The 15 Most Irreplaceable Stars in Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers would pretty much fall apart without LeBron James, right?
He's not the only athlete currently providing that much value to his team, however. Just look at the Tony Romo injury fallout.
Not only are these 15 players important pieces of the puzzle, but there's a good possibility their teams could not sustain comparable levels of success without them.
An honorable mention goes to Stephen Curry, who is valuable but also surrounded by many stellar teammates. The same goes for duos like Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook and Clayton Kershaw/Zack Greinke. Each player is extremely important, but if their teams only lost half the duo, things wouldn't necessarily fall apart.
The most irreplaceable individuals in sports right now—let's go.
J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
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The Houston Texans have had a rough couple of seasons and started 2015 at 0-2 to boot. Still, defensive end and captain J.J. Watt provides irreplaceable leadership and on-field performance.
Watt's 20.5 sacks in 2014 were second only to Kansas City linebacker Justin Houston's total. He also scored five touchdowns (two defensive, three receiving) on the season. No big deal.
The two-time Defensive Player of the Year was a leading MVP candidate in 2014, a rarity for defensive players and just another indicator of how valuable Watt is to his team.
The only reason he's not higher on this list is due to the Texans' lack of recent success around him.
Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs
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What the Chicago Cubs are doing this season is undoubtedly a team effort.
And although Jon Lester was brought in to be the ace, it is hard to deny what Jake Arrieta has meant to a team on the verge of its first playoff appearance since 2008.
With two weeks remaining in the season, Arrieta has the second-highest wins above replacement figure among pitchers (7.5), behind only Zack Greinke of the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to Baseball-Reference.com. He also has a league-leading 19 wins (as of September 21) and an incredible 1.96 ERA.
It took a village to get the Cubs where they are, but put a replacement-level player in for Arrieta, and they might not be there at all.
(Plus, can we talk about that T-shirt? Boss.)
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
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In 2008, Jonathan Toews was named captain of the Chicago Blackhawks—at the time, the third-youngest in NHL history to receive the honor. Since then, his team has won the Stanley Cup three times.
The 27-year-old has played all eight of his NHL seasons in Chicago, and the team signed him to an eight-year extension worth $10.5 million per year in 2014.
The Blackhawks have always put a good team around Toews, but he has still proved to be just as valuable on the ice as he is off. Teammate Duncan Keith won the 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy, but Toews contributed 21 points in the 2014-15 NHL postseason.
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Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays
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The Toronto Blue Jays are the Kansas City Royals of the 2015 MLB season. As of September 21, the Jays lead the American League East and look poised for their first playoff appearance since they won back-to-back World Series in 1992 and '93.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson has been a big part of that success. Fourth in the majors in wins above replacement with 8.1 (as of September 21, via Baseball-Reference.com), Donaldson is having a career year for the Jays.
With two weeks still to play, Donaldson has a league-leading 120 RBI to go with his 39 home runs and 173 hits. So if you want to talk irreplaceability, particularly in the here-and-now, Donaldson has to be mentioned.
According to Andrew Robichaud of TSN.ca, Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey said, "It's gotten to the point where nothing this guy does surprises you anymore. He's a super hero, really. He's in a special place right now."
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
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The New Orleans Pelicans signed Anthony Davis to a five-year, $145 million contract extension in July, the richest in NBA history.
Davis led the league in blocks in 2014-15 and averaged 24.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. The two-time All-Star also led the Pelicans to a 45-37 record and a playoff appearance.
With all that height and athleticism (not to mention the cash money), the 22-year-old looks to be the centerpiece of the franchise for years to come.
Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
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As of September 21, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper leads the major leagues in wins above replacement with 10.2, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
His team might be in the midst of a disappointing season, but Harper is the future of the franchise. After this, which has been his breakout season, his on-field contributions have made him irreplaceable, as has his marketability as one of the game's brightest young stars.
The 22-year-old is signed through 2016, but after that, look for him to command big bucks and big years to stay in Washington.
Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo went down with a collarbone injury on Sunday, and owner Jerry Jones told reporters he felt "just about as low as a crippled cricket's [butt]," according to Cindy Boren of the Washington Post.
What Jones meant was, he's feeling pretty low—as he should be. Save for a similar injury in 2010, Romo has started nearly every game for the Cowboys since 2005. And after several meh seasons, the team finished 2014 at 12-4 and looked ready to make another run at the postseason this year.
It's still early, and that could still happen, but to lose Romo for any significant amount of time is a blow.
