Best of Philly

Best Athlete

2025 Best Excuse

Jalen Hurts

Listen, it’s really busy being a beloved Super Bowl–winning quarterback. The workouts, the gauntlet of adoring fans everywhere you go, the meticulous facial hair to maintain … there just aren’t enough hours in the day. So when the Eagles headed to the White House to celebrate their big win, Hurts politely bowed out, due to “scheduling conflicts.” A classic explanation. Simple. Unimpeachable. No one has skipped a presidential photo op with more poise or plausible deniability. Read More »

2025 Best Hurdler

Saquon Barkley

Think about the most famous plays you’ve ever witnessed. They’re all postseason plays, right? Do you know how hard it is for a regular-season play to become so iconic, so ingrained in our brains that we can just use the word hurdler up above and you immediately know what it is? That’s exactly what Barkley achieved on November 3rd when he left Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones grasping at air, wondering where the Eagles running back had disappeared to. Read More »

2025 Best Name

Talon Romance

Not only was the Phoenixville Area High senior the Phantoms’ starting QB last football season (the team went 9-2), but he qualified for this spring’s PIAA track and field state championship as a javelin thrower, having taken up the sport at his O-line coach’s behest. This fall, he’ll continue both sports as a frosh at D-III Mount Union College, which just happens to be the alma mater of one Nick Sirianni. Read More »

2025 Best Finish

Matthew Nawn

We could all use a little bit of this Villanova student’s grit. During this spring’s Boston Marathon, Nawn made it 26 point allllmost 2 miles before collapsing just 30 feet from the finish line. After watching runners get pulled off the course earlier in the race, Nawn was determined to finish — so he got onto his hands and knees and crawled across the line. The video went viral, and he’s become an inspiration for runners around the world. Read More »

2024 Best Golf Swing

Zoey Smith

Michael Smith was a basketball player as a kid, but he taught himself the game of golf when his daughter Zoey showed an interest in the game as a four-year-old. When Michael died unexpectedly in 2019, Zoey abruptly quit golfing — it just wasn’t the same without him. But the athletic director at her high school, the Science Leadership Academy at Beeber, coaxed her to pick up her clubs again, and last fall, she became the only player on its spanking-new girls golf team. How’d that work out? Pretty darned well: The sophomore won the Public League individual championship despite being the youngest competitor there. Fore! Read More »

2024 Best Sports Revolution

Phils Pitching Staff

There’s a lot of baseball left to play this season, but we’re ready to award Best Sports Revolution to the Phillies pitching staff, led by coaches Caleb Cotham and Brian Kaplan. The brain trust’s secret sauce has kept stars Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola at peak performance while elevating promising slingers Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez, Jeff Hoffman, José Alvarado, Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering into the stratosphere. At press time, Phils’ pitchers stand heads and shoulders (and elbows) above the rest of the league. (Take a look at other Phillies winners throughout Best of Philly’s 50 years here.) Read More »

2024 Best NHL Pride Ambassador

Scott Laughton

Last year, when the NHL announced that it was outlawing Pride practice jerseys and rainbow stick tape, longtime Flyer Scott Laughton was the first player to call bullshit. He announced that he’d use the tape anyway and dared the league to do something about it. The league quickly and rightly reversed course. The veteran center has been a leader in this arena off the ice as well, from supporting the You Can Play campaign to donating to related causes to raising the rainbow flag outside the Wells Fargo Center. Lots to be proud of. Read More »

2024 Best Sorta Homecoming

Saquon Barkley

We were gutted when Mount Airy native D’Andre Swift left the Eagles in free agency. Not surprising, given how Howie Roseman values running backs. So imagine our shock when Roseman yoinked former Nittany Lion Barkley from the Giants and signed him to a big contract. We’ll still miss our Swift, but Barkley grew up in the Lehigh Valley, which offsets the whole former G-man thing. Read More »

2024 Best Sports Role Model

Lane Johnson

The Eagles offensive tackle, embarking on his 12th season, has been refreshingly open of late about his mental health challenges and even took a three-game leave of absence in 2021 to deal with them. That’s why he’s teamed up with Kooth, a digital mental health service for tweens, teens and young adults, to destigmatize mental illness and encourage finding help. He calls depression and anxiety his “monster” and assures young people, “There is power in telling your story.” Fly, Eagle, fly! Read More »

2024 Best Grappler

Joey Bachmann

Still preening about your high school sports career? This Quakertown wrestler really has something to crow about. The 15-year-old student at Faith Christian Academy was ranked first in the nation in his 106-pound weight class last season by every single ranking service — and proved it by winning the gold medal at the state championship in Hershey in March. His budding career has already taken him to competitions in Mexico and Turkey. Now, what were you saying about riding the bench in the big playoff game? Read More »