that duo in Cooperstown someday.
Mets: Jacob deGrom
Simply how dominant was deGrom’s nine-year run with the Mets from 2014-22?
His 2.52 ERA over that stretch was the second greatest in baseball, behind solely future Corridor of Famer Clayton Kershaw’s 2.38.
His 1.00 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning) was the third lowest, whereas his 10.91 strikeouts per 9 innings was the fourth-best charge amongst pitchers who exceeded 1,000 innings.
DeGrom was particularly otherworldly from 2018-19, when he pitched to an MLB-best 2.05 ERA — a half-run decrease than every other MLB pitcher — over 421 innings.
He gained back-to-back Nationwide League Cy Younger Awards in 2018-19, regardless of an notorious lack of run help that restricted deGrom to only 21 whole wins over these seasons.
DeGrom gained NL Rookie of the Yr in 2014 and earned 4 All-Star picks with the Mets.
His ERA and WHIP are one of the best in franchise historical past, bettering even these of Tom Seaver, who pitched to a 2.57 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP with the Mets.
Giants: Michael Strahan
This was one other powerful one, as Eli Manning boasts a powerful case with two Tremendous Bowl MVPs.
However we went with Strahan, whose pass-rushing dominance made him probably the greatest gamers of this millennium — on any workforce, at any place.
Strahan recorded 89 of his 141.5 profession sacks from 2000-07 — a mean of greater than 11 per season.
He set the single-season sack document with 22.5 in 2001, again when the NFL schedule was nonetheless 16 video games.
Strahan additionally recorded 18.5 sacks in 2003, and he led the NFL in tackles for loss 3 times after 2000.
The charismatic defensive finish was the NFL Defensive Participant of the Yr in 2001, and he earned 4 All-Professional and 4 Professional Bowl picks on this quarter-century.
Strahan capped his profession with a Tremendous Bowl XLII victory over the beforehand undefeated New England Patriots, throughout which the then-36-year-old sacked Tom Brady.
He was inducted into the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame in 2014, and the Giants retired his No. 92 in 2021.
Michael Strahan in 2014.(Picture by Jason Miller/Getty Photos)
Jets: Darrelle Revis
Revis’ 25 interceptions in 108 video games as a Jet don’t soar off the web page, however they really converse volumes concerning the cornerback’s excellence.
As a result of quarterbacks had been so reluctant to focus on Revis, his alternatives for interceptions had been few and much between.
Nicknamed “Revis Island” for his capability to dominate one-on-one matchups and take No. 1 receivers out of video games, Revis was his period’s premier lockdown cornerback.
In eight seasons with the Jets from 2007-12 and 2015-16, Revis was a first-team All-Professional choice 3 times and earned 5 Professional Bowl nods.
Revis was the runner-up for NFL Defensive Participant of the Yr in 2009, when he led the NFL with 31 passes defended. His 100-yard interception return for a landing in 2011 set a Jets document.
In 2023, Revis grew to become the primary participant who was primarily a Jet to earn first-ballot induction into the Corridor of Fame.
Knicks: Jalen Brunson
This season is simply Brunson’s fourth in a Knicks uniform, however the workforce captain has already performed sufficient to warrant a spot on this listing.
Brunson’s 26.5 factors per sport rank second in workforce historical past, whereas his 6.7 assists per sport rank fourth.
However extra importantly, Brunson turned the long-suffering Knicks right into a perennial contender — no small feat contemplating the Knicks made the playoffs simply as soon as within the 9 seasons earlier than he arrived.
In every of Brunson’s first three seasons in New York, the Knicks gained a minimum of one playoff collection.
Final postseason, Brunson led the Knicks to their first journey to the Jap Convention Finals since 2000.
Certainly, Brunson has been at his greatest within the playoffs.
Throughout the 2025 postseason, Brunson grew to become the fourth participant in NBA historical past to document 10 video games of a minimum of 30 factors and a minimum of 5 assists in a single playoff run — the others being Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Jalen Brunson (Picture by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Photos)
Nets: Jason Kidd
The Nets have spent extra of this quarter-century in Brooklyn than they did in New Jersey, however the bulk of the glory days occurred within the state the place Bruce Springsteen calls house.
That’s thanks largely to Jason Kidd, who starred on the then-New Jersey Nets for seven seasons from 2001-08 and led them to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.
Kidd is the Nets’ all-time chief in assists (4,620), assists per sport (9.1), steals (950) and triple-doubles (61), and he additionally averaged 14.6 factors and seven.2 rebounds per sport with the franchise.
The Nets retired Kidd’s No. 5 in 2013.
Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist
Who aside from King Henrik?
The goaltender, who spent his complete 15-season NHL profession with the Rangers from 2005-20, recorded a franchise-record 459 wins — the sixth-most in league historical past.
Lundqvist is the one goaltender ever to document a minimum of 11 30-win seasons via his twelfth 12 months. In 2012, he gained the Vezina Trophy as the game’s high goaltender.
Initially the two hundredth total choose by the Rangers in 2000, the Swedish-born Lundqvist was elected to the Hockey Corridor of Fame in his first 12 months of eligibility.
Liberty: Breanna Stewart
The inaugural season of the Liberty — and the WNBA — was 1997, so practically all of their historical past occurred on this millennium.
And whereas franchise staples akin to Teresa Weatherspoon, Tina Charles and even Sabrina Ionescu performed longer with the Liberty, no person had a larger influence than Stewart.
Stewart, 31, is the Liberty’s all-time chief in factors per sport (20.8), participant effectivity ranking (26.5) and offensive ranking (117.9).
In 2023, Stewart averaged 23.0 factors per sport and have become the primary participant in Liberty historical past to win WNBA MVP.
In 2024, she helped lead the Liberty to their first-ever championship.
And he or she’s been remarkably constant.
In every of her three seasons in New York, Stewart has completed throughout the high 10 of WNBA MVP voting, earned an All-Star choice and made an All-Defensive workforce.
