MJ is not even remotely close to the best athlete. Am I the only one who remembers his days as a baseball player? If his name was not Michael Jordan, they would not even let him be the ball boy for a slow-pitch softball game, let alone the minor leagues of baseball. Even if you just take his accomplishments as a basketball player into account, he does not hold a majority of the records in B-Ball. Hell, the only records he holds are the ones ESPN makes up. He is the highest scorer on the 13th day of months ending in "er" on even years. I don't see his name up as the all-time leading scorer and he has not eclipsed Wilt's single game-performance. The man does have some incredible skills, but they are one-dimensional and only apply on a basketball court.
Tiger Woods? What is his time in the mile? What is his vertical leap. Sure, he can walk 18 holes a day, but my fat-ass neighbor can do that. Let's see him whack down a case of beer and play 18 holes, if he can do that and score under par, maybe he gets my vote.
I would have to go with Thorpe in the end. The guy excelled in like 30 sports, all of which required a high level of athletic prowess.