For some of New York’s teams, the choice was obvious.
For others, it was far more difficult.
But as 2025 comes to an end, here are the Daily News’ picks for the city’s Quarter-Century Team — featuring the best player for each local team since 2000.
Yankees: Aaron Judge
This was the most loaded pool of candidates, with Hall of Famers, MVPs and World Series champions populating the list.
How could someone eclipse Derek Jeter, who recorded 2,658 hits from 2000-14, or Mariano Rivera, who saved 523 games from 2000-13?
That’s a testament to the greatness of Judge.
Since his MLB debut in 2016, Judge leads the majors in home runs (368), OPS (1.028) and wins above replacement, or WAR (61.6).
Judge set the American League single-season record with 62 home runs in 2022.
He reached 350 homers in his 1,088th career game — faster than anyone else in MLB history.
Since 2000, there have been 20 instances in which a player recorded an OPS of 1.111 or higher. Three of those seasons belong to Judge.
Judge is one of four players in MLB history with at least four 50-homer seasons, and one of 13 players to win at least three MVP Awards.
And over the last four seasons, Judge delivered arguably the greatest peak for a right-handed hitter ever, batting .311 with 210 homers and a 1.117 OPS in 573 games.
His career OPS+ — an advanced metric that adjusts OPS to account for park factors and league averages — of 179 ties him with Lou Gehrig for the fifth-best mark in MLB history.
Judge still seeks his first World Series championship. Jeter and Rivera won two from 2000 on. But whether he wins one or not, Judge will be joining that duo in Cooperstown one day.
Mets: Jacob deGrom
Just how dominant was deGrom’s nine-year run with the Mets from 2014-22?
His 2.52 ERA over that stretch was the second best in baseball, behind only future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw’s 2.38.
His 1.00 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning) was the third lowest, while his 10.91 strikeouts per nine innings was the fourth-best rate among pitchers who exceeded 1,000 innings.
DeGrom was especially otherworldly from 2018-19, when he pitched to an MLB-best 2.05 ERA — a half-run lower than any other MLB pitcher — over 421 innings.
He won back-to-back National League Cy Young Awards in 2018-19, despite an infamous lack of run support that limited deGrom to just 21 total wins over those seasons.
DeGrom won NL Rookie of the Year in 2014 and earned four All-Star selections with the Mets.
His ERA and WHIP are the best in franchise history, bettering even those of Tom Seaver, who pitched to a 2.57 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP with the Mets.
Giants: Michael Strahan
This was another tough one, as Eli Manning boasts a strong case with two Super Bowl MVPs.
But we went with Strahan, whose pass-rushing dominance made him one of the best players of this millennium — on any team, at any position.
Strahan recorded 89 of his 141.5 career sacks from 2000-07 — an average of more than 11 per season.
He set the single-season sack record with 22.5 in 2001, back when the NFL schedule was still 16 games.
Strahan also recorded 18.5 sacks in 2003, and he led the NFL in tackles for loss three times after 2000.
The charismatic defensive end was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2001, and he earned four All-Pro and four Pro Bowl selections in this quarter-century.
Strahan capped his career with a Super Bowl XLII victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots, during which the then-36-year-old sacked Tom Brady.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, and the Giants retired his No. 92 in 2021.
Jets: Darrelle Revis
Revis’ 25 interceptions in 108 games as a Jet don’t jump off the page, but they actually speak volumes about the cornerback’s excellence.
Because quarterbacks were so reluctant to target Revis, his opportunities for interceptions were few and far between.
Nicknamed “Revis Island” for his ability to dominate one-on-one matchups and take No. 1 receivers out of games, Revis was his era’s premier lockdown cornerback.
In eight seasons with the Jets from 2007-12 and 2015-16, Revis was a first-team All-Pro selection three times and earned five Pro Bowl nods.
Revis was the runner-up for NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2009, when he led the NFL with 31 passes defended. His 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in 2011 set a Jets record.
In 2023, Revis became the first player who was primarily a Jet to earn first-ballot induction into the Hall of Fame.
Knicks: Jalen Brunson
This season is just Brunson’s fourth in a Knicks uniform, but the team captain has already done enough to warrant a spot on this list.
Brunson’s 26.5 points per game rank second in team history, while his 6.7 assists per game rank fourth.
But more importantly, Brunson turned the long-suffering Knicks into a perennial contender — no small feat considering the Knicks made the playoffs just once in the nine seasons before he arrived.
In each of Brunson’s first three seasons in New York, the Knicks won at least one playoff series.
Last postseason, Brunson led the Knicks to their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000.
Indeed, Brunson has been at his best in the playoffs.
During the 2025 postseason, Brunson became the fourth player in NBA history to record 10 games of at least 30 points and at least five assists in a single playoff run — the others being Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Nets: Jason Kidd
The Nets have spent more of this quarter-century in Brooklyn than they did in New Jersey, but the bulk of the glory days occurred in the state where Bruce Springsteen calls home.
That’s thanks in large part to Jason Kidd, who starred on the then-New Jersey Nets for seven seasons from 2001-08 and led them to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.
Kidd is the Nets’ all-time leader in assists (4,620), assists per game (9.1), steals (950) and triple-doubles (61), and he also averaged 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game with the franchise.
The Nets retired Kidd’s No. 5 in 2013.
Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist
Who other than King Henrik?
The goaltender, who spent his entire 15-season NHL career with the Rangers from 2005-20, recorded a franchise-record 459 wins — the sixth-most in league history.
Lundqvist is the only goaltender ever to record at least 11 30-win seasons through his 12th year. In 2012, he won the Vezina Trophy as the sport’s top goaltender.
Originally the 200th overall pick by the Rangers in 2000, the Swedish-born Lundqvist was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Liberty: Breanna Stewart
The inaugural season of the Liberty — and the WNBA — was 1997, so nearly all of their history occurred in this millennium.
And while franchise staples such as Teresa Weatherspoon, Tina Charles and even Sabrina Ionescu played longer with the Liberty, nobody had a greater impact than Stewart.
Stewart, 31, is the Liberty’s all-time leader in points per game (20.8), player efficiency rating (26.5) and offensive rating (117.9).
In 2023, Stewart averaged 23.0 points per game and became the first player in Liberty history to win WNBA MVP.
In 2024, she helped lead the Liberty to their first-ever championship.
And she’s been remarkably consistent.
In each of her three seasons in New York, Stewart has finished within the top 10 of WNBA MVP voting, earned an All-Star selection and made an All-Defensive team.
