Unsung heroes: The athletes who were overshadowed in 2016

Everyone knows who the sports superstars were in 2016. LeBron James won the Cavaliers their first championship. Steph Curry nearly crushed that dream after powering the Warriors to a record-breaking season. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant broke a curse in Chicago and gave the Cubs their first World Series title in over a century. But multiple players flew under the radar while powering their teams to success. The players and coaches on our list of unsung sports heroes weren't in the spotlight, but their accomplishments and contributions deserve far more recognition. By Erin Flynn

SI Staff | Dec 8, 2016

Unsung heroes: The athletes who were overshadowed in 2016 /

Unsung heroes: The athletes who were overshadowed in 2016

David Blatt

David Liam Kyle/National Basketball Association

Blatt was fired 41 games into the Cavaliers’ 2015–16 season, despite the team sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 30–11 record and coaching Cleveland to the NBA Finals the season previous. He was cast aside from the team amid reports of locker room conflict, but undoubtedly played a part in its ascension to champions. He accepted a championship ring as a token of the Cavaliers gratitude, but it was assistant-turned-head coach Tyronn Lue who got to celebrate the final win.

Venus Williams

While Serena Williams made history by winning her 22nd Grand Slam title, her sister was quietly having a successful year behind her. Venus advanced deep into several major tournaments, including the semifinals of Wimbledon and the rounds of 16 of the U.S. Open and French Open. She also partnered with Serena to win doubles at Wimbledon to stay undefeated in Grand Slam doubles finals. Her WTA ranking fell from No. 7 to No. 17 in 2016, but showing that level of competitiveness at Grand Slams at age 36 is nothing short of remarkable.

Cole Beasley

While everyone has been singing the praises of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, the two rookies who saved a seemingly doomed Cowboys season after Tony Romo got injured again, less has been said about the second-string wide receiver who has supported them. Beasley, 27, has started just five of 12 games this season but has become Prescott's primary target. He's had a career season for the Cowboys this year, catching 60 of 77 passes thrown his way for 670 yards and five touchdowns. Beasley's low-key excellence has been a big factor in how the Cowboys were able to turn the outlook of their season around to become the first team to clinch a playoff berth.

Eder

The Portugal forward was a relatively unnoticed contributor to the team before he came off the bench during the Euro 2016 final against France and scored the game-winning goal from long range in extra time. He had scored just three goals in 28 matches for Portugal previously, all in friendlies, before scoring the final winner, making him the least expected candidate to emerge the hero of the tournament.

Aly Raisman

Simone Biles may have pulled off a historic medal haul in Rio, but the return of Aly Raisman was remarkable. Raisman was a member of the Fierce Five in 2012, winning the team all-around gold medal. She also won gold in the floor exercise and a bronze in the balance beam in London. With the exception of Gabby Douglas, all her teammates from London either retired or opted not to compete in Rio. Raisman may have been older, but she also appeared stronger and better than four years ago. She departed Brazil with a team all-around gold, an individual all-around silver medal and a floor exercise silver medal. Could she make it a third Olympics in 2020?

Josh Hart

Ryan Arcidiacono was the Final Four Most Outstanding Player and Kris Jenkins hit the game-winning shot that gave Villanova the national title, but Hart was the workhorse behind their title run. He led the team in points per game during the season with 15.5 while also contributing 1.9 assists and 6.8 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game. He put up 23 points in an explosive performance against Oklahoma in the Final Four and put up 12 more in the championship win over North Carolina.

David Ross

The Cubs backup catcher batted just .250 in this year's postseason, but his contribution to Chicago's historic World Series win went beyond his batting average. Ross hit a home run in Game 7 and a sac fly in Game 5 to put the cap on a 3–2 Cubs win, but outside the batter's box, the 39 year old's leadership helped the Cubs win their championship. He calmed Anthony Rizzo's nerves during Game 7, and served as the personal catcher to Jon Lester, who lost just one of his postseason starts. Stars Kris Bryant and Rizzo partnered to secure Game 7's final out and Ben Zobrist was named MVP, but it was Ross who the players carried off the field after winning their first title in 108 years.

Lorenzo Alexander

The Bills’ linebacker was primarily a special teams player just last season, but has flourished in his new role on defense. The Bills selected front seven players with their first two picks of the 2016 draft, and expected defensive end Shaq Lawson and linebacker Reggie Ragland to have an immediate impact on the team. That plan was thwarted when Lawson underwent shoulder surgery and Ragland tore his ACL, knocking both players out before the season started. Ten-year veteran Alexander stepped in and has helped keep the Bills’ 10th-ranked defense respectable, leading the team with 10.0 sacks, which only ranks behind Von Miller’s 12.5, plus 30 tackles in 11 games.

