13 Sons Of Pro Athletes Who Overshadowed Their Dads After Following In Their Footsteps

There are plenty of perks that come with being the son of a professional athlete, including the ability to absorb the knowledge and experience of someone who knows what it takes to play a sport for a living. It’s only natural that some of those kids end up in the same line of work, including more than a few who ended up with a more impressive legacy.

These sons of pro athletes managed to outshine their dads after going down the same path

Most parents are more than happy to raise kids who manage to have more success in life than they did, and that has been the case with a number of professional athletes who were able to foster the talents of children who ended up transcending their career after following in their footsteps.

There is some crossover here with the list of the most accomplished father-son duos of all-time, but I wanted to focus on the offspring who managed to outdo their dads when everything was said and done.

Kobe Bryant

The Dad: Joe Bryant, who played in 606 games between the 76ers, Clippers, and Rockets during a respectable NBA career that lasted for eight seasons. He was a bench player who started less than 20% of those contests and averaged 8.7 points.

Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, was an All-Star in 18 of the 20 seasons he spent with the Lakers and won six championships while racking up a slew of awards and accolades, including 11 All-NBA First Team selections, an MVP award in 2008, and two for his performance in the Finals.

Steph Curry

The Dad: Dell Curry, who averaged 11.7 points in the 1,083 games he appeared in while primarily playing for the Hornets during a career that spanned 16 seasons.

He was a solid player, but he has nothing on Steph Curry, the two-time MVP who has cemented himself as one of the deadliest long-range shooters in NBA history while playing an instrumental role in the four championships the Warriors won after he joined the team in 2009.

Klay Thompson

The Dad: Mychal Thompson, who is probably the most accomplished NBA Dad to appear on this list. He spent 12 seasons in the league while averaging 13.7 points in the 935 games he played for the Lakers, Trail Blazers, and Spurs, and he also won a couple of titles during his time with Los Angeles.

Klay Thompson had some pretty big shoes to fill, but he managed to do exactly that after joining the Warriors in 2011. All five of his All-Star selections came while he was playing for Golden State, as was the case with the four titles he won with Curry while comprising the duo known as the “Splash Brothers.”

Jalen Brunson

The Dad: Rick Brunson, a journeyman who mostly rode the bench while averaging just 3.2 points with the eight teams he played for over the course of nine seasons in the NBA.

Jalen Brunson recently wrapped up his eighth season in the league by leading the Knicks to a championship, but he’d already firmly surpassed his dad (who served as an assistant coach on the title team) as a three-time All-Star who’s averaged 19.2 points per game so far.

Ken Griffey Jr.

The Dad: Ken Griffey Sr., a three-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion who was a Major League Baseball player for 19 years. He wrapped up his time in the league with the Mariners and spent his last two seasons as a teammate of his namesake.

Ken Griffey Jr. more than lived up to the hype that came with being the first overall pick in the 1987 MLB Draft, as he eventually punched his ticket to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the back of his 13 All-Star selections, 10 Gold Glove awards, seven Silver Sluggers, and the 630 home runs that put him 7th on the all-time list.

Cal Ripken Jr.

The Dad: Cal Ripken Sr., who never made it to the MLB as a player but spent seven years grinding in the minors before pivoting to the coaching career that brought him to The Show. He served as an assistant for the Orioles for around a decade before getting a chance to manage them, but it was a fairly short-lived tenure thanks to his 68-101 record.

Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed his dad’s legacy by default after suiting up for the Orioles for the first time in 1981 (the same can be said for his brother Billy, who played in the MLB for 11 seasons). I feel like he still deserves a mention here as a Hall of Famer who played 2,632 consecutive games, made the All-Star team 19 times, and won a couple of AL MVP awards.

Roberto Alomar and Sandy Alomar Jr.

The Dad: Sandy Alomar Sr., who had a lone All-Star Game appearance in 1970 during an MLB career that lasted for 14 seasons.

He was overshadowed by both of his sons, including Roberto, who outshone the rest of the family as a 12-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. Sandy Alomar Jr. didn’t end up in Cooperstown, but he was also able to hold his own with six All-Star Game selections during a career that lasted for 20 seasons.

Barry Bonds

The Dad: Bobby Bonds, a three-time All-Star who won a Gold Glove the same number of times and played in the MLB for 14 years while hitting 332 home runs.

Barry Bonds ultimately outdid him on all of those fronts, as he was a 14-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner who holds the MLB record for the most career home runs with a grand total of 762 over the course of his 22 seasons. His legacy is somewhat tarnished by the PEDs he used to become one of the greatest power hitters of all time, but it’s impossible to deny he outdid his dad.

Prince Fielder

The Dad: Cecil Fielder, who sandwiched two stints in the MLB with a stretch with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan. He really came into his own after returning from overseas and sticking with the theme by joining the Detroit Tigers, as he was named to the All-Star team three times between 1990 and 1993 while securing a couple of Silver Sluggers (he also won a World Series ring in 1996).

Prince Fielder ended up doubling his dad’s All-Star appearances and topping his Silver Slugger count by one during a 12-year career defined by his ability to hit dingers, but it was cut short by the neck injury that forced him to retire in 2016.

DK Metcalf

The Dad: Terrence Metcalf, who was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft and spent seven years in Chicago as a guard who started 25 of the 84 games he appeared in.

DK Metcalf took a different route to the NFL as a wide receiver, and he’s a two-time Pro Bowler who’s racked up more than 1,000 receiving yards in three of the seven seasons he’s played so far.

Peyton and Eli Manning

The Dad: Archie Manning, who primarily played for the Saints during a 14-year NFL career where he was named to the Pro Bowl two times.

Two of his sons also made it to the NFL as quarterbacks, including Peyton Manning, who is currently the only son of an NFL player who’s been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was a five-time MVP who won a couple of Super Bowls, and while Eli spent his career playing second fiddle, he also led the Giants to a couple of titles of his own.

Christian McCaffrey

The Dad: Ed McCaffrey, who spent 13 years as a wide receiver in the NFL and won three Super Bowls as a member of the 49ers (he also had a lone Pro Bowl nod in 1998).

Three of his sons—Christian, Luke, and Max—made it to the NFL, but none of them has managed to make more of a name for himself than the first one. He got to the league as a running back, and he’s a four-time Pro Bowler who Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2023.

Zach Parise

The Dad: JP Parise, who skated for five different NHL teams during a 14-year career where he had 238 goals and 356 assists in the 890 games he played.

Zach Parise was able to surpass him on all of those fronts, as he played in 1,254 games during the 19 seasons where he notched 434 goals and 455 points.