Another year is in the books and things appeared to start turning around within the New York sports scene in 2024.
The Yankees made their first World Series appearance in 15 years and were nearly joined by the Mets, who fell two wins short of earning a shocking National League pennant.
New York City did experience its first basketball championship in 51 years when the Liberty won its first-ever WNBA title. The New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer nearly added another title for the town, but fell in the MLS Cup Final to the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Knicks reloaded after finishing second in the Eastern Conference last season, and is the city’s best hope this winter to make a championship run because everyone else in the Big Apple is hurting big time. The Giants are the worst team in the NFL, the Jets are the biggest disappointment, the Nets are back to being an afterthought, and both the Rangers and Islanders have trudged through nightmare starts.
Still, memorable contributions have come from every corner of the sporting landscape here in our big city, and amNewYork wishes to celebrate them as we reflect on another memorable year.
amNewYork’s Top 24 NYC Athletes of 2024
24) Lauren Scruggs, USA Olympic Fencing
Ozone Park’s Lauren Scruggs battled her way into what became an All-American foil fencing final at the 2024 Olympics in Paris before falling to Lee Keifer in the gold-medal match, earning silver. It was the first All-American final in the event in 16 years. Scruggs got her gold just four days later when the four-woman American team took down Italy 45-39. It was Team USA’s first team gold medal in either men’s or women’s fencing ever and it was Scruggs who clinched the final points to claim the title.
23) Brock Nelson, Islanders
With one year left on his deal and the Islaners stuck in the mud, Nelson’s future on Long Island is in jeopardy. Yet the veteran center continues to be one of the more consistent American-born goal-scoring forwrds in the league. The 33-year-old finished off a 34-goal season at the start of 2024, which was his third-straight 30-plus-goal campaign. He had 10 goals in his first 33 games this season.
22) Luis Severino, Mets
Written off by the Yankees after ceaseless injury issues, pitch-tipping problems, and a career-worst 2023 in which he posted 6.65 ERA, Severino was given a chance by the Mets and resurrected his career. The veteran right-hander went 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA an 161 strikeouts in 182 innings pitched. It was the most innings he threw in a single season in six years. His lone year in Queens earned him a three-year, $67 million deal with the Athletics, which is the richest contract in the franchise’s history.
21) Lewis Morgan, Red Bulls
Overcoming a rare hip injury that required surgery last season, Morgan was name Major League Soccer’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2024 after recording 13 goals and seven assists. The Scottish winger was so productive that he earned a call-up to his national team and competed at Euro 2024 — the second-largest soccer tournament for international teams behind only the World Cup — which is not easy to do while playing for an MLS team. Morgan became just the third player in franchise history to compete at the Euros while playing for the Red Bulls.
20) Brian Burns, Giants
The first-year Giant is living up to the five-year, $141 million deal that he signed after being acquired from the Carolina Panthers. While the effort has been questionable from some other members of the Giants’ defense, Burns has remained a relentless pass rusher, putting up eight sacks with 13 tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles in his first 14 gmes with the team.
19) Luis Gil, Yankees
Finally overcoming injuries, Gil proved he could be a reliable starter in the majors in 2024. He won AL Rookie of the Year honors, going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings pitched. It was a torrid first half, though, that made him one of the city’s top athletes this season. In six starts during the month of May, Gil allowed just three earned runs on 14 hits across 38.2 innings pitched with 44 strikeouts. It lowered his season ERA at the time to 1.99 while improving his record to 7-1. The 0.70 ERA in May was the third-lowest in a single month in Yankees franchise history, trailing only Hiroki Kuroda (0.55 in July of 2013) and David Cone (0.69 in July of 1998).
18) David Peterson, Mets
The 29-year-old southpaw finally showed why he was worthy of being considered one of the Mets’ top prospects more than a half-decade ago. Peterson put together his best season in the pros, going 10-3 with a 2.90 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 121 innings pitched — all of which are career highs. Even when he was taken out of the rotation in the postseason, he was still a major contributor. He closed out the Mets’ NL Wild Card Series-clinching win in Game 3 moments after Pete Alonso’s dramatic go-ahead three-run home run. He also traded zeroes with Phillies ace Zack Wheeler in Game 1 of the NLDS to keep the Mets within striking distance before they pulled out a win late.
17) Josh Hart, Knicks
There may be no athlete in New York that epitomizes the term “glue guy” like Josh Hart. The veteran swingman continues to eat minutes at a furious pace, averaging over 36 minutes per game this season. He is also having one of his best years in quite some time, averaging 14.1 points with 8.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.
16) Sean Manaea, Mets
With Kodai Senga down and out, Manaea provided the Mets with an ace that no one saw coming. The veteran left-hander, in his debut season with the club, paced the rotation down the stretch of the regular season to help clinch a playoff spot, going 6-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 82 strikeouts compared to 16 walks in the 72 innings that he pitched from July 30 to Sept. 21 (11 starts). For a pitcher who had never thrown more than 160 innings in a single season, Manaea threw 200 (including the postseason). His 3.47 ERA was also a career-best.
15) Sabrina Ionescu, Liberty
The No. 1 overall draft pick nearly five years ago to provide the Liberty with a light at the end of a long and barren tunnel, Ionescu had her finest season as a pro in 2024, averaging 18.2 points, 6.2 assists, and a steal per game. Her presence on this list, though, was solidified by her game-winning, step-back three-pointer with one second left in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals to give the Liberty a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five.
14) Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks
Towns has not even played half a season with the Knicks since being traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the four-time All-Star is taking his game to another level—so much so that he is in the NBA’s early MVP conversation. Through his first 24 games, Towns was averaging 24.8 points and 13.9 rebounds per game.
