SI

The Best Sports Moments of the Year, According to SI’s Breaking News Team

What a year it was.

SI Staff

The best sports moments of 2025.
The best sports moments of 2025. / Sports Illustrated
In this story:

A lot happened in 2025.

You already know this. You were there too! And while the majority of the moments that made up the highs and lows of your individual year are undoubtedly specific to you, there are likely a few that you shared with thousands, if not millions of others. This is especially true if you read Sports Illustrated.

Sports are basically the last monoculture that exist. While peoples’ preferences in music, television, movies and culture at large can differ wildly, every Sunday in the fall, football dominates our screens.

The inherent community that is created by sports is one of its greatest assets. There are few better places to start a conversation with a stranger, and there are few easier ways to feel an instant kinship with your fellow man than to find out you fly the same colors, sing the same fight song, or hate the same rival.

SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark. FREE NEWSLETTER

In celebration, the Breaking and Trending News Team here at SI has assembled some of our favorite moments of the year in sports. There was plenty of magic in 2025. Let’s celebrate it one last time before we get ready for the fantastic highlights the new year is sure to deliver.

Thanks for reading, and for enjoying sports with us.

The Eagles Throw the Dagger

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith makes a catch for a touchdown against Kansas City Chiefs.
DeVonta Smith’s touchdown served as the exclamation point on a dominant win by the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

As a Philadelphia sports fan, I have learned to expect the worst. I was at the first Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl where Philly took a 10-point lead into halftime only to fall at the hands of another Patrick Mahomes double-digit postseason comeback. I remember all four bounces the ball took off the rim before Kawhi Leonard’s shot fell through the hoop.

When the Eagles were up 27–0 in the Super Bowl earlier this year, I can say with confidence that while the nation as a whole likely thought the game was over, Eagles fans were still holding their breath.

Then Philly threw the dagger.

“If we score, it’s over,” coach Nick Sirianni said into his headset in the moment, as revealed by a mic’d up video later that week. “Just call it.”

He was right.

Rather than work the clock and simply hold a lead that should be good, Jalen Hurts went over the top to DeVonta Smith in the end zone, extending the lead another touchdown. Until that moment, I was simply dreading how a collapse could still possibly manifest. But after the score, it became clear—this was a historic beat down, and my team was, for once, on the winning side of it. It was a feeling I couldn’t imagine until it filled my lungs. – Tyler Lauletta

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner Spark the Next Great Tennis Rivalry With Marathon French Open Match

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner ignited the next great men’s tennis rivalry this year by facing each other in five finals, including in three major tournaments. While all of their matches were thrilling to watch, I have to pick the French Open final as my favorite sports moment of the year. The five-set match went on for five hours and 29 minutes to become the longest major final in men’s singles history.

The match didn’t start out looking like an all-time great one, as Sinner took a 2–0 lead heading into the third. Alcaraz quickly turned the narrative around, though, by winning the final three sets to capture his fifth major title. The match had three tiebreaks in total, with the final two sets coming down to just mere points. This is the rivalry tennis fans have been hoping for ever since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal retired, and these two young stars officially delivered. It’s safe to say that Sinner and Alcaraz will be dominating the men’s tennis scene for quite some time. – Madison Williams

Alex Ovechkin Breaks Wayne Gretzky’s NHL Goals Record

Wayne Gretzky has set some of the most unbreakable records in all of sports. His 2,857 points are far and away the most in NHL history. But one of his records was shattered in 2025, as Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin overtook Gretzky to become the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer. 

It was a moment that will forever be immortalized in hockey lore, and it was about as pure of an Ovechkin goal as you’ll ever see. During a Capitals power play against the Islanders, Ovechkin was located in his usual spot along the wing, and he received an appetizing cross-ice pass from Tom Wilson, which he reached back and fired into the back of the net for No. 895, breaking the deadlock with Gretzky.

Gretzky’s record stood for 26 years before Ovechkin dethroned him, and it figures to be a long, long time before someone eclipses the Russian atop the goals list. Ovechkin now has 912 goals in his career and counting, averaging over 43 goals per season across 21 years in the league. Durability like that is hard to come by. – Karl Rasmussen

Tyrese Haliburton Can’t Stop Hitting Buzzer Beaters on Pacers’ Magical Playoff Run

Perhaps there’s been no playoff run more clutch than that of Tyrese Haliburton last spring.

