Who are the best brothers in sports history?

[HeartBreakKid]

Klitschkos are up there, no?

This is the answer, but most people here only know NBA, NFL and MLB lol.

Eli Manning is nowhere near as good of a football player as the Klitschko are boxers. But Peyton makes it somewhat close.

Don't diss Eli too much. He finished in the top ten for career passing yards and both of his SB victories were over the Bellicheat/Brady Patriots.

Well, he totaled that much because he is a recent player, naturally the next set of players who retire will bump him out as offense is easier now than past eras. Also, total yards isn't the same thing as quality. (I'm sure he turned the ball over a lot)

As for him winning the superbowl twice, I mean yes, he did. That hardly means he's on the same level as Klitchko or Peyton, you can win the superbowl without being the best player in the NFL. He's was a very good player but not some all time great juggernaut is all I am saying.

[Mmdecapo]

For the NHL, both Henri and Maurice Richard were HOFers and won a **** of Stanley Cups.

Maurice the Rocket won 8 Stanley Cups

Henri won 11

[basketballRob]

Pedro and Ramon Martinez. Sandy and Roberto Alomar. Candice and Anthony Parker.

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[HabsAndDubs]

Since there we so many, the Sutter Brothers in the NHL have to qualifiy. Rich, Ron, Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane.

Always blows my mind that all of them made it to the NHL! What are the chances of that? Makes you wonder how much of their success is due to the foundation that they had.

NHL have had so many good Brother combos..

Phil and Tony Esposito
Scott and Rob Niedermayer
Maurice and Henri Richard
Pavel and Valeri Bure
Henrik and Daniel Sedin

Don’t the Stall brothers have a couple in the the NHL as well? Like more than two?

It really doesn’t surprise me as someone who’s lived in Canada his whole life. When you see how hockey families live in this country, its no wonder to me. Its also the reason more and more NBA players are the sons of ex players ( pro or not ) or the sons of great athletes ( wiggins and gordon ). Guys who grew up in poor neighborhoods used to fill the NBA but thats a thing of the past now. The people with the best opportunities is how these leagues are gonna be attained from here on. And yes, Giannis lived in a car, there will always be exceptions for “freaks”.

It’s easiest in hockey because it’s the sport that relies the least on natural physical gifts (maybe aside from baseball and soccer), vs basketball. You can make the NHL at any height above like 5’6, while in basketball, if you want multiple siblings in the league, you basically have to have multiple children who are 6’3+ which is quite rarer.

There are Staals in the league- Eric is probably a HOFer, Jordan and Marc are (were) both very nice players- I think for hockey, and probably in general, you have to go with the Richards. Maurice was one of the first real all time greats, and one of the best goal scorers ever, and Henri won 11 cups. Like if Bill Russell had a brother who averaged 30/night for his career.

There’s also that joke that the best brother tandem in sports were the Gretzkys. Wayne is probably the sports GOAT who has the biggest distance between him and his #2, and his brother played maybe like 5 games- combined they have the most points of any brother tandem in history.

In Basketball, I have to go with the Currys. I think Seth is one of the most underrated players in the league.

[bigdamoan2k2]

In 10 years... Lonzo and LaMelo Ball?

[dhsilv2]

Always blows my mind that all of them made it to the NHL! What are the chances of that? Makes you wonder how much of their success is due to the foundation that they had.

NHL have had so many good Brother combos..

Phil and Tony Esposito
Scott and Rob Niedermayer
Maurice and Henri Richard
Pavel and Valeri Bure
Henrik and Daniel Sedin

Don’t the Stall brothers have a couple in the the NHL as well? Like more than two?

It really doesn’t surprise me as someone who’s lived in Canada his whole life. When you see how hockey families live in this country, its no wonder to me. Its also the reason more and more NBA players are the sons of ex players ( pro or not ) or the sons of great athletes ( wiggins and gordon ). Guys who grew up in poor neighborhoods used to fill the NBA but thats a thing of the past now. The people with the best opportunities is how these leagues are gonna be attained from here on. And yes, Giannis lived in a car, there will always be exceptions for “freaks”.

It’s easiest in hockey because it’s the sport that relies the least on natural physical gifts (maybe aside from baseball and soccer), vs basketball. You can make the NHL at any height above like 5’6, while in basketball, if you want multiple siblings in the league, you basically have to have multiple children who are 6’3+ which is quite rarer.

There are Staals in the league- Eric is probably a HOFer, Jordan and Marc are (were) both very nice players- I think for hockey, and probably in general, you have to go with the Richards. Maurice was one of the first real all time greats, and one of the best goal scorers ever, and Henri won 11 cups. Like if Bill Russell had a brother who averaged 30/night for his career.

