Top 5 current Philadelphia athletes we should all be thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving!

The last year has been pretty rough in Philadelphia sports, and there is not a whole lot to be thankful for in that aspect. The Eagles’ collapse happened, this whole 76ers debacle, the Phillies’ way-too-early exit in the postseason, and the Flyers shot their selves in the foot from making the playoffs and are still rebuilding. If you want to throw the Union in there, they had the most disappointing season in club history.

However, there are always individual athletes for whom we can all be thankful in this city. Mike Schmidt, Reggie White, Bernie Parent, Julius Erving, Chase Utley, Jason Kelce, Bobby Clarke, Allen Iverson, and the list goes on and on.

In 2024, here are the top five (in no particular order) current Philadelphia athletes we should all be thankful for:

Saquon Barkley

We should be more thankful for the Giants’ general manager Joe Schoen and his front office than anyone else this Thanksgiving. They allowed Saquon Barkley to come to Philadelphia and become a monster. Idiots.

Barkley is doing things we have never seen an Eagles running back do. He jumps over guys backward, ices games in the fourth quarter, takes over games with his legs, and breaks records pretty much every week.

Just this last game against the Rams on Sunday night football, Barkley had two 70+ touchdowns in the second half to win, 37-20, in Los Angeles. He had 255 rushing yards, the most in franchise history. He also had 302 scrimmage yards Sunday night.

He has 1,392 rushing yards through just 11 games and is on pace for 2,151 yards rushing, which would be an NFL record for rushing yards in a season. Barkley has 500 scrimmage yards over the last two games, joining Hall-of-Famers Walter Payton (1977) and Ollie Matson (1954) as the only players in NFL history to record 500 scrimmage yards over a two-game span. He became the sixth player in NFL history to record multiple rushing touchdowns of 70+ yards in a game. The others are Lenny Moore (1956), John Fuqua (1970), Barry Sanders (1997), Frank Gore (2009), and Maurice Jones-Drew (2009). Barkley’s 1,649 scrimmage yards are the second most by any player in his first 11 games with a team after Eric Dickerson’s 1,726 with the Rams in 1983.

Barkley should be the favorite for MVP. I do not care if it is a quarterback award or not.

Zack Wheeler

There were a lot of Phillies I could have picked. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Nola.

But there is really one guy, win or loss, that comes through biggest when the lights are brightest. And it is Zack Wheeler.

In the 2024 regular season, Wheeler posted a record of 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA in 32 starts and 200 innings, including 224 strikeouts. He had a National League-best 0.955 WHIP, and 6.3 H/9 (hits per nine innings).

Wheeler was an All-Star for the second time this season and finished second in Cy Young voting to Chris Sale, who had an incredible season.

But with the Phillies, at this point, it is all about how you produce in October. And Wheeler dominates when the towels are being waved and there’s a little chill in the air.

He has an ERA of 2.18 and 77 strikeouts in 12 appearances in the postseason in his Phillies career. When Wheeler goes out there in October, similarly to Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay, you know you are getting a magnificent outing.

Matvei Michkov

Matvei Michkov has been more than what we were all expecting so far in his rookie season.

He was able to come over from Russia and get out of his KHL contract three years early, is playing for the Flyers immediately, and has the best numbers by any rookie or teenager in the NHL so far this season.

In 21 games, the 19-year-old has eight goals, nine assists, and 17 points. Michkov scored his first two NHL goals in just his third NHL game in Edmonton. He needed the fewest games by a Flyers player to have his first multigoal game since Vinny Prospal scored twice in his second game on March 8, 1997, in Pittsburgh.

The future is bright for the Flyers. They have gotten very good goaltending this year from some younger guys, they are playing team tough, forcing a ton of overtime (seven of their last 10 games have required OT), and are getting great stuff from the future of their franchise, Matvei Michkov.

Tyrese Maxey

Speaking of the future, Tyrese Maxey is the future.

We all know what Maxey does on the court. Yes, he has been hurt this season, but he was the NBA’s Most-Improved Player last season, which included a playoff game where he dropped 46 points, seven three-pointers, five rebounds, and nine assists at Madison Square Garden in Game 5 to keep the Sixers alive.

However, Maxey does so much more than just that.

In the locker room and behind the scenes, the 24-year-old is the vocal leader of the Sixers. He calls out guys when they need to be called out, most significantly Joel Embiid for “being late to everything.” He is the first guy in the gym, at team events, and the last one to leave. And, he is of course a phenomenal player.

The Sixers may be 3-14 and an absolute dumpster fire, but they have Maxey. And that is always something to be thankful for.

Brandon Graham

Finally, B.G.

While he may be out for the season with a torn tricep, B.G. is the absolute man. And we all know it.

In year 16 at age 36, he did not miss a game, had 15 solo tackles, and 3.5 sacks. He continued to be a valuable rotation piece on the defensive line for the Eagles and may have been their best EDGE rusher.

Specifically Sunday night, he had a sack, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, and a pass breakup. His sack Sunday night was the 76.5th of his career, moving him past Clyde Simmons and into third place in Eagles history.

The Eagles are going to miss everything about him. His leadership, his personality, his energy, and of course his play.

“If I had to go out like this… I gave it everything I got,” B.G. said after the Eagles’ win over the Rams.

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