On the Pacers’ way to the NBA Finals, Haliburton hit a game-winning basket to eliminate the Bucks from the first round in overtime, a game-winning basket in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cavaliers, a game-tying buzzer beater to force overtime in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference finals win over the Knicks and a game-winner in Game 1 of the NBA Finals vs. the Thunder.  

No matter how little time was on the clock, Haliburton was seemingly always able to pull off the hero shot and lead the Pacers to the Finals for the first time since 2000. He and the Pacers reached Game 7 of the Finals, but ultimately fell to the Thunder as Haliburton heartbreakingly tore his achilles early in the final game. Haliburton didn’t get one last chance to pull off some Finals magic, but it doesn’t take away from what was a historically epic run. – Eva Geitheim

Fernando Mendoza’s Joyful Heisman Trophy Speech

These days, expressions of pure, unbridled joy and vulnerability are in short supply, especially in college sports.

The world has changed, and it seems every happy moment is couched with the potential for disaster in the next. For anyone else feeling that looming sense of dread, go watch Fernando Mendoza’s speech after winning the Heisman Trophy. It might restore your faith in humanity. 

For nearly six minutes, Indiana’s quarterback gave a passionate, relentlessly positive speech where he thanked his family, teammates, and coaches then implored people to believe in themselves. If that sounds all too common, trust me, it wasn’t. Mendoza isn’t what you’d call a smooth, or polished speaker, and he gave up any pretext of attempting to be “cool” or acting like the accolade didn’t matter. The 22-year-old was anything but nonchalant about being recognized as the best player in college football. He fully embraced the honor and let everyone know how much it meant to him. 

Mendoza has possibly the most unlikely Heisman story ever. He was a two-star recruit who played for Cal before transferring to Indiana, which has long been a basketball school. He then led what had been one of the worst programs in college football history to an undefeated season, a Big Ten championship, national relevance, and capped it all off by winning the program’s first Heisman Trophy. 

As his speech made clear, he has never lost sight of where he came from, or what his success has meant to those around him. He did it with passion and joy, something we could all use a little more of in our lives. – Ryan Phillips

Rory McIlroy Wins The Masters to Finally Complete the Career Grand Slam

Rory McIlroy celebrates with his caddy, Harry Diamond, after winning in a playoff during the final round of the Masters.
Rory McIlroy celebrates with his caddy, Harry Diamond, after winning in a playoff during the final round of the Masters. / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

It was hard to imagine a world where a golfer as accomplished (and talented) as Rory McIlroy didn’t complete golf’s career grand slam.  

It took a full decade between major championships for McIlroy to capture the Green Jacket that eluded him, but in April, McIlroy’s birdie putt on the first playoff hole against Justin Rose at Augusta National clinched his rightful place among the elite players in the history of the sport.

The final round was certainly not without its peaks and valleys. McIlroy’s double-bogey six on the first hole put him behind the 8-ball early, but McIlroy carded four birdies in his next nine holes to regain control of the tournament. 

Just when it appeared that McIlroy was on pace to put the tournament away, he bogeyed 11, doubled 13 and bogeyed 14. But on 15, McIlroy hit perhaps one of the greatest iron shots in the history of Augusta National.

McIlroy went on to two-putt for birdie. After a par at 16 and a birdie at 17, McIlroy needed a par at 18 to clinch the Green Jacket. His heartbreaking missed putt sent him to a playoff with Rose, but he would not be denied on the first playoff hole. 

McIlroy became just the seventh golfer to ever complete the career grand slam, and with all the ups and downs of his prestigious career, this victory couldn’t have come any other way. – Mike McDaniel

Luka Dončić Gets Dealt to the Lakers in the Most Shocking Trade in NBA History

ESPN insider Shams Charania altered the NBA with a single press of a button when he let the world know the Mavs agreed to trade Luka Dončić to the Lakers for a package centered around star big man Anthony Davis.

