The 10 Greatest Philadelphia Athletes Of The 21st Century
ESPN.com has their Top 100 athletes of the 21st Century. We responded to their thoughts on our show and Andrew Salciunas proposed that we list our Top 10 Philadelphia athletes.
These lists always create a lot of discourse and vitriol. The biggest issue you have is on athletes that overlap the turn of the century and whether taking out those accomplishments removes them from Top 10 consideration. Here is my list and I’ll welcome your “thoughtful” commentary! Hopefully, I didn’t leave someone off the list that deserves the honor. Here we go!
John Kincade’s Top 10 Philadelphia Athletes of the 21st Century
1. Jimmy Rollins
The top spot goes to the all-time hit leader of the franchise, multiple-time All-Star and Champion Jimmy Rollins. Dynamic, outspoken, and absolutely the greatest Phillie of his generation. I’ll always remember him as the straw that stirred the drink and someone who willed that franchise into believing they were ready to win. All of his career falling into the timeframe certainly helps his candidacy.
2. Donovan McNabb
The greatest QB in franchise history is enough to consider him eligible, but the Eagles’ tenure of Andy Reid would never develop in the same way without him. Thank God the Browns took Tim Couch! McNabb went to 5 NFC Title games in a decade and an NFC Championship.
3. Jason Peters
A first ballot HOF player when he finally decides to retire. He might be the greatest steal of any Philly sports era in a trade. He was the best Left Tackle in the game across almost all of his tenure.
4.Allen Iverson
I believe him carrying that 76ers team to an NBA Finals is one of the greatest accomplishments ever in Philadelphia sports.
5. Brian Dawkins
He defined the Eagles defense and led young players to greatness. One of the Ultimate Eagles!
6. Bryce Harper
Bryce continues to write his Philadelphia legacy and should be climbing on this list if we check back in a few years.
7. Lane Johnson
To sustain excellence over a long period of time is one thing, but to be able to show that the team doesn’t win nearly as often in your absence is a huge proving point. Lane has been a cornerstone.
8. Jason Kelce
The best at his position for at least 5 seasons of his career, but his leadership and “face of the franchise” status made him an immense shadow cast on all other leaders in town.
9. Joel Embiid
Without any significant winning going on during his tenure, his individual accomplishments are scaled back a bit. His MVP season may be the biggest reason he crashed my Top 10.
10. Claude Giroux
A top 3 scorer in the NHL over a decade, he deserves a spot on this list despite the fact that his organization never put together a championship run.
IF I chose to not follow directions…like Andrew
The other two names that just failed to make the cut were Ryan Howard and Shady McCoy. I struggled to choose Claude Giroux over them.
Watch Kincade & Salciunas on the 97.5 The Fanatic YouTube page for discussion about the latest breaking sports news in Philadelphia.
Every Philly Athlete On ESPN's Top 100 Of The 21st Century List
ESPN is currently in the midst of ranking the top 100 of the 21st century so far. Not just in the 4 main sports, but of all sports across the world. American Football, Hockey, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Cricket, Track, etc. Also not just from men’s sports, but women’s too.
It is quite the undertaking, comparing athletes from dozens of different sports, all across the world. It is leading to some interesting results too. You can check out the full list as it is revealed here.
With any list like this, my first instinct is to check which of our players will be on the list. Philly may have only won 2 championships in the 21st century so far, but we have seen a lot of good players. Bryce Harper, Brian Dawkins, Joel Embiid, Allen Iverson, Jason Kelce, Roy Halladay. We have seen our share of superstars that could earn a place here. Championships aside, it is a good time to be a Philly fan.
Related: Philadelphia Is Primed For Its Best Sports Year Since 1980
So if you are curious about which Philly athletes cracked the Top 100 of the 21st Century, keep reading to find out.
ESPN’s Methodology To Rank The Top 100 Of The 21st Century
It was not just a group of ESPN writers picking which athletes they liked. They were a lot more in-depth than that. They started by asking experts from each sport to rank the players from those sports to get a baseline pool of players for which to build this list.
Once they had a list of about 262 people, according to them, they then set up thousands of randomized head-to-head matchups, that they had those same experts vote on. Eventually, it led to this list.
Only accomplishments from the 21st century were counted. So if a player had great seasons in the 90s, it did not matter to this list. Only the things they did from January 1st, 2000 onward counted. So you may see some All-Time greats rank lower than you would think because many of the great things they did happened in the 20th century.
Here Are All The Philly Athletes Who Appeared On the Top 100 Of The 21st Century List:
92: Pedro Martinez
Pedro only spent half a season here, and it was not exactly worthy of this list. But he was a Philly athlete in the 21st Century, so we count it as a Philly athlete being on the list.
If they included stuff from the 20th century, he would be much higher on this list. But even just his play from this century is worthy. Pedro is one of the best pitchers ever. He had the best ERA in the MLB 3 times this century, led the league in strikeouts twice, and had the best WHIP 4 times.
With the Phillies in 2009, he had a 3.63 ERA. It ballooned up to 6.30 in the World Series. But he did throw 7 shutout innings against the Dodgers in the NLCS.
We didn’t see Prime Pedro, but we got glimpses of it in his short time here. While it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, Philly is lucky to be a small part of his legacy.
88: Roy Halladay
Halladay also spent most of his career somewhere other than Philly. But he did close out his career with 4 seasons in Philly, two of which were historically great. With the Phillies Roy Halladay threw a Perfect Game, a playoff no-hitter, and won the NL Cy Young. It was his 2nd Cy Young Award this century after winning 1 with the Blue Jays in 2003.
Halladay was one of the last of a type of pitcher we may never see again. A true workhorse who throws nearly 250 innings per season. We tragically lost him young, but he left his mark on the world of Baseball, and on Philadelphia.
He is an inseparable part of Phillies lore now. One of the best pitchers to ever play here, despite it not being for a very long time.
79) Bryce Harper
Harper is a true superstar. From when he was a teenager, he already had a larger-than-life aura to him. He was one of the biggest prospects in MLB history, and while there were some bumps, he lived up to it.
Harper at 31 already has two MVPS, with a chance at a 3rd this season. He also won Rookie of the Year and made 7 All-Star Games. Not to mention his post-season numbers are literally among the best in MLB history. His .996 playoff OPS is the 9th best in MLB history. Above names like David Ortiz and Albert Pujols.
He is going to be a Hall of Famer, and he is on track to hit 500 HRs. While he may have started his career with the nationals, it is going to be the Phillies he is remembered for. He still has plenty of time to add to his legacy too. With this play already being among the most legendary moments in MLB history.
78: Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins did not play for a Philly team, because boxing is not a team sport. But he is actually from Philly, which is even better. Hopkins is the best Boxer in Philly history. He went 55-8-2, 32 wins by KO, and was the oldest ever after he beat Jean Pascal in 2011. He would beat his own record a few years later when he reclaimed that title at 49 years old.
Hopkins is Philly royalty. We might be best known for the fictional boxer that is from Philly, but Bernard Hopkins is a real-life boxing icon we can call our own. His 28-year career saw him break many records, including 20 middle-weight title defenses. What made him extra special was his longevity and his dominance late into his 40s.
When talking about the greatest Philly athletes, there is no way you could leave Hopkins out. His place on ESPN’s list is well deserved.
(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)LAS VEGAS – SEPTEMBER 18: Bernard Hopkins celebrates after winning the match against Oscar De La Hoya for the world middleweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 18, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hopkins knocked out De La Hoya in the ninth round.