Romo is such a staple, the plan to replace him is shaky at best. (His backup is currently Brandon Weeden, but rumors involving RG3 and Tim Tebow are already beginning to surface.)
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
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Quick, who is the backup quarterback for the Green Bay Packers?
Time's up. It's Scott Tolzien.
For real, though, it's hard to remember who it is when Aaron Rodgers has been such a stalwart since 2008.
Rodgers was named NFL MVP in 2014, but that alone isn't what makes him irreplaceable to his team. No, that would be his on-field performance, leadership and ability to remain calm under pressure.
Just two games into the 2015 season, Rodgers has thrown for 438 yards and five touchdowns en route to victories over the division rival Chicago Bears and defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks.
Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
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San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey has proved himself to be an invaluable force on a perennially championship-caliber team.
A three-time All-Star and 2012 National League MVP, the catcher plays nearly every day, providing consistency and leadership beyond his 28 years. He's been a fixture on a team that has won three of the last five World Series played.
This season, Posey is batting .327/.390/.488 as of September 21, and according to Rob Arthur of FiveThirtyEight.com, he is one of the best pitch framers in the league—maybe even the best.
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
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In 2011, Peyton Manning was injured and Andrew Luck still played football at Stanford. The Indianapolis Colts went 2-14.
In 2012, with Manning off to Denver and Luck debuting in his rookie NFL season, the Colts went 11-5 and made the playoffs. In fact, the Colts have made the playoffs in each of Luck's first three seasons, getting closer to the Super Bowl each time.
Luck is a three-time Pro Bowler who threw for 4,761 yards and a league-leading 40 touchdown passes last season. Teammate Frank Gore recently called the 26-year-old a "football god," according to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com.
Where would the Colts be without Luck? Surely, no one in Indianapolis wants to find out.
James Harden, Houston Rockets
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Houston Rockets guard James Harden came in second to Steph Curry for the 2014-15 NBA MVP Award. Curry was certainly impressive, but a popular argument for Harden had been that he held more value to his own team—that without him, the Rockets would've suffered more than the Dubs without Curry.
In April, Sunny Saini and Micah Adams of ESPN Stats & Information wrote Harden was "carrying a contender" and cited his league-leading wins above replacement figure of 19.86.
With Dwight Howard out half the season with injury issues, Harden certainly capitalized on the opportunity to prove his worth. The 26-year-old averaged 27.4 points and seven assists per game and led the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals.
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
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Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout contributes a wins above replacement figure of 8.2, good for third-best in the majors as of September 21, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
In his fifth professional season, the 24-year-old has already made four All-Star teams, won a Rookie of the Year Award and been named the American League MVP.
The Angels signed their boy wonder to a six-year extension worth $144.5 million in March 2014, but it's probably safe to assume they'll eventually try to keep this guy for even longer than that.
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
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Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price took home the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 2014-15. He was also voted the best player in the league by his peers, earning him the Ted Lindsay Award.
Price led the league in save percentage (.933) and goals-against average (1.96). However, despite the Canadiens' mark of 184 goals against (fewest in the league), they were 20th in goals for with 214.
Where would the Habs be without Price? In May, Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden wrote for the Wall Street Journal: "He rescued them from the first round of the playoffs, shutting out the Ottawa Senators in Game 6. Now, he has a bigger task, and no matter how outstanding he is, he may not be good enough. He must make his teammates better."
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady may have had a tumultuous offseason, but it hasn't taken him long to get back on the field and prove his immense worth in New England.
The defending Super Bowl champion has thrown for 754 yards and seven touchdowns in just the first two games of the 2015 season.
Brady missed most of 2008 with an injury, but besides that, the 38-year-old has started every single game for the Patriots since 2002.
And if you actually need more evidence as to why Brady is irreplaceable, just remember what the plan was for his never-actually-happened four-game suspension: Jimmy Garoppolo.
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
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This one doesn't really need any explanation, does it?
If you need any, just look at LeBron James' stats for the 2015 NBA Finals. The King averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game in his Cleveland Cavaliers' six-game series loss to the Golden State Warriors. No one else on his team who played in more than one game averaged above 14 points.
In addition, please see below for some information regarding regular-season records and postseason appearances, from Basketball-Reference.com:
- Cavaliers with James 1.0 (2003-10): 349-225, five playoff appearances
- Cavaliers without James (2010-14): 97-215, zero playoff appearances
- Cavaliers with James 2.0 (2014-15): 53-29, one playoff appearance
That is all.
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