There’s also that joke that the best brother tandem in sports were the Gretzkys. Wayne is probably the sports GOAT who has the biggest distance between him and his #2, and his brother played maybe like 5 games- combined they have the most points of any brother tandem in history.

In Basketball, I have to go with the Currys. I think Seth is one of the most underrated players in the league.

How many people play hockey globally vs some of these other sports? I mean...I know it's not obscure but we're talking a sport that requires you to be an elite ice skater, I'd guess most humans never even learn how to do that. So that would certainly give me reason to think the most naturally gifted athlete for the sport aren't going to be playing in necassarly and all the more value for the 'nurture' aspect of nature nurture.

And lol on the soccer stuff. You better have elite genes for that sport with the HUGE HUGE talent pool. Basketball is just easier to see the genetic talent (height) needed.

[jus a fan]

Stoltman Brothers. Current world strongest man and his brother current British strongest man

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[Fencer reregistered]

Roberto and Sandy Alomar Jr.

Those were the names I was forgetting!! I remembered Hispanic and "Jr.", then finally also "A". But I wasn't getting all the way there.

[Morghulus]

Here is an unorthodox take on this one; I am sure there are many other brother/sister combinations that could have flown under the radar. But since the OP said 'sports history,' not NBA, NFL, etc..., how about athletes that exceled through multiple sports at the highest levels?

Below is an interesting article about two brothers in Canada; i'm sure the United States and many countries have similar stories and people. In the early part of the 20th century, one brother competed in professional Tennis, Basketball, Cricket, Softball, MLB Baseball Soccer, Track and Field, and excelled in cycling. One brother won silver at the 1936 Olympics in cycling, the other played for the Canadian National Basketball team (for what it was at the time), they both competed in the six-day races. One brother was the highest paid athlete in Canada of the 1930's and known to be Canada's best all-round athlete of his time and the other was the 'Wayne Gretzky' of cycling of his era. They had another brother that was an Olympic diver; not the version see in pro-sports today .

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/times-colonist/20081207/282346855664761

[Fencer reregistered]

How are we judging this? Mainly on how good the lesser sibling was, with some bonus for the better one?

In individual sports we have the Williamses and Klitschkos both with strong claims for both siblings having been #1 in the world, correct?

In team sports in general we have:
-- The Watts if the younger one lives up to his potential.
-- The Perrys, but I don't reall them as being viewed as quite as great as those Cy Young Awards would seem to suggest.
-- The Richards (Henri was a 9-time all-star), but some people devalue accolades from so long ago.

Those all seem pretty high on the list, at least if one's focusing on North American men's sports, and not just going for headcount.

(In headcount it's hard to beat the Sutters. And how many of Rick Barry's sons played at least briefly in the NBA?)

As for hoops:
-- Marc Gasol was All-NBA First Team and 3x All-Star.
-- Pau Gasol was All-NBA Second Team and 6x All-Star.

That's pretty impressive.

[AK47MVP]

Michael and Brian Laudrup in football. Gasol brothers in basketball. Klitschko brothers in boxing.

[Parataxis]

Klitschkos are up there, no?

That was absolutely my first thought.

Although Brent and Wayne Gretzky do hold the NHL record for most points scored by a pair of brothers.

[Johnny Bball]

Always blows my mind that all of them made it to the NHL! What are the chances of that? Makes you wonder how much of their success is due to the foundation that they had.

NHL have had so many good Brother combos..

Phil and Tony Esposito
Scott and Rob Niedermayer
Maurice and Henri Richard
Pavel and Valeri Bure
Henrik and Daniel Sedin

Don’t the Stall brothers have a couple in the the NHL as well? Like more than two?

It really doesn’t surprise me as someone who’s lived in Canada his whole life. When you see how hockey families live in this country, its no wonder to me. Its also the reason more and more NBA players are the sons of ex players ( pro or not ) or the sons of great athletes ( wiggins and gordon ). Guys who grew up in poor neighborhoods used to fill the NBA but thats a thing of the past now. The people with the best opportunities is how these leagues are gonna be attained from here on. And yes, Giannis lived in a car, there will always be exceptions for “freaks”.

It’s easiest in hockey because it’s the sport that relies the least on natural physical gifts (maybe aside from baseball and soccer), vs basketball. You can make the NHL at any height above like 5’6, while in basketball, if you want multiple siblings in the league, you basically have to have multiple children who are 6’3+ which is quite rarer.