N'Golo Kante

When the Frenchman joined Leicester City from Ligue 1 side Caen in August 2015, the Foxes were considered a candidate for relegation. We all know what happened next: Leicester City pulled off one of the most shocking runs in sports history, winning the Premier League thanks in large part to Kante’s brilliance. His teammate Riyad Mahrez may have won PFA Player of the Year, while Jamie Vardy scored the goals—but without Kante’s work rate and defensive ability, Leicester’s title never happens. Despite being overshadowed by Vardy and Mahrez, some people must have noticed Kante: He joined Chelsea this summer.

Bryan Rust

Rust was far from the star of the 2016 Stanley Cup–winning Penguins, but without his performance in the playoffs Pittsburgh may not have won it. Rust averaged just 11.5 minutes on the ice during the playoffs, but in that time he scored six goals, two of which were in the Penguins' series-clinching win over the Rangers in the first round and one of which was the game-winner in the game that earned them a trip to the Final. He scored the first game in Game 1 of the Cup Final to set the tone for the series. Sidney Crosby may have won the Conn Smythe trophy, but Rust was one of his most crucial supporters.

Kevin Love

Nathaniel S. Butler/National Basketball Association

He wasn’t MVP of the NBA Finals (LeBron James unsurprisingly took home that distinction) and his performance in the playoffs wasn’t even outstanding (he averaged 14.7 points, 2.1 assists and 8.8 rebounds per game through the postseason, and just 8.5 points per game in the finals). But “The Stop” by Love on Stephen Curry, later chronicled by SI’s Lee Jenkins, was arguably the play that won the Cavaliers their first championship.

Pia Sundhage

Sweden manager Pia Sundhage was in the news this summer primarily because of Hope Solo, who called Sundhage's side "cowardly" after the U.S. was upset in the knockout stage of the Olympics. But Sundhage, who previously coached the USWNT, responded by leading an underdog Sweden team all the way to the gold medal match, where they lost narrowly to Germany. Sundhage did it by instructing her team to play defensively, absorbing pressure and counterattacking successfully to upset the U.S. and Brazil on their way to a silver medal. Not exactly cowardly.

Rajai Davis

He could have been the hero of the entire postseason if the Indians had won the World Series. But among all the commemoration of broken curses and ended droughts, Davis's heroics are all but forgotten. He finished the regular season with a mundane .249/.306/.388 line and went hitless in postseason series against the Red Sox and Blue Jays before exploding for five hits, three RBIs and three stolen bases against the Cubs in the World Series. His home run in the bottom of the eighth in Game 7 tied the game, ultimately sending the decider to extra innings. But the Cubs won in the 10th inning, so Davis's home run won't leave as much of an impression.

Wayde Van Niekerk

On Aug. 14, the world tuned into track and field at the Olympics to watch the 100 meter final and Usain Bolt vie for a third consecutive gold medal in the marquee event. Bolt made history, but the most impressive achievement of the night belonged to South Africa's Wayde Van Niekerk, who won the 400-meter final from lane eight in a world record of 43.03. The time shattered Michael Johnson's 43.18 world record set 17 years ago. Van Niekerk finished the year unbeaten in all of his 11 races at 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. At just 24 years old, he is one of the stars in a sport that will soon be without Usain Bolt.

Luke Walton

Walton coached the Warriors to a 39–4 record as interim coach while head coach Steve Kerr was laid up recovering from back surgery. The season got off to the second-best start and finished as the best season in NBA history, but despite the Dubs’ dominance under Walton, he was ineligible to win coach of the year (which Kerr ultimately took home after helping the Dubs finish the season 34–5). He earned a subtle nod of approval from the NBA when he won Coach of the Month in November 2015, but the Lakers were ultimately the ones to sing his praise when they hired him as their head coach in the off-season.

Casey Hayward

Hayward began his first year in San Diego as the Chargers' No. 3 defensive back, but worked his way up to No. 1 with multiple impressive performances. Through Week 13, he leads the league in interceptions with seven, and he's started just 10 games this season. Hayward has added 40 tackles and seven assists for the 5–7 Chargers.

Published Dec 8, 2016

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