Name: Top 10 Final Performances by Legendary Athletes
Uploaded: 2026-02-15T17:06:18.000Z
Duration: 9 min 20 s
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All year we said home ice would be a key.

Welcome to watchmojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 most remarkable final performances by athletes who are about to walk away from the sport forever.

That just may be the sort of champagne toast to an extraordinary NFL hall of Fame career number 10, Pete Sampras.

Out of all the ways to bow out of your sporting career career, getting one over on a huge rival is hard to beat.

Add in some huge competitive stakes and that's a near perfect ending.

When Pete Sampras got the better of Andre Agassi to win his 14th Grand Slam title and fifth US Open crown, it was a huge moment.

His legacy was already in the running for goat honors and this monumental retirement statement sealed it.

You'd be hard pressed to find a top 10 all time tennis player list without a mention for this giant of the game Game.

Nine Khabib Nurmagomedov following the untimely death of his father and coach Abdulmanap UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov knew that his days in the sport were numbered.

The general public had no idea that his UFC 254 clash with Justin Gaethje would be his final moments in the Octagon.

The Eagle was as dominant as you would expect from fighting through some dangerous leg kicks to eventually manhandle the highlight on the ground.

He nearly finished him at the end of round one, and

when round two came, Khabib would not be denied for much longer.

Hearing him retire at a perfect 290 was shocking, but

his legacy is one that will no doubt stand the test of time.

Florence Griffith Joyner well, after, let's say, 88, after I ran the 100 and 200, I felt I had reached my goals.

Could I be motivated to continue to run the 1 and the 2?

My heart was set on running the 400 meters in 1992, but I didn't.

It's one thing to retire while you're the best in the world, but

doing so just after literally revolutionizing the game?

That's a different kind of flex for Florence Griffith Joyner.

She absolutely blew the competition out of the water at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

By the time the dust had settled, she had claimed three gold medals.

Her performances at the event were credited with setting new benchmarks.

Her unparalleled results combined perfectly with a breakthrough approach to personal style and expression.

She retired abruptly shortly after, leaving the game behind at age 29 to pursue other interests.

There you see Bill Russell at the other end of the floor taking advantage of the timeout to rest up a little bit for the closing moments.

No athlete in basketball history has had the type of championship success that Bill Russell did.

As the leader of a particularly dominant Boston Celtics team, Russell won a staggering 11 championship rings during his career.

Given his knack for finding his way to the peak of the mountain, it should come as no surprise that his last pro appearance was Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals.

Russell was the ultimate team player and was part of the team.

Inbred into the team, woven into the team more than anybody else that I've ever known, ever in any sport whatsoever.

With their fierce rivals, the LA Lakers in front of them, Russell, who was player coach at this point, fought off the mighty Wilt Chamberlain to win the game.

His frankly insane consistency over his 13 year career will likely never be replicated.

I told these guys before the game, I don't care what happens, I wouldn't trade you guys for any guys in the world.

There's a buzz in the air because this is the grand finale.

If you're going to struggle through your entire career to try and finally win the Stanley cup, you might as well make your eventual breakthrough as dramatic as can be for Ray Bourque.

Despite clearly being an elite player, his 21 seasons with the Boston Bruins didn't produce a similar single championship win.

For most players, having a two decade plus run without gold might be enough for them to take the hint.

It was pretty neat the way I lived those last few days, Game six and seven, in terms of taking everything in, because I knew that was it for me.

However, Bourque moved to the Colorado Avalanche and somehow played a key role in a 2001 Stanley cup win.

This, as it turned out, would be his final action as a pro.

Out of all the ways to cap off a long career, this one will take some beating.

And after 22 years, Raymond Mark, number five, Rocky Marciano.

There's no doubt both fighters are tired.

When it comes to legendary heavyweight goodbyes.

Lennox Lewis certainly almost got our vote.

The unbeaten icon Rocky Marciano took home the top spot in the end.

Though few fighters in the history of boxing have displayed the type of grit that Marciano did.

He plied his trade for years before he got the recognition he deserved and thankfully, he ended his career on his own terms.

There was no long and ugly decline for this revered warrior Marciano met the great Archie Moore in his 49th fight, suffering an early knockdown that nearly derailed everything.

Rocky fought through it, though, eventually koing Moore in round nine before calling it quits at the peak of his powers.

You see, when I first thought that I could get to the top of the heap in boxing, I not only wanted to be a good champion, but

Well, I wanted to give anyone who deserved the chance in there to fight for the title a chance.

It's the eighth inning, and he knew this was his last time at the plate.

People realized they were suddenly seeing Ted Williams for the last time.

If you ask Ted Williams to describe his ideal final statement on the baseball field, he'd have a hard time topping what actually happened in reality.

In his last at bat during the eighth inning, Williams hit a solo home run off Jack Fischer before leaving the game.

After years of not making the gesture of tipping his hat to the Boston fans due to a distaste for their fickle nature, would Williams break his own rule to mark the occasion?

He left the field with all the principles intact, not changing his attitude whether they were booing or cheering him.

As an athlete, when you're reaching the far end of your 30s, it's only natural that performance starts to drop off.

That said, the really special ones know how to extend their shelf life by adapting their game.

John Elway proved his caliber beyond any doubt at the age of 38 by leading the Denver Broncos to glory at Super Bowl 33.

Denver's first play after the missed field goal.

He played a starring role on that night, showing elite passing and even scoring a rushing touchdown.

It was just about as memorable a swan song as can be.

And his retirement shortly after felt very well earned.

There's an over under in the locker room.

From what I heard last night on how many times I'm gonna cry so I'm gonna.

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Top 10 Final Performances by Legendary Athletes

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