Leicester City were quoted at 5,000-1 to win the Premier League in August 2015. They finished ten points clear, and the conditions that allowed it closed almost immediately.
Jeremy Weate from Abuja, NigeriaCC BY 2.0
James Anderson and Stuart Broad shared a new ball for over a decade. The reason it worked was that almost nothing about how they bowled was the same.
One plays with variety and improvisation, the other with the flattest ball-striking on tour. What makes the match-up worth watching is that neither style is beating the other.
Golden State went 73-9 in 2015-16 and Stephen Curry became the first unanimous MVP. The arithmetic he demonstrated has since reshaped every roster in the league.
Sports FanPublic domain
Media rights, not gate receipts or merchandise, are what the league sells. Everything about the calendar and the format follows from that.
Antoine Dellenbach from Paris, FranceCC BY-SA 2.0
Paris Saint-Germain more than doubled the world record to sign Neymar in 2017. The lasting effect was on every fee underneath it.
Pro Kabaddi launched in 2014 with a format built for broadcast. A decade on, the audience is enormous and the talent pipeline is still catching up.
Cabinet Public Affairs Office, Government of JapanCC BY 4.0
Shingo Kunieda retired in 2023 as the most successful wheelchair player in the game's history. The attention his career drew has outlasted it.
Fielding restrictions make the powerplay the only phase where a batter is guaranteed space. Sides have finally started paying for players who can use it.
