Top 7 Biggest Sports Could-have-beens In History

#2 because the final validated order places "Dražen Petrović" here with 79 framework points. It trails #1 "Monica Seles" by 8 points. It is placed above #3 "The 1994 Montreal Expos" by the deterministic evidence, prompt-fit, source-count, and title tie-breaks.

Petrović was helping prove that European guards could be NBA stars before his death at 28, making him a global basketball what-if as well as a personal tragedy.

#3 because the final validated order places "The 1994 Montreal Expos" here with 79 framework points. It follows #2 "Dražen Petrović" after those deterministic tie-breaks. It leads #4 "Bo Jackson" by 4 points.

The Expos had MLB's best record when the 1994 strike ended the season, costing a low-payroll, talent-rich team its best shot at a World Series and possibly changing baseball history in Montreal.

#4 because the final validated order places "Bo Jackson" here with 75 framework points. It trails #3 "The 1994 Montreal Expos" by 4 points. It is placed above #5 "Len Bias" by the deterministic evidence, prompt-fit, source-count, and title tie-breaks.

Jackson may be the cleanest modern example of a ceiling no one got to measure: an MLB All-Star and NFL Pro Bowler whose elite two-sport career was permanently altered by a devastating hip injury at age 28.

#5 because the final validated order places "Len Bias" here with 75 framework points. It follows #4 "Bo Jackson" after those deterministic tie-breaks. It is placed above #6 "Sandy Koufax" by the deterministic evidence, prompt-fit, source-count, and title tie-breaks.

Bias was drafted No. 2 overall by the defending champion Boston Celtics in 1986 and died two days later, creating one of basketball's most haunting alternate histories: a superstar prospect who never played an NBA minute.

#6 because the final validated order places "Sandy Koufax" here with 75 framework points. It follows #5 "Len Bias" after those deterministic tie-breaks. It is placed above #7 "Gale Sayers" by the deterministic evidence, prompt-fit, source-count, and title tie-breaks.

Koufax retired at 30 while at the peak of his powers after arthritis in his pitching arm, leaving baseball with an all-time great who plausibly had several more Cy Young-caliber seasons ahead.

#7 because the final validated order places "Gale Sayers" at the publication cutoff with 75 framework points. It follows #6 "Sandy Koufax" after those deterministic tie-breaks.

Sayers' open-field brilliance produced a Hall of Fame career despite knee injuries that effectively compressed his greatness into only a few full seasons.