Chase the Unicorn
How to identify a "Unicorn" athlete and why they're worth the chase
On September 28th, 2024, I joined a crowd of 48,395 piled into Coors Field in Denver, Colorado to watch the Rockies host the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. The crowd wasn’t there to provide moral support for the home team during their 100th loss of the season or trying to squeeze in the last dose of baseball in the final weekend of the season. Fans were there for a unicorn sighting during a record-breaking season.
Zooming out for a second, Shohei Ohtani had just completed the historic feat of becoming the 1st ever Major League Baseball player to achieve 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases (50-50) in a single season. For context, only 5 players in baseball history had ever recorded a 40-40 season prior to 2024 (40 home runs and 40 stolen bases)1. There was no comparison for the 50-50 season and Ohtani didn’t show any signs of slowing down in his final weekend. The absurdity of approaching 60 stolen bases didn’t seem impossible at this point either (he would finish the season with 59). The caliber of performance or achievement that is unique and incomparable crowns an athlete with “Unicorn” status. Sports commentators and writers that make a living off of comparisons are all of a sudden grasping for words when faced with a unicorn.
Back in Colorado, the stadium was electric and you would have never guessed that this game had no impact on the postseason for either team (*spoiler alert: the Dodgers would win the World Series). The entire stadium stood to their feet every time Shohei Ohtani went to bat with a collective anticipation and wondering “Will I get to witness yet another home run?” When Ohtani didn’t deliver a home run, there was hardly an ounce of frustration but instead… applause. The applause was really a curtain call and a moment of recognition for Ohtani’s accomplishments over the season that everyone, regardless of allegiance, could appreciate. The 3-game series with the Dodgers to close the 2024 season would be the highest attended series of the entire season for the Rockies (nearly 150,000 fans). If the 50-50 season wasn’t impressive enough, Ohtani also side-hustles as a pitcher and has amassed over 600 strikeouts in his career so far.
Now that we’ve established what it takes to achieve “Unicorn” status, we must look to other sports to find a worthy comparison. On March 26th, 2025, Nikola Jokić returned from an injury to lead the Denver Nuggets to a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Like Ohtani, Jokić (nicknamed the Joker) has led his team to a championship and collected MVP honors (3x for each player). On March 26th, Jokić set the Nuggets franchise record with his 30th triple double of the season (with 8 games still remaining) highlighted by a beautiful over the shoulder no look pass2. The ultimate unicorn feature for the 6 ft 11 inch 285 lb player has to be his 3-point shooting ability. Historically, the team’s center is supposed to throw down monster dunks and blocks NOT be a threat for shooting 3-point shots. The Joker boasted a wild 41.7% 3-point shooting percentage in the 2024-2025 season and stands in the top 5 for 3-point shots made at the center position…that’s top 5 in NBA history and he has just finished year 103.
Remember when the worst insult to a sports fan was that they were a “bandwagoner”? A bandwagoner was a fan who never showed any longstanding allegiance to a specific team and only followed the most popular player or team of the moment4. Let’s be clear though, chasing a unicorn player is NOT the same as being a bandwagoner. If I can appreciate a future hall of fame Japanese player representing a Los Angeles baseball team as a Florida native, then you have permission to book tickets to see a once-in-a-generation player regardless of your team loyalties. Now that you can spot a unicorn in the wild, go catch a game with a unicorn (don’t wait until they go extinct… I mean… retire).
40-40 Club Statistics. 40-40 Club: 40 Home Runs and 40 Stolen Bases
Nuggets Youtube Highlight. Nuggets vs Bucks Highlight Play
NBA Statistics (Statmuse). Most 3 Pointers by Centers in Career
Ridiculous fictional example of a bandwagoner: You know who I’m talking about, the person who rooted for the Boston Celtics only because their uncle visited Boston 40 years ago and sent them a sticker and their local NBA team was awful.