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This week, we break down one of the longest-running questions on Sports Poll: “Who is your favorite professional athlete?”.
In Q1 2026, Lionel Messi ranks slightly ahead of LeBron James as Americans’ favorite athlete. One of the two has ranked #1 each quarter since the end of 2023. This is one of the primary metrics Sports Poll uses to assess “priority” for a sport. Fans are more likely to prioritize and engage in the sports where their favorite athletes play.
Sports Poll has asked people 12 and older to name their one favorite since its initial launch. Over 32 years, only eight athletes ranked #1 for at least one quarter. Messi and James continue to rank as the top two in Q1, but favorites have clearly grown more fragmented over time. At 3%, Messi’s popularity is a far cry from Michael Jordan’s peak (19% during the Bulls’ last championship in Q2 1998).
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We’re covering a wide range of topics, and upcoming issues include prediction markets, the Savannah Bananas, the impact of the World Cup, and NBA star power. The Sports Poll by SSRS includes a nationally representative sample of more than 24,000 Americans per year.
