Mark Wahlberg Reveals Surprising List Of Top Five Boston Athletes
Boston sports fans have been spoiled by countless iconic athletes over the years, including all-time legends in every major sport. Narrowing down that list to just a few names isn’t easy.
In a recent appearance on Barstool’s “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast, Mark Wahlberg named his top five Boston athletes of all-time, and his list included some surprising choices.
Wahlberg, a Dorchester native, picked Bill Russell, Tom Brady, Rocky Marciano, Larry Bird, and a tie between Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. His list of honorable mentions included Bobby Orr, Ted Williams and David Ortiz.
“Bill Russell, number one…Rocky Marciano, 50-0…Tom Brady…Bird…I would have to split it between KG and Paul Pierce because they gave us another chip,” Wahlberg said.
Wahlberg’s list featuring four Boston Celtics players, but no Boston Red Sox or Boston Bruins players, is surprising. He admitted that he “never got into baseball,” which explains why he omitted Williams and Ortiz, but is rooting for a Red Sox-Philadelphia Phillies matchup in the World Series.
Garnett is probably the most shocking choice given that he only played six seasons for the Celtics. Putting him over more accomplished and longer-tenured Celtics legends like Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish is surprising and may reflect some recency bias.
Wahlberg’s brother, Donnie, is also a massive Boston sports fan. He recently filmed a scene for his new TV show “Boston Blue” at Fenway Park this summer and appeared in ESPN’s new documentary about the 2004 Red Sox alongside other Boston celebrities.