15 Most Cocky Athletes in Sports History

By Jacob Kornhauser

15 Most Cocky Athletes in Sports History

Charlotte Bobcats v Miami Heat - Game Two — There are athletes who are incredibly gifted, and then there are athletes who know they're incredibly gifted. These 15 athletes, in particular, knew how good they were during their playing careers and they weren't afraid to tell everyone about it.

15. Roger Clemens

Tampa Bay Rays v Boston Red Sox

15. Roger Clemens

Tampa Bay Rays v Boston Red Sox — Clemens was one of the best pitchers in the history of the game, and he was well aware of that. Some of his cockiness showed when he threw a shattered bat at Mike Piazza in the 2000 World Series. His defiance in the face of steroid allegations also showed he thought he could get away with anything.

14. LeBron James

Charlotte Bobcats v Miami Heat Game 2

14. LeBron James

Charlotte Bobcats v Miami Heat Game 2 — LeBron has cooled his smack talk a little bit as he's matured, but during a time in his career, he was one of the cockiest players in the game. Sometimes, when you're as talented as he is, it's hard to not at least be a little cocky.

13. Alex Rodriguez

Rome Braves v Charleston RiverDogs

13. Alex Rodriguez

Rome Braves v Charleston RiverDogs — A-Rod is cocky on and off the field. He loves talking about himself and his exploits, and the fact he thought he could get away with taking PEDs and lying about it is a prime example of that. Only time will tell if his season-long suspension will humble him at all.

12. Allen Iverson

12. Allen Iverson

One of the best pure scorers in NBA history, AI took cocky to a whole new level. He was even so cocky that he went off about having to practice since he was such a superstar. He certainly backed up his trash talk, but that doesn't mean he ever stopped talking trash.

11. Kobe Bryant

2000 NBA Finals Game 6: Indiana Pacers vs. Los Angeles Lakers

11. Kobe Bryant

2000 NBA Finals Game 6: Indiana Pacers vs. Los Angeles Lakers — The Black Mamba accepts nothing short of success because he's quite the perfectionist. As such, he has himself convinced he's the greatest player to ever play the game, and he's definitely right up there. Unlike some of the other guys on this list, his cockiness has helped his game because it contributes to his killer instinct late in games.

10. Reggie Miller

Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony - Press Conference

10. Reggie Miller

Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony - Press Conference — Reggie Miller's prime was short, but it was filled with trash talk and showing off. He knew he could score in bunches and he would mock opposing players in the midst of scoring surges. Miller isn't quite as good as some other cocky NBA superstars, but he's definitely as cocky.

9. Tiger Woods

143rd Open Championship - Round Four

9. Tiger Woods

143rd Open Championship - Round Four — Even though he doesn't have much to brag about nowadays, Tiger Woods is among the cockiest athletes in sports. When he doesn't play well, he goes off on himself and says how he's so much better than how he played in the press conference after the round. Increasingly, it's becoming evident he's not that good anymore, though.

8. Randy Moss

Time Warner Cable Studios Presents FOX Sports 1 Thursday Night Super Bash

8. Randy Moss

Time Warner Cable Studios Presents FOX Sports 1 Thursday Night Super Bash — Randy Moss was such an entertaining player to watch in large part to his cockiness. He would showboat any time he got into the end zone, which was a lot. His cockiness got on people's nerves a lot, but most of the time, he was just having fun doing what he loved.

7. Terrell Owens

GBK Luxury Sports Lounge, Prior To The ESPY Awards

7. Terrell Owens

GBK Luxury Sports Lounge, Prior To The ESPY Awards — TO is another NFL receiver who thought he could do no wrong. During his prime, he was one of the best receivers in the league and he let everyone know it. That's why he took on a life of his own outside of games.

6. Brett Favre

Minnesota Vikings v Detroit Lions

6. Brett Favre

Minnesota Vikings v Detroit Lions — Favre wasn't as cocky vocally as some of these other athletes, but he played with a swagger. Basically, he led by example and played with a killer instinct and that helped propel his teams to new heights. By that coin, he wasn't quite as annoying as some of the other players on this list.

5. Michael Jordan

Chicago Bulls v Sacramento Kings

5. Michael Jordan

Chicago Bulls v Sacramento Kings — There are some crazy stories out there about just how cocky MJ was. He would taunt opposing players and even players on his own team during practice. He knew he was the best of all time and he didn't shy away from that. You partially have to respect that, and it probably got pretty annoying on occasion as well.

4. Barry Bonds

Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants

4. Barry Bonds

Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants — Bonds is MLB's all-time home-run leader and he didn't act humbly ever. Perhaps his steroid use fueled his cocky attitude, but he really didn't think he could do anything wrong. He was an extremely impressive player, but his actions off the field tainted his accomplishments on it.

3. Rickey Henderson

MLB Photos Archive

3. Rickey Henderson

MLB Photos Archive — After breaking the stolen base record, Rickey Henderson said, "I am the greatest of all time. Thank you." If that doesn't show how cocky the former Athletics speedster was, then nothing will. He was fast and talented and he took pride in reminding people of those things.

2. Deion Sanders

GBK & Aruba - DirecTV Gift Lounge - Day 2

2. Deion Sanders

GBK & Aruba - DirecTV Gift Lounge - Day 2 — Deion Sanders was cocky to the point of comical. It was almost as if he realized just how cocky he was and he kind of made it his thing. He was one of the most electrifying players in the history of the NFL, and his cockiness helped turn him into one of the best personalities in the history of the sport as well.

1. Muhammad Ali

19 Jul 1996: Muhammad Ali holds the torch before lighting the Olympic Flame during the Opening Cere

1. Muhammad Ali

19 Jul 1996: Muhammad Ali holds the torch before lighting the Olympic Flame during the Opening Cere — He floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee, and he was the greatest boxer of all time. Ultimately, he paid the physical price, but he was extremely dominant in the ring. In and out of the ring, he talked trash to his opponents and most importantly, he always backed it up.

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