The 25 Most Dominant Five-Year Runs in Sports History

No matter the professional sport, there are always players who go through streaks where they simply own the league. It has happened across all eras—whether it was the NBA’s golden years or MLB’s steroid years—and the accomplishments of these players have forever associated their names with success in their sport.

While many have pulled off great streaks for a couple seasons, those who were able to sustain their success for many years are the ones we’ll always remember. Whether it’s Babe Ruth in baseball, Tiger Woods in golf, or Roger Federer in tennis, a multi-year run where they are clearly the best in the world forever cements an athlete’s legacy as an all-time great. While there have certainly been many other worthy candidates, these are the 25 Most Dominant Five-Year Runs in Sports History.

Sport: Basketball
Years: 2009-2013
Stats: 374 G, 27.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 7.3 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.9 BPG
Accolades: 2x NBA Champion, 2x NBA Finals MVP, 4x MVP, 5x NBA All-Star, 5x All-NBA First Team, 5x NBA All-Defensive First Team

What's really scary about this is that there's a legitimate chance LeBron James is going to keep getting better over the next couple of years. These past five have been quite a treat for any basketball fan, as LeBron has dominated every single aspect of NBA basketball. He's won an Olympic gold medal in 2012, two NBA titles, and made a "decision" that is still one of the most talked about moments in league history. His play on the court has been without parallel; of players to average at least 20 points and seven rebounds per game over the last five years, nobody is even close to matching LeBron's assist totals (Blake Griffin is the closest with 3.6 per game). The only question with LeBron is just how much greater he can get?

Sport: Basketball
Years: 2006-2010
Stats: 394 G, 29.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Accolades: 2x NBA Champion, 2x NBA Finals MVP, 2008 NBA MVP, 5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA First Team, 5x NBA All-Defensive First Team

It was always fun to pretend Kobe Bryant couldn't win a title without Shaq. As soon as he got a little help in the form of Pau Gasol, the Lakers made a leap and behind Bryant were in the Finals three years in a row, winning two of them. Despite putting an incredible amount of miles on his body and absorbing untold amounts of punishment, Kobe continued to lead his team and put up huge numbers; along with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, he was the only one in the league to score at least 27 points while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists per game between 2006 and 2010.

Sport: Basketball
Years: 1961-1965
Stats: 384 G, 30.3 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 10.6 APG
Accolades: 1964 NBA MVP, 5x NBA All-Star, 5x All-NBA First Team

Triple-doubles are extremely hard to come by. Among active players, LeBron James has the most with 36, and that is a sizable lead over second place Kobe Bryant (who has 19). So how does Oscar Robertson fit in? The Big O averaged a triple-double every single night for five consecutive seasons, and in 1962 became the only man in NBA history to average a triple-double during an entire year. Robertson guided his Royals team to the Finals in 1964 where they lost to the Celtics, and it proved to be his most successful season until he moved on to Milwaukee and teamed up with Lew Alcindor.

Sport: Racing
Years: 1971-1975
Stats: 58 W, 133 Top 10 finishes, 25 poles
Accolades: 4x Winston Cup Champion

"The King" got a nice chunk of his record 200 wins during this five-year run. He won the Daytona 500 three times and won a wopping 21 races in 1971. He also became the first driver to earn a million in career earnings. Petty widely considered the greatest driver NASCAR has ever seen.

Sport: Boxing
Years: 2007-2013
Stats: 8-0, 1 KO
Accolades: Undefeated and is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world

Although we may never get see him fight Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather is still the greatest boxer of his generation. Between 2007-2013, he retired, spent a summer in jail, and was still able to dominate. He's one of the best technical fighters in boxing history, running through opponents with his speed and smarts. Money May hits and doesn't get hit, that is the very essence of the sport. Books should be written about his defense.

Sport: Football
Years: 1994-1998
Stats: 80 G, 8480 Rush Yards, 5.2 YPC, 1422 Receiving Yards, 49 Total TD
Accolades: 1997 NFL MVP, 5x Pro Bowl Selection, 5x All-Pro, 1997 NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Perhaps the most breathtaking player ever to step on an NFL field, Barry Sanders was the king of taking a play that looked like a loss and turning it into a gamebreaking run. Between 1994 and 1998, Sanders broke off 19 runs for touchdowns that were at least 20 yards; the next closest is Terrell Davis, who had 12. An average season for the Lions' stalwart back was 1,696 yards on the ground, and his 8,480 total rush yards was a staggering 1,613 more than the next closest player over that period. So how did Sanders follow up his outstanding 1998 season, where he finished just nine yards shy of 1,500? Naturally, he retired.

