What do you define as "athelete" and what are the criteria? Like I see Tiger Woods in a lot of lists and while he's no doubt accomplished a lot, it's hard for me to define him as athletic.
FWIW, here's my list based on athletic performance:
5) Mike Tyson. There have been many great boxers over the years but none of them caused fear like Iron Mike. His lightning quick head fakes, super strong chin, and powerful
hands made him an unstoppable tank.
4) Mario Lemieux. He could have been even better if he wasn't going in and out of hospitals for most of his career. The fact that he was able to achieve all that he did with a chronic bad back and shortened career is nothing short of amazing.
3) Lionel Messi. Living proof that size doesn't matter. The guy consistently does things with a ball in real game situations that people can't even do in practice.
2) Lebron James. A superhuman freak of nature who can play multiple positions and styles. He can overpower opponents with brute strength or go around them with quickness. Humans that big aren't supposed to move that fast.
1) Bo Jackson. He played two sports professionally (MLB and NFL) and was an all star at both. Read that again. He is hands down my number one choice.