Sports stars of 2021: These athletes primed for breakouts
By PAT GRAHAM, Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:
Tony Avelar
Smoke from wildfires obscures the sky over Oracle Park in San Francisco as the Seattle Mariners take batting practice before their baseball game against the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
Kai Lenny from Hawaii goes airborne exiting a wave during the Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge at Praia do Norte or North Beach in Nazare, Portugal, on Feb. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard lands on top of fans while chasing a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic on Jan. 15, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant attempts to save the ball in front of Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Ricky Rubio during an NBA basketball game in Phoenix on Jan. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Men play baseball wearing masks as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus in Las Playas neighborhood, in eastern Havana, Cuba, on May 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Trainer Bob Baffert is knocked to ground as jockey John Velazquez tries to control his horse Authentic in the winner's circle after winning the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Sept. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Spectators are reflected on a glass panel as Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka makes a backhand return to Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina during their first round singles match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Switzerland's Roger Federer and Serbia's Novak Djokovic play their semifinal match on Rod Laver Arena as the sun sets at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Milena Jami whips her llama to get first place in the llama races age 7-8 years in Llanganates national park, Ecuador, on Feb. 8, 2020. Wooly llamas, an animal emblematic of the Andean mountains in South America, become the star for a day each year, when Ecuadoreans gather in Los Llanganates for the races. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
The body of Paulo Gonçalves of Portugal is covered with a blanket after a deadly fall during stage seven of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Wadi Al Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 12, 2020. Gonçalves, 40, died after an accident with his Hero motorbike. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
An athlete warms up for the Nordic Combined World Cup Men's Individual Gundersen NH/5km competition in Seefeld, Austria, on Jan. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Miles Boykin misses the catch on a two-point conversion against Tennessee Titans free safety Kevin Byard during the second half of an NFL divisional playoff football game in Baltimore on Jan. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates his touchdown pass to Damien Williams in the the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game on Feb. 2, 2020, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
A team member of driver Camelia Liparoti, of Italy, and co-driver Annett Fischer, of Germany, does the laundry after stage eight of the Dakar Rally in Wadi Al Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Naomi Osaka, of Japan, hits balls into the stands after defeating Anett Kontaveit, of Estonia, during the fourth round of the US Open tennis championships in New York on Sept. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
For some, the sky’s the limit, which also just happens to be the title of the book written by 12-year-old British skateboarder Sky Brown.
For others, it’s no stretch that big things appear ahead. Exhibit A: 7-foot-2 Denver Nuggets center Bol Bol and his roughly 7-8 wingspan.
So many potential stars in the making. So many stages for them to shine. One of the biggest will be this summer during the Tokyo Games, which were postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
By the time 2021 ends, a new crop of names will start to become even more familiar. So let’s name-drop a few. (Sorry, Trevor Lawrence, you’re already too big of a name for this list.)