13) Jonquel Jones, Liberty
The foundation of a Liberty squad that finally won its first-ever WNBA title after 28 years of waiting, Jones garnered Finals MVP after scoring 17 points with six rebounds in the winner-take-all Game 5. A former league MVP with the Connecticut Sun, Jones’ arrival prior to the 2023 season helped transform the Liberty from WNBA doormats to a force. The Liberty’s title was the first professional basketball championship won by a Big Apple team since the Knicks in 1973.
12) Garrett Wilson, Jets
There has been dysfunction within every single corner of the New York Jets’ organization this season, yet Wilson has remained steady Eddy. The third-year receiver is on pace for a career year even with all the uncertainties surrounding his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Wilson had 84 receptions across his first 14 games for 933 yards and six touchdowns, which are already the most he has scored in a single season.
11) Artemi Panarin, Rangers
After putting the finishing touches on a 120-point 2023-24 season, which ranks second in Rangers franchise history, Panarin put up 15 points in 16 playoff games during his team’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Of his five goals, four of them were game-winners, which was the most of any player during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Panarin is still producing at over a point-per-game pace with 36 in his first 29 games, but he is the only one meeting expectations amid a disastrous start to 2024-25.
10) Malik Nabers, Giants
The rookie wide receiver out of LSU is, without hyperbole, the only positive thing that has come out of an abysmal 100th season for the New York Giants. Through his first 12 games as a pro, he caught 90 passes for 901 yards with four touchdowns. Former Giant Odell Beckham Jr. is the only receiver in NFL history who has had more receptions through his first 12 games.
9) OG Anunoby, Knicks
While Brunson was the face of the Knicks’ resurgence, Anunoby was the sparkplug that got everything going. From his debut on Jan. 1, his 3-and-D presence helped New York win 12 of 14 games before he was injured. Upon his return, the Knicks won eight of nine to clinch the No. 2 seed. The start of his first full season at MSG has provided a glimpse of a career year in the making. Anunoby is averaging 17 points, five rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.
8) Mark Vientos, Mets
Everyone was wrong about Mark Vientos. An afterthought for much of the previous two seasons, the 25-year-old lost his job on the big-league club a week before the season started after the Mets signed JD Martinez. When Brett Baty’s struggles opened the door full-time in May, he ran with it, launching 27 home runs in 111 games. He then put together one of the best single offensive postseasons in franchise history. His five home runs rank second-most in Mets history, while his 14 RBI rank first.
7) Pete Alonso, Mets
This year was down by Alonso’s standards, with 34 home runs and a .788 OPS. But he singlehandedly kept the Mets’ season alive in the NL Wild Card Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, overturning a 2-0 deficit in the top of the ninth inning with a three-run home run to lift New York to the NLDS. It was only the eighth time in MLB history that a player hit a go-ahead home run in the postseason while trailing in the seventh inning or later and facing elimination. Of the four home runs he hit in the postseason, two of them came while facing elimination, tying John Olerud (1999) for the most in franchise history.
6) Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees
Yankees fans should never boo Stanton again after his continued assault on the franchise’s postseason record books. No Bronx Bomber has ever hit postseason round-trippers at Stanton’s current rate. He set a franchise record with seven during the 2024 playoffs, including four in the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians, which earned him series MVP honors. He now has 18 career postseason home runs, which ranks 10th in MLB history.
5) Breanna Stewart, Liberty
Stewart followed up an MVP-winning season with a championship in 2024, providing the veteran leadership necessary to get the Liberty past the Aces in the semifinals and through a nervy Game 5 against Minnesota. She recorded 13 points with 15 rebounds in the title-clinching win. This came after a summer break in which she was the No. 2 scorer on Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which resulted in yet another gold medal.
4) Juan Soto, Yankees/Mets
There might not be a more polarizing figure in New York sports right now than Soto, who spurned the Yankees in free agency earlier this month to sign a historic 15-year, $765 million contract to move across town to join the Mets. Soto’s only season in the Bronx was a brilliant one, as he finished No. 3 in the AL MVP voting. He hit a career-high 41 home runs to go with a .989 OPS. While he might be the bane of most Yankees fans’ existence, the 26-year-old etched his name in franchise history when he delivered the game-winning home run in Game 5 of the ALCS, punching the Yankees’ ticket to their first World Series appearance in 15 years.
3) Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Brunson became a star in his debut season with the Knicks in 2022-23, but he became a superstar in 2023-24. As the calendar flipped to January, New York was the hottest team in the NBA and ultimately finished with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Brunson put the finishing touches on a career year in which he posted 28.7 points with 6.7 assists to finish fifth in the NBA’s MVP voting. He has been just as dynamic to start the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 25 points and 7.7 assists per game.
2) Aaron Judge, Yankees
Judge continued to etch his name amongst the very best power hitters this city has ever seen. The Yankees’ captain won his second career AL MVP, slugging 58 home runs with a career-high 144 RBI — the most driven in by a Yankee in a single season since Alex Rodriguez’s 156 in 2007. He misses out on the No. 1 spot, however, due to his continued postseason struggles and a dropped fly ball in Game 5 of the World Series that helped open the door for the Los Angeles Dodgers comeback and eventual championship clincher.
1) Francisco Lindor, Mets
This was the year that the Mets truly became Francisco Lindor’s team, as the superstar shortstop continues to redefine the position by blending speed, power, and top-tier defense. He finished second in the NL MVP voting after slugging 33 home runs with 91 RBI and an .844 OPS. His heroics were plentiful throughout the year, but none more so than on the final day of the regular season when his game-winning home run in Atlanta against the Braves clinched a playoff spot. He followed that up with an NLDS-clinching grand slam in Game 4 at Citi Field to eliminate the Philadelphia Phillies — one of the biggest home runs in franchise history.