Sport: Football
Years: 1986-1990
Stats: 76 G, 397 REC, 6,939 YDS, 76 TD
Accolades: 5x Pro Bowler, 2x Super Bowl Champion, 1x Offensive Player of the Year, 1x MVP, 5x All-Pro

Jerry Rice began his run as the NFL's greatest receiver during his second year. With Joe Montana flinging the pigskin, Rice began his quest in destroying the record books. He cracked 1,500 yards twice between '86-'90 and scored 22 touchdowns in 1987, an NFL record at the time. Rice and Montana led the 49ers to two straight Super Bowls wins in '89 and '90, with Rice winning the MVP in the 1989.

Sport: Boxing
Years: 1985-1989
Stats: 37-0, 33 KO
Accolades: Youngest Heavyweight Champion in history, first heavyweight to own all three major belts (WBA, WBC, IBF)

Once upon a time, Mike Tyson was the baddest man on the planet. At 20 years and four months old, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history after destroying Trevor Berbick in two rounds. He followed that up be becoming the first heavyweight to hold all three belts after he beat James Smith, Pinklon Thomas, and Tony Tucker, respectively. Iron Mike then set his sights on the great Larry Holmes. Tyson knocked became the first person to knock Larry Holmes out, and set himself up to Michael Spinks. Many hyped the fight up to be a good one, but it ended with Tyson knocking Spinks out in 90 seconds. During this five-year run, Mike Tyson was the biggest sports star in the world.

Sport: Football
Years: 1991-1995
Stats: 77 G, 8019 Rush Yards, 4.5 YPC, 1723 Receiving Yards, 89 Total TD
Accolades: 3x Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowl XXVIII MVP, 1993 NFL MVP, 5x Pro Bowl Selection, 5x All-Pro

Emmitt Smith really defied all logic in his NFL career, playing an astounding 15 seasons and carrying the football at least 250 times in 13 of his 15 years in the league. While he may have lacked the sizzle of someone like Barry Sanders, Smith was a steady, dominant force on the field who was simply a winner. He certainly put up incredible numbers (easily the most total rushing yards in the NFL between 1991 and 1995), but it was his incredible consistency for the Cowboys that allowed them to dominate the early 1990s and win three championships. He won the NFL rushing title in four of those five years, and in the one year he didn't win (1994) he still managed to gain almost 1,500 yards.

Sport: Baseball
Years: 2001-2005
Stats: 325 G, 1.96 ERA, 214 Saves, 0.968 WHIP
Accolades: 4x All-Star, 3x Rolaids Relief Man Award, 2003 ALCS MVP

It may be tough to pick Rivera's best season, if for no other reason than because he was so incredibly consistent. He had 30 or more saves 15 times, and 40 or more nine times. He has a 2.21 career ERA. But his stretch from 2001 to 2005 was particularly astounding, in part because he came incredibly close to winning the Cy Young in both 2004 (finished third in voting) and 2005 (second). He also had his only 50-plus save seasons in those years, setting a career high with 50 in 2001 and then besting that with 53 in 2004. While he didn't win a title in this window (and indeed had some memorable blown saves in the 2001 World Series and 2004 ALCS), Rivera was nevertheless the man you'd most want to give the ball to in the 9th inning.

Sport: Football
Years: 1976-1980
Stats: 76 G, 7707 Rush Yards, 4.6 YPC, 1578 Receiving Yards, 63 Total TD
Accolades: 1977 NFL MVP, 5x Pro Bowl Selection, 4x First Team All-Pro, 1x Second Team All-Pro

It's hard to pick among Walter Payton's best five years simply because he was so good for so long. Indeed, we may never again see an NFL running back with Payton's longevity, as Sweetness posted an astonishing 10 1,000-plus yard seasons. He was the only one to go over 1,000 all five seasons between 1976 and 1980, and is tied with LaDainian Tomlinson for the NFL record for most seasons with at least 1,000 yards on the ground and 300 yards receiving (eight). Considering that Payton was also playing in a less offensively-friendly era, and his incredible consistency on the field becomes even more remarkable.

Sport: Boxing
Years: 1964-1967, 1970
Stats: 12-0, 10 KO
Accolades: Owned The Ring & WBC Heavyweight titles, became the youngest boxer to beat a reigning heavyweight champion at 22 years old

Before he changed his name to Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay was shook up the world. He was a 7-1 underdog when he stepped into the ring with Sonny Liston. After he made the big bruiser quit in the seventh round, Clay started his rise to super stardom. With his new name, and same wild mouth, Ali knocked Liston out in the first round of their rematch. He then followed that up by defeating former heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson in 12 rounds. He then ran off nine wins in a row, until the boxing commission stripped him of his titles and boxing license for refusing to enter the Vietnam draft in 1967. He lost three years of his prime. Ali then returned to boxing in 1970 and lost to Joe Frazier.

