The 6 best comeback stories in sports right now

There is nothing better in sports than a good comeback story. A player returning from injury, or breaking out when we least expected it — the team who managed to put it all together and become a juggernaut. It’s both the magic, and fabric of what makes the sports we love so appealing and irresistible.

Some comeback stories have been converted to innate sporting knowledge: Michael Jordan’s flu game, Rafael Nadal’s comeback from two sets down in the 2022 Australian Open Men’s Final, the 2004 ALCS when the Red Sox rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win the series. What about right now, though? These are the comebacks happening before our eyes that will be appreciated in the annals of sports history

When the dust settles on Geno Smith’s career it will be remembered as one of the great turnarounds in NFL history. Even though it began in 2022, it’s still unlike anything in professional football.

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who had a more difficult start to their career than Geno Smith. Drafted in the second round in 2013 after stunningly falling out of the first, Smith found himself on a disfunction, highly-problematic Jets team in the twilight of Rex Ryan’s run. The young QB showed some promise his rookie season, but also threw an abysmal 21 interceptions. The next year he was injured in preseason, then in 2015 he effectively missed the entire season after being punched by teammate IK Enemkpali, breaking Smith’s jaw.

The Jets moved on and signed Ryan Fitpatrick, and it appeared Smith’s NFL career was over. He bounced around the league for two seasons as a backup, and seemed he would fade into obscurity when the Seahawks signed him in 2019. Then something bizarre happened. Seattle stunningly decided to trade Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, and Smith was thrust into the starting role. It appeared that the Seahawks would be one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2022, but then magic happened.

Smith didn’t just play brilliantly by his standards, he was better than Russ. A rejuvenated, brand new QB took to the field and finished the season with over 4,000 passing yards, and a career-high 30 passing touchdowns. Smith was named Comeback Player of the Year, and went on two start two more seasons before being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders to join new head coach Pete Carroll.

From a castoff almost out of the league, to a Top 15 quarterback in the NFL — Geno Smith’s comeback story is one for the ages.

Nobody in MLB is having a comeback season like Jays shortstop Bo Bichette. One of the best players in baseball two year ago, Bichette crashed down to earth in a brutal 2024 that saw him him struggle through calf injuries, then finally end his year in September with a broken finger.

Fighting through those injuries led to a disastrous season where he only batted .225 on the year, and had a negative WAR for the first time in his career at -0.3. It was fair to question whether Bichette was destined to become an injury-riddled shadow of his former self, but 2025 put that all to rest.

Now as we approach the postseason Bichette has been the most important player for Toronto after Vlad Guerrero Jr. He’s batting a career-high .311, good for fourth in MLB — and having a largely error-free season in the field, registering only eight in 130 games.

Right now the Jays are leading the AL East, they’re going to be a factor in the playoffs, and all signs point to Toronto having the potential to make a run all the way to the World Series. If that happens then Bichette deserves all the flowers, because his comeback has been the difference maker this season.

The Dream have been locked in a perpetual state of “almost good” for the majority of their existence. In 2023 it appeared as though the team had finally put it together to contend in the WNBA, then the next season they were right back down.

Everything has changed for Atlanta during this 2025 WNBA season. Not only are the Dream leading the Eastern Conference with a 27-14 record, but legitimately look like championship contenders — assuming anyone can get past the Lynx and Aces in the West. So what changed that took this normally ho-hum franchise and transformed them into one of the best teams in basketball? Coaching.

That’s not explicitly a knock on former coach Tanisha Wright, but more a credit to first year WNBA head coach Karl Smesko, who has taken all the pieces the Dream assembled and made them sing. The team’s two big stars Allisha Grey and Rhyne Howard have always been great — but Grey in particular has lifted her game to career highs in scoring, rebounding, and assists in Smesko’s system.

In addition the Dream went from being a solid defensive team, to a remarkable one thanks in large part to Jordin Canada and Brionna Jones who have become two of the best defenders at the position since Smesko took over. That paired with newfound scoring has lifted the Dream from a 15-25 record a year ago, to now 27-14 and still soaring.

The Dream is truly alive in Atlanta.

One of the most maligned franchises in the NFL, the Detroit Lions had been in a sorry state of affairs for the better part of 60 years. Since the NFL/AFL merger in 1967 the Lions only managed to go to the playoffs 12 times in 55 years — more often than not being bounced in the first round.

The team had stars like Barry Sanders, Matthew Stafford, and Calvin Johnson, but for some reason this team never, ever managed to break through and become consistent. That was until Dan Campbell walked through the door in 2021. An unconventional hire at the time, it seemed the Lions were making another boneheaded move by bringing in a man who had no experience beyond being an assistant head coach and tight end coach in the NFL level. This is a league where coordinators get those jobs, not position guys — and Campbell looked like a mistake.

How wrong we were. Immediately he began putting his stamp on the franchise. Dan Campbell football is about toughness, resolve, and playing through adversity. Within a year he’d completely changed the culture of the Lions, believing that they could be one of the premiere teams in the NFL — and more importantly, making his players believe it.

Now Detroit is a perennial NFC favorite, a staple of the playoffs, and a team that legitimately has a chance to win a Super Bowl.

The light switch that has been turned on in Florida when it comes to hockey is unlike anything else in sports. It’s been five years since the franchise began its great ascent, and it’s quickly become one of the best comeback stories from utter obscurity to the heights of hockey.

Florida made the Stanley Cup Finals during the 1995-96 season, then essentially became a joke for the better part of 25 years. They only made the playoffs four times over the span, and were often so forgettable it was difficult to even remember they were in the National Hockey League.

Then in 2020-21 everything began to turn. The Panthers morphed from being a mediocre franchise into the best in all of hockey, and since making the switch to head coach Paul Maurice they’ve won back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, cementing themselves as the class of the sport. With hard-hitting play and a love of bending the rules to their breaking point, the Panthers perfectly embody old-school hockey.

Now they enter the 2025-26 season as the favorites to hoist the cup once more. If they’re able to achieve this they’d be the first team since the 1982 New York Islanders to three-peat in the NHL. The comeback from a nothing story to the class of the NHL is still ongoing, and it’s the best story in the sport — or the worst if you’re playing against them.

Let’s try to speak this one into existence, because it hasn’t happened yet — but my goodness would it be great for the NBA if Joel Embiid bounced back in the 2025 season.

It’s easy to forget that in 2022 and 2023 nobody except Nikola Jokic was as good as Embiid. Averaging over 30 points and 10 boards, the Sixers center was absolute unstoppable in the paint and had a shooting touch most big men can only dream about. Now he’s been sidelined for the bulk of the last two seasons, and faded into relative obscurity in the discussion of the best players in the league.

The 2025-26 season could change all that. Embiid is back, he’s healthy by all reports, and finally we might get to realize the potential Philadelphia has with Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, emerging star Jared McCain, and promising rookie V.J. Edgecombe. If Embiid can return to form it makes the 76ers a legitimate favorite in an injury-riddled East, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch.

We need this comeback for the good of basketball.