There are Staals in the league- Eric is probably a HOFer, Jordan and Marc are (were) both very nice players- I think for hockey, and probably in general, you have to go with the Richards. Maurice was one of the first real all time greats, and one of the best goal scorers ever, and Henri won 11 cups. Like if Bill Russell had a brother who averaged 30/night for his career.

There’s also that joke that the best brother tandem in sports were the Gretzkys. Wayne is probably the sports GOAT who has the biggest distance between him and his #2, and his brother played maybe like 5 games- combined they have the most points of any brother tandem in history.

In Basketball, I have to go with the Currys. I think Seth is one of the most underrated players in the league.

This was not the case until maybe 15-20 years ago max. You had to be over 6 feet minimum to be a D-man no matter your skill level. The only place that size didn't matter was net where you had to be quicker with less padding instead of just a big target.

And lol yep, fwiw the Sutter barely beat out Wayne and Brett in points I think.

[8305]

Dizzy and Paul Dean?
Have to admit I never saw them pitch.

[HabsAndDubs]

Don’t the Stall brothers have a couple in the the NHL as well? Like more than two?

It really doesn’t surprise me as someone who’s lived in Canada his whole life. When you see how hockey families live in this country, its no wonder to me. Its also the reason more and more NBA players are the sons of ex players ( pro or not ) or the sons of great athletes ( wiggins and gordon ). Guys who grew up in poor neighborhoods used to fill the NBA but thats a thing of the past now. The people with the best opportunities is how these leagues are gonna be attained from here on. And yes, Giannis lived in a car, there will always be exceptions for “freaks”.

It’s easiest in hockey because it’s the sport that relies the least on natural physical gifts (maybe aside from baseball and soccer), vs basketball. You can make the NHL at any height above like 5’6, while in basketball, if you want multiple siblings in the league, you basically have to have multiple children who are 6’3+ which is quite rarer.

There are Staals in the league- Eric is probably a HOFer, Jordan and Marc are (were) both very nice players- I think for hockey, and probably in general, you have to go with the Richards. Maurice was one of the first real all time greats, and one of the best goal scorers ever, and Henri won 11 cups. Like if Bill Russell had a brother who averaged 30/night for his career.

There’s also that joke that the best brother tandem in sports were the Gretzkys. Wayne is probably the sports GOAT who has the biggest distance between him and his #2, and his brother played maybe like 5 games- combined they have the most points of any brother tandem in history.

In Basketball, I have to go with the Currys. I think Seth is one of the most underrated players in the league.

How many people play hockey globally vs some of these other sports? I mean...I know it's not obscure but we're talking a sport that requires you to be an elite ice skater, I'd guess most humans never even learn how to do that. So that would certainly give me reason to think the most naturally gifted athlete for the sport aren't going to be playing in necassarly and all the more value for the 'nurture' aspect of nature nurture.

And lol on the soccer stuff. You better have elite genes for that sport with the HUGE HUGE talent pool. Basketball is just easier to see the genetic talent (height) needed.

What I meant for natural physical gifts was body shape- if you were destined to max out at 5’8, you can be the most athletically gifted person in the country and probably won’t sniff the NBA. In soccer, it doesn’t matter as much- Maradona was 5’5, Messi is 5’7, so if you become skilled enough, your body type is less important.


With hockey too, while significantly less people play than any other major sport, a vast majority of players play within close proximity to elite training facilities/organizations. How many potential elite talents grew up in countries where there wasn’t an obvious pipeline to the NBA, let alone euro league? Probably a lot more than hockey players; like 90% of players come from Canada, Russia, US, Sweden & Finland, all who have elite systems and are well represented by NHL scouting. On the other hand, for every Antentokounmpo family, there are countless that never had access to the resources to become elite NBA-level talent. A family like the Staals or the Hughes grew up playing in hockey hotbeds, and once one kid was good enough to play elite junior hockey, the rest followed suit.

[Kvothe22]

Sinković Brothers.

[Dennis 37]

Hanson brothers. Often fiction outlasts reality.

Watch on YouTube

[HabsAndDubs]

Don’t the Stall brothers have a couple in the the NHL as well? Like more than two?

It really doesn’t surprise me as someone who’s lived in Canada his whole life. When you see how hockey families live in this country, its no wonder to me. Its also the reason more and more NBA players are the sons of ex players ( pro or not ) or the sons of great athletes ( wiggins and gordon ). Guys who grew up in poor neighborhoods used to fill the NBA but thats a thing of the past now. The people with the best opportunities is how these leagues are gonna be attained from here on. And yes, Giannis lived in a car, there will always be exceptions for “freaks”.

