Right off the bat, some caveats. I am not counting professional wrestlers -- I am not saying they're not athletes -- but I think it's fair to admit that there's an element of theatricality in what they do already, which means I'm not going to count The Rock, Dave Bautista and Andre the Giant.
I also am omitting Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was a professional body builder but who I wouldn't call an athlete in the traditional sense. And he's just a whole other phenomenon. I am thinking mainstream pro sports stars who gave committed, legit performances (sometimes as themselves) in a movie.
I am doing this because LeBron James just stumbled hard with his Space Jam movie and well, athletes acting in movie is just kind of in the ether right now.
So in no particular order...
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Airplane! - Jabbar always had a reputation for being sullen and standoffish, which is part of why he is such a surprising, deadpan presence in this smash comedy film. He plays a heightened version of himself and gets an opportunity to vent vicariously against his critics in a scene opposite a precocious kid. Honorable mention to his brief cameo in Fletch, his epic fight scene with Bruce Lee in Game of Death and his appearance on this year's season of Dave. Clearly, he is not as serious as he seems.
Jim Brown in Fingers - The NFL legend is brooding, brilliant and scary as intimidating ladies man in James Toback's violent, semi-autobiographical character study starring Harvey Keitel. Brown's brutal, sexually imposing character is not-so-loosely based on Brown's real-life off-screen persona. Toback was briefly a live-in roommate of his and the two chased women together for a period.
Jim Bouton in The Long Goodbye - Hardly a household name, Bouton, a Major League Baseball player became semi-infamous for his tell-all book Ball Four, which exposed some of the less flattering behind the scenes antics of locker room culture. In Robert Altman's riff on the noir film, he plays a shady character who betrays Elliott Gould's hero and meets a jarring fate in the finale. He died recently and I wish he'd acted more, he was a natural.
Ray Allen in He Got Game - As Denzel Washington's son in director Spike Lee's ode to basketball, as well as fathers and sons, Allen more than holds his own. He's a solid, naturalistic presence and he inspires some of Denzel's most underrated work. It's an epic, emotional film and it wouldn't work if Allen weren't so sympathetic and genuine.
Kevin Garnett in Uncut Gems - Garnett was such a pleasant surprise in this Safdie Brothers masterpiece. He'd been recently retired and here he was playing a version of himself circa 2012. He was subtle, funny and unflappable, even while sharing the screen opposite a never-better Adam Sandler. I don't know if this is a one-off or if he ever intends to do more, but he's more than capable.
Carl Weathers in Rocky - Although Weather is far better known for his acting career, he did have a legit career in the NFL before making the leap. He's had a pretty prolific career -- most recently co-starring in and directing episodes of The Mandolorian, but he'll probably always be best known for his larger-than-life Apollo Creed character, which rises above caricature on the strength of his charisma.
Randall 'Tex' Cobb in Raising Arizona - I had no idea Randall Cobb was ever an athlete, I just knew him as a tough guy heavy from the movies, but he was a professional boxer. He once took a beating so bad from Larry Holmes that he turned broadcaster Howard Cosell off boxing forever. But his performance in Raising Arizona, as a grim tracker is truly iconic and hilariously funny.
Bernie Casey in Sharky's Machine - Casey's another NFL player turned blaxploitation star. He would go on to a bevy of supporting roles in comedy and action films, but Burt Reynolds gave him one of his greatest roles and a veteran detective. He has a powerful monologue in the film, which he nearly steals, and he has a surprisingly haunting presence throughout.
Fred Williamson in M*A*S*H - Williamson had a storied career during the blaxploitation era, but probably his most nuanced role was in Robert Altman's breakthrough war film. As Spearchucker Jones, he did the most with limited screen time, utilizing his own background as a NFL player to play a ringer (but also a surgeon) for a Korean war medical unit.
Keith Hernandez in Seinfeld - This is a bit of cheat, since it's TV, but I was always so amused by the episode where the Mets legend played an arrogant version of himself opposite Julia Louis Dreyfuss' Elaine Benes. They had very funny chemistry, and while no professional actor, he proved he could hang with some real comedy heavy hitters.
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