The massive deal hit overnight ahead of last season’s NBA trade deadline, causing chaos on the internet as basketball fans around the globe tried to grapple with the stunning move.

What ensued was a fall from grace for the Mavs as Dallas fans slammed the franchise, and particularly general manager Nico Harrison, for moving on from the fan favorite. Dallas earned the 10th seed in the Western Conference and won a game in the play-in tournament but failed to qualify for the final playoff field. It found massive luck in the NBA draft lottery, winning the No. 1 pick and this year’s top prize in coveted prospect Cooper Flagg. Continued injuries to Davis and Kyrie Irving’s recovery from a torn ACL resulted in a brutal start to the new season for the Mavs, which led to continued outcry against Harrison and the team eventually parting ways with the embattled GM. – Blake Silverman

A Dramatic Finish to the World Series and Shohei Ohtani’s Monster Playoff Run

This year blessed us with debatably the greatest Fall Classic we’ll ever see. There are too many incredible moments from the heavyweight seven-game bout where the Dodgers emerged victorious over the Blue Jays in remarkable fashion. 

Los Angeles somehow survived in a Game 7 on the road thanks to Miguel Rojas’s game-tying solo shot in the ninth inning ...

... and Andy Pages’s near collision with Kiké Hernández and game-saving catch in center field with two outs to force extra innings.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the World Series hero and MVP after throwing 96 pitches in Game 6 and sitting down the Blue Jays in order in the 10th and 11th inning of Game 7 to clinch the Dodgers’ second title in a row.

Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani gave us all a postseason to remember, allowing baseball fans to witness greatness in real time. In a marathon Game 3 that lasted 18 innings, Ohtani went 4-for-4 at the dish with two home runs, two doubles, three RBIs and five walks. He got on base nine times, which set a World Series record. He also became the first player since 1906 to record four extra-base hits, which all came before the Blue Jays decided not to pitch to him altogether.

The epic World Series performance came after Ohtani hit three homers and struck out 10 batters to close out the Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, becoming the first player ever to hit three deep shots and throw 10 strikeouts in a game. It’s rare to know when true greatness unfolds right in front of you, but Ohtani left little up for debate. – Blake Silverman

Lane Kiffin Bolts to LSU, Leaving Ole Miss High and Dry While Holding College Football Hostage

In a way that only Lane Kiffin can, the 50-year-old made his latest coaching move all about him when he left his perch at Ole Miss—amid a College Football Playoff berth, nonetheless—for a shiny new toy at LSU.

Over the course of what felt like years, Kiffin called out a reporter for insinuating he was a “hoe,” reportedly attempted to leverage the Rebels by threatening to take staffers with him to Baton Rouge, and nearly forced ESPN reporter Marty Smith to change his residency to Oxford before finally deciding to sign a seven-year, $91 million contract to coach the Tigers.

The best part? This story is still ongoing. Not only is Ole Miss apparently worried about LSU potentially tampering with their players, but Kiffin and Louisiana governor Jeff Landry apparently may attend the New Year’s Day Sugar Bowl/CFP quarterfinal between the Rebels and SEC rival Georgia.

Lane Kiffin is truly the gift that keeps on giving. – Mike Kadlick

Pablo Torre finds out Kawhi Leonard wasn’t planting trees

Ever wonder about carbon offsets and green banking? Or more importantly, why Kawhi Leonard might have signed with the Clippers back in 2019? Well, Pablo Torre found out about all that. 

In early September, right after it was announced that the Meadowlark-backed show was joining The Athletic Podcast Network, Torre dropped a bombshell. The initial report detailed payments to Leonard for a no-show job endorsing a company called Aspiration (that also happened to be a team sponsor) and accused the Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer of circumventing the NBA’s salary cap. Ballmer went on SportsCenter to explain himself. Mark Cuban went on social media to defend Ballmer and eventually ended up on Pablo Torre Finds Out. 

Details continued to trickle out, and everyone is still waiting for the NBA to announce whether or not there will be a punishment. Meanwhile, the Clippers started the season 6-21. Now Leonard is trying to dig them out of a hole that’s way too big to plant a tree in. - Stephen Douglas

More on Sports Illustrated

feed

Published
Gilberto Manzano
SI STAFF

Home/More Sports