Sport: Football
Years: 1985-1989
Stats: 72 G, 76.0 Sacks, 3 INTs, 3 Fumble Recoveries
Accolades: Super Bowl XXI Champion, 1986 NFL MVP, 5x Pro Bowl Selection, 5x All-Pro, 1986 NFL Defensive Player of the Year

It's hard to understate just how dominant Lawrence Taylor was in the mid-1980s, and his incredible ability to rush the passer has made him one of the most prolific sackers in the history of the NFL. We of course remember his sack/crippling of Joe Theismann in 1985, but that was only the beginning for LT. After beginning to emerge with 13.5 sacks in 1985, he posted one of the greatest defensive seasons in league history in 1986 by recording 20.5 sacks and becoming only the second defensive player in the history of the league to be named MVP.

Sport: Tennis
Years: 1961-1965
Stats: 11 Grand Slams, 8 Doubles titles, 13 Mixed Doubles titles
Accolades: Became the first woman from Australia to win a the U.S. Open and the French Open in 1962, Became the first woman from Australia to win Wimbeldon in 1963, 1963 ABC Sportsman of the Year Award

Margaret Court's career numbers are filthy. Within these five years, Court was seemingly unstoppable. She won three out of four Grand Slams in 1962. Court was the first of her kind, dominating with size, strength, and skill unseen in the women's game. She consistently won majors in all disciplines, with 11 Singles titles, 13 Mixed Doubles titles, and eight Doubles titles. Her record for most Grand Slam singles of 24 still stands. Serena Williams and Roger Federer are the closest active players with 17 each.

Sport: Tennis
Years: 2003-2007
Stats: 12 Grand Slams
Accolades: Held the world's No. 1 ranking for 237 straight weeks between 2004-2008, 3x Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, All-time Leader in Career Earnings

After Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired, men's tennis was in need of a star. Similar to Sampras, Federer was all substance and no flash. He won his first ever Grand Slam at Wimbeldon in 2003 and the rest is history. Roger seemed to dominate his opponents effortlessly and rang off a total of 12 Grand Slams during this five-year stretch. As part of the Big Four (Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic), the Federer Express is still the man to beat until he retires.

Sport: Basketball
Years: 2000-2004
Stats: 354 G, 27.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 3.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 2.6 BPG
Accolades: 3x NBA Champion, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 2000 NBA MVP, 5x NBA All-Star, 5x All-NBA First Team, 3x NBA All-Defensive Second Team

If only Shaquille O'Neal had cared more, we might have seen the most dominant player in leageue history. His playoff efforts proved that. Somehow, though, the Diesel only won a solitary MVP award despite the fact that there was not a human being on Earth who could guard him. Nevertheless, Shaq's body of work from 2000 to 2004 can't be denied; he was the offensive and defensive anchor of the Lakers' threepeat, winning the Finals MVP award in all three of his team's triumphs. Over that period, there were only three guys to average 20 points and 12 rebounds per game: Shaq, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett. However, Shaq outscored both by over three points per game and shot a significantly higher percentage from the field (.576 versus .503 for Duncan and .490 for Garnett).

Sport: Soccer
Years: 2009-2013
Stats: 296 Appearances, 294 Goals, 96 Assists
Accolades: 4x Ballon d'Or, 3x World Player of the Year, 2x UEFA Player of the Year

What Lionel Messi has done the last five seasons has really been without precedent in the history of world football. Across all competitions, he has averaged almost 60 goals per season and nearly one per game. The attacking midfielder is also a phenomenal distributor of the ball, registering double-digit assists in each of the last five years. Perhaps the biggest testament to Messi's ability is that every team Barcelona and Argentina goes up against knows that Messi's team will run their entire attack through their undersized No. 10, and yet they are entirely powerless to stop him. Given the start Messi is off to this year, there's no sign that he'll be slowing down any time soon.

Sport: Baseball
Years: 2000-2004
Stats: 716 G, .339 BA, 1.316 OPS, 258 HR, 872 BB
Accolades: 3x MVP, 5x All-Star, 5x Silver Slugger, 3x Hank Aaron Award

Anytime you have the best five-year run of your career from age 35 to 39 and your head approximately doubles in size, it's probably going to raise some suspicion. Regardless of what he allegedly did to get there, we also can't deny the amazing numbers Barry Bonds put up between 2000 and 2004. He hit more home runs in those five years also (258) than all but 188 Major Leaguers have in their entire careers. He set the single-season record in 2001, and dominated in the 2002 playoffs (.322, 8 HR, 16 RBI, 27 BB) as the Giants lost the World Series in seven games.

