Top 10 Best Handball Players

Handball is a fast-paced and exciting sport that requires a combination of physical strength, agility, technique, and teamwork.
This comparatively less popular sport is played by millions of people worldwide and has featured some truly legendary players who have amazed fans with their exceptional skills and accomplishments.
But who are the best handball players of all time? How do they compare to each other in terms of performance, awards, and influence?
Today, we will rank the best handball player ever, based on their individual and team accomplishments, their impact on the sport, and their popularity among fans and experts.
We will also look at some of the factors that make them stand out from the rest, such as their playing style, their signature moves, and their memorable moments.
Here are the top 10 best handball players of all time:

10. Veselin Vujović

Veselin Vujović is a former handball player of Montenegrin and is currently the coach of RK Vardar.
He started his professional career with RK Metaloplastika, the team that won seven league titles, four cup titles, and two European Championships.
He played for many teams like Barcelona and Granollers, but these teams didn’t win any titles.
He played in the national team of Yugoslavia, which won the Olympic gold in 1984 and bronze in 1988, scoring 28 and 29 goals in each Olympics, respectively.
Veselin Vujović was named the Best Athlete of Yugoslavia and was the first player to win the IHF World Player of the Year.

9. Niklas Landin

Niklas Landin is a handball player who plays for the national team of Denmark and THW Kiel.
He started his professional career with GOG Svendborg TGI but due to the club’s financial distress, Niklas Landin joined Bjerringbro-Silkeborg.
He also played for Rhein-Neckar Lowen and now with THW Kiel.
He won the 2015 Super Cup with THW Kiel in his first season with the club. Niklas Landin plays as a goalkeeper and is the captain of the Danish national handball team.
He has won a European Championship and, a silver medal at Men’s Handball championship.
He was a part of the 2016 Olympic gold-winning Danish handball team. In 2021 Niklas Landin won the 2021 World’s Men Handball Championship.

8. Anita Görbicz

Anita Görbicz is a Hungarian former professional handballer, considered one of the greatest handball players of all time due to her exceptional skills, leadership, and numerous achievements.
Görbicz was voted IHF World Player of the Year in 2005 and is also the all-time top scorer of the Hungary women’s national team, with 1,111 goals in 233 games.
She also won the EHF Champions League trophy five times, the Hungarian Championship and Cup eight times each, and several medals at the World and European Championships.
She was selected for the World Championship All-Star Team four times, and was the EHF Champions League Top Scorer twice.
She is known for her extraordinary passes, cheeky goals, and leadership skills both on and off the court.
She is the Honorary Citizen of Győr and her iconic number 13 shirt has been retired by the Hungarian Handball Federation.
Anita Görbicz retired from playing handball in 2021 and became an assistant coach for Győri ETO KC and the Hungary national team.

7. Ólafur Stefánsson

Ólafur Stefánsson is a former handball player of the Iceland national team.
He played the right-back position and was the captain of the Iceland national handball team for many years.
Ólafur Stefánsson started his professional career with Valur, where he became five times Iceland Champion.
As he gained popularity and developed skills, he played many times like SC Magdeburg, but the team where he got success was BM Ciudad Real.
He won the Spanish title and Champions League many times with Ciudad.
He has over 1550 goals in his name, which is the third-highest in handball history.
He is an Olympic silver-medalist, bronze medalist in the European championship, and won four times Iceland Sportsperson of the year.

6. Cristina Neagu

Cristina Neagu is the only female handball player in history to win four IHF World Player of the Year awards (in 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2018).
She has also been voted into the All-Star Team at the European Championship four times and a staggering seven times at the Champions League.
She was the 2015 World Championship top-scorer and MVP. She also finished as the top scorer of the EHF Champions League three times.
She has been selected to the All-EHF Champions League All-Star Team seven times (another record).
She is known for her extraordinary passes, cheeky goals, and leadership skills both on and off the court.
Neagu is known for her unstoppable handball shot, which has been analyzed by sports scientists using KINEXON technology.
She has gone from being a hot prospect in the Romanian handball scene to becoming one of the top 10 handball players of all time.