It’s easiest in hockey because it’s the sport that relies the least on natural physical gifts (maybe aside from baseball and soccer), vs basketball. You can make the NHL at any height above like 5’6, while in basketball, if you want multiple siblings in the league, you basically have to have multiple children who are 6’3+ which is quite rarer.

There are Staals in the league- Eric is probably a HOFer, Jordan and Marc are (were) both very nice players- I think for hockey, and probably in general, you have to go with the Richards. Maurice was one of the first real all time greats, and one of the best goal scorers ever, and Henri won 11 cups. Like if Bill Russell had a brother who averaged 30/night for his career.

There’s also that joke that the best brother tandem in sports were the Gretzkys. Wayne is probably the sports GOAT who has the biggest distance between him and his #2, and his brother played maybe like 5 games- combined they have the most points of any brother tandem in history.

In Basketball, I have to go with the Currys. I think Seth is one of the most underrated players in the league.

This was not the case until maybe 15-20 years ago max. You had to be over 6 feet minimum to be a D-man no matter your skill level. The only place that size didn't matter was net where you had to be quicker with less padding instead of just a big target.

And lol yep, fwiw the Sutter barely beat out Wayne and Brett in points I think.

Yeah, I mean, I think size will always play an advantage, especially as a defenseman- especially when hockey was more of a blood sport, but if you’re a great defensive player at 5’10, you could just become a checking line forward, whereas if you’re a great guard at 5’10 in basketball, you’re pretty SOL unless you have AI talent.

Interestingly enough, there’s a trend towards bigger goalies now- Price, Vaslilevsky, Rinne, Bishop, etc who are all tall enough to play pro ball, haha.

[dhsilv2]

It’s easiest in hockey because it’s the sport that relies the least on natural physical gifts (maybe aside from baseball and soccer), vs basketball. You can make the NHL at any height above like 5’6, while in basketball, if you want multiple siblings in the league, you basically have to have multiple children who are 6’3+ which is quite rarer.

There are Staals in the league- Eric is probably a HOFer, Jordan and Marc are (were) both very nice players- I think for hockey, and probably in general, you have to go with the Richards. Maurice was one of the first real all time greats, and one of the best goal scorers ever, and Henri won 11 cups. Like if Bill Russell had a brother who averaged 30/night for his career.

There’s also that joke that the best brother tandem in sports were the Gretzkys. Wayne is probably the sports GOAT who has the biggest distance between him and his #2, and his brother played maybe like 5 games- combined they have the most points of any brother tandem in history.

In Basketball, I have to go with the Currys. I think Seth is one of the most underrated players in the league.

How many people play hockey globally vs some of these other sports? I mean...I know it's not obscure but we're talking a sport that requires you to be an elite ice skater, I'd guess most humans never even learn how to do that. So that would certainly give me reason to think the most naturally gifted athlete for the sport aren't going to be playing in necassarly and all the more value for the 'nurture' aspect of nature nurture.

And lol on the soccer stuff. You better have elite genes for that sport with the HUGE HUGE talent pool. Basketball is just easier to see the genetic talent (height) needed.

What I meant for natural physical gifts was body shape- if you were destined to max out at 5’8, you can be the most athletically gifted person in the country and probably won’t sniff the NBA. In soccer, it doesn’t matter as much- Maradona was 5’5, Messi is 5’7, so if you become skilled enough, your body type is less important.


With hockey too, while significantly less people play than any other major sport, a vast majority of players play within close proximity to elite training facilities/organizations. How many potential elite talents grew up in countries where there wasn’t an obvious pipeline to the NBA, let alone euro league? Probably a lot more than hockey players; like 90% of players come from Canada, Russia, US, Sweden & Finland, all who have elite systems and are well represented by NHL scouting. On the other hand, for every Antentokounmpo family, there are countless that never had access to the resources to become elite NBA-level talent. A family like the Staals or the Hughes grew up playing in hockey hotbeds, and once one kid was good enough to play elite junior hockey, the rest followed suit.

Height and body type are different things. If you're built like Arnold, you're going to be too big and not have the endurance to play soccer at the elite level. And lets be real...pretty unlikely anyone here was born with the genetics to kick a ball like those guys do. That kind of body control can't be taught to just anyone. You gotta be a freak.

[Un4given]

I know not much people here are not into rowing but Sinkovic brothers dominance over the almost the decade should be mentioned, especially because they won all of their medals as a team:

2 x Olympic winners ( + 1 x second place )
6 x World Champions
5 x European Champions
Countless wins in world cup races
Multiple world records set