Sport: Baseball
Years: 1926-1930
Stats: 737 G, .350 BA, 1.209 OPS, 256 HR, 907 H, 626 BB
Accolades: 2x World Series Champion, 5x AL Home Run Champion

We know what you're thinking: How can a guy who hit .350 and averaged 50-plus home runs per season not win a single MVP over a five-year period? Well, because baseball loves having ridiculous rules, the old AL MVP award stipulated that past winners were ineligible to win the award again, so Babe Ruth's 1923 win would be his last (he was 36 when they changed the rule to the current format). Regardless of his lack of individual recognition, Ruth mashed at a level well beyond what any of his peers had done. Along with Lou Gehrig in 1927, he helped form the Yankees' vaunted "Murderer's Row" team that is widely regarded as one of the best ever.

Sport: Golf
Years: 1999-2003
Stats: 7 Major titles
Accolades: 5x PGA Player of the Year, 4x Leading Money Winner

Tiger won his first major in 1997 when he won the Masters, but it was in 1999 when he truly became the of the greatest golfers to ever live. Between 1999 and 2003, Woods won seven majors and held all four major titles simultaneously when he won the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship in 2000, and the Masters in 2001. He continued his dominance in 2002 by winning the Mastersfor the third time and the U.S. Open for the second. He didn't win a major in 2003 but was still name the PGA Player of the Year.

Sport: Basketball
Years: 1960-1964
Stats: 391 G, 47.3 MPG, 41.7 PPG, 25.3 RPG, 3.0 APG
Accolades: 1960 NBA MVP, 5x NBA All-Star, 1960 NBA Rookie of the Year, 4x All-NBA First Team, 1x All-NBA Second Team

The career numbers for Wilt Chamberlain are certainly gaudy, and really do paint an accurate picture of just how dominant he was. When he was solely responsible for carrying his Warriors teams, on the offensive end, Wilt posted some truly staggering stats. Of course, we all know about his 100 point game in March of 1962, but Wilt put up some other equally amazing numbers during his first five NBA seasons. He averaged over 48 minutes per game in 1962, put up 50-plus points per game that same season, and grabbed over 25 rebounds per game three different times.

Sport: Basketball
Years: 1959-1963
Stats: 391 G, 47.3 MPG, 41.7 PPG, 25.3 RPG, 3.0 APG
Accolades: 5x NBA Champion, 5x All-Star, 3x MVP, 2x All-NBA First Team, 3x All-NBA Second Team

Bill Russell is the greatest winner in American team sports. He owns 11 championship rings and the NBA Finals MVP trophy is named after him. During this five-year stretch, Russell led the Celtics to first five of eight straight championships. While Wilt Chamberlain was racking up numbers, Russell was changing the course of NBA history with his defense. He invented the fast break by tapping blocked shots to his teammates. If blocks were an official stat, he would've averaged five to seven blocks a game. Five years, five championships.

Sport: Basketball
Years: 1989-1993
Stats: 403 G, 32.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 6.3 APG, 2.7 SPG, 0.8 BPG
Accolades: 3x NBA Champion, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 5x NBA All-Star, 5x NBA Scoring Champion, 2x NBA Steals Champion, 5x All-NBA First Team, 5x NBA All-Defensive First Team

With Michael Jordan's many periods of dominance, it's pretty hard to find years to exclude. This slice of Jordan's magnificent career includes a little bit of everything: his first threepeat, his gold medal with the Dream Team, and statistical dominance over the rest of the league. Between 1988-89 and 1992-93, MJ's 32.0 points per game led the NBA, he was the only one to average at least a 25-5-5 every night, and on the defensive end he was tied for second in the league (with Alvin Robertson) in steals per game, trailing only John Stockton.

Sport: Hockey
Years: 1982-1986
Stats: 394 GP, 375 G, 661 A, 1,036 PTS
Accolades: 2x Champion, 5x All-Star, 5x MVP, 5x Top Scorer, 1x Stanley Cup MVP

They don't call him "The Great One" for nothing. Gretzky led the NHL in goals, assists, and points from 1982-1985. And he had the most assists in a single season with 163 in 1986. His Edmonton Oilers were the team to beat during the '80s, winning four Stanley Cups during the decade. During this five-year run, Gretzky etched his name into the record books forever. We wish he could've stayed in Edmonton.