5. Mikkel Hansen

Mikkel Hansen is a Danish handball player who plays for the national team of Denmark and Paris Saint-German.
Mikkel Hansen’s father was also a national handball player with over 100 matches, which made him develop a love for handball.
He played for Helsingor IF and Virum-Sorgenfri HK before starting his international career.
In 2005 Mikkel Hansen started his professional career with GOG German, where he won the Danish Championship.
Later he moved to FC Barcelona, AG Kobenhavn, and finally to Paris Saint-German. He has played over 230 matches and has over 1150 goals in his name.
He played as a left-back and was a skillful and hard-working player, which was shown when he won IHF World Player of the Year for three consecutive years, making him the only player to achieve this feat.
Mikkel Hansen is two times Olympic Champion, four times World Championship, and two times European Championship.

4. Talant Dujshebaev

Talant Dujshebaev is a former Russian-Spanish handball player. He is the current handball coach of Lomza Vive Kielce.
He started playing handball for CSKA Moscow, where he developed new skills and became a great player.
He became a Unified Team member ( former Soviet Union Team), who won the gold medal in the 1992 Olympic games.
Talant Dujshebaev was the leading scorer in that Olympic game. In 1993, as a member of the Russian Team, he won the 1993 World Championships.
After receiving Spanish citizenship, he joined the Spanish National Team.
As a part of the Spanish National Team, Talant Dujshebaev won two Olympic bronze medals and one bronze and silver in the European Championships.
He was IHF World Player of the Year two times and finished second in the IHF World Player of the Century.

3. Magnus Wislander

Magnus Wislander is a former handball player from Sweden. Magnus Wislander was nicknamed “The Hose” because he had the power and skill to slither any defense.
He started his professional career by playing for the Swedish National Team from 1985 till he retired in 2004.
Magnus Wislander had a pretty long career of 19 years in which he played more than 380 international matches and with over 1000 international goals in his name.
Magnus Wislander led Sweden to two world championships and four European Championships.
In 1999, he was voted as the World Handball Player of the Century.

2. Nikola Karabatić

Nikola Karabatić is a handball player for the French National Team and Paris Saint-German.
Nikola Karabatić started his professional handball career with the French club, Montpellier HB where he won four consecutive French Champions and EHF Champions League.
Then he moved to THW Kiel, where he again won four consecutive German Championships and the EHF Champions League.
Later, he got a chance to play with Montpellier HB, Pays d’Aix Universite Club handball, FC Barcelona and PSG Handball. Nikola Karabatić is an Olympic, World, and European Champion.
He is a two-time World Championship bronze medalist, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and three golds in the European Championship.

1. Ivano Balić

According to fans, experts, and polls, Ivano Balić, a retired Croatian handball star, is considered the best handball player of all time.
It is confirmed by an online poll organized by the International Handball Federation (IHF).
He is now working as the assistant coach of the Croatian national handball team. Ivano Balić started playing basketball, but after his father insisted, he began playing handball.
He started his professional career with RK Brodomerkur Split, where he played for four seasons, and the team reached the top positions in the league.
Later in 2001, he moved to RK Metkovic Jambo, where he won the Croatian Cup and League championship in the first season.
In Metkovic, Ivano Balić focussed on improving his game and worked on new skills that made him win the IHF World Player of the Year in 2004.
He got a chance to play with his idol Jackson Richardson for four years.

We have ranked the top 10 best handball players in history based on their individual and team achievements, impact on the sport, and popularity among fans and experts.
Their profound impact on raising the sport’s profile and redefining what can be achieved on the court ensures their places among the legacy of handball legends.
While new stars will continue emerging and pushing the boundaries, the players featured here stand out as pioneers who left an indelible mark and forever changed the game.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article and learned something new about handball and its stars.
Let us know who is your favorite in the comments section.