March 24, 2025
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
The Phillies' core from 2006-to-2014 is one of the best homegrown groups in Philadelphia sports history.
The subject of Philly sports teams and the longevity of their core players is taking center stage right now.
Brandon Graham retired last week, leaving one of the most successful Eagles cores in history with one remaining member (Lane Johnson). The Phillies are about to kick off the 2025 season, looking for more continued success in the Bryce Harper era with their core currently completely intact.
Over the last quarter century, there have been two "core" groups of players for each of the four major sports teams in the city. Which was the most valuable, most successful and most memorable?
We set out to objectively answer those questions. Below we've ranked each of the eight "core" groupings from the Flyers, Phillies, Sixers and Eagles since just around the year 2000. Here's how we came up with the ranks:
• Years played together: 1 point each
• Postseasons: 1 point each
• Championship appearances: 1 point each
• Championships: 1 point each
• All-Star nod for core players: 1 point each
• MVP award for core players: 1 point each
Each of the groups of players we'll dive into must have at least three core members and must have played at least four seasons together with at least three playoff berths. Let's dive in:
The top core of the last 25-ish years is not surprisingly this quartet, which made it to seven postseasons and helped lead the franchise to its first Super Bowl ever in 2017. They nearly had a second in 2022, and after Cox and Kelce retired in early 2024, the Eagles took home their second title this past February. Graham had a storybook retirement earlier this month but Johnson recently signed an extension as he continues to play as one of the best tackles in the sport.
It's worth mentioning that this squad got an impressive 19 combined Pro Bowl appearances (18 of them from Kelce, Johnson and Cox) to help boost their point total. There could be multiple jersey number retirements and plaques in Canton from this group in the coming years.
Total points: 41
The only negative thing you can say about this group is that they only won one World Series. They were as dominant as any team in baseball from 2008-2011, but even with Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Raúl Ibañez and others joining the team along the way, the love for this homegrown quintet is unrivaled in the city of Philadelphia.
Rollins and Howard each won NL MVP awards over this span and the core as a whole had 13 combined All-Star appearances. They were the team to end the 25-year-long championship-less streak when they beat the Rays in the 2008 World Series, with Hamels mowing down hitters and earning WS MVP honors.
Total points: 32
McNabb only led the Eagles to one Super Bowl opportunity, but the run this Andy Reid-led core had in the early 2000s — which included four consecutive NFC Championship appearances (with a fifth in 2008) — helped to make the Eagles into one of the premier 21st century football franchises.
Dawkins is a Hall of Famer and perhaps the second-best defensive player ever to wear Eagles green (after Reggie White). Thomas and Runyan were anchors of the best offensive line in football and set a philosophy in Philly that the current iteration of the team still shares: build on the lines first.
Total points: 32
This trio of guards actually played seven seasons together — though neither Snow nor McKie were nearly as valuable as Iverson was to the franchise. AI won the 2000-01 MVP award when he led the Sixers, nearly single-handedly, to its only NBA Finals appearance since the days of Dr. J. McKie, a Temple alum, won Sixth Man of the Year honors that season.
Iverson made five All-Star teams during this span of Sixers history while the other two were role players. Still, they did make a core of sorts for a Sixers franchise that struggled to figure out how to field a competitive team alongside Iverson and his elite scoring ability.
Total points: 19
The only currently active core on this list, these Phillies are still in their prime and are hoping to climb further up on this ranking after the upcoming season. Harper won NL MVP honors in 2021 and then NLCS MVP honors in 2022. He's one of the best first basemen in baseball. He also helped the team to recruit and re-sign the one-time BCIB in Realmuto, who will be in the battery catching pitches from Wheeler and Nola yet again in 2025.
It might seem odd that Alec Bohm is in this core, but he has been the starting third baseman since 2020 and has an All-Star nod under his belt. Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos each joined the team a little later, in 2022, falling short of our core requirements.
Total points: 16
Like it or hate it, this threesome was the only stable group of three or more players since The Process attempted to redefine how NBA teams are constructed (spoiler alert, it didn't work).
Whether paired with Jimmy Butler or James Harden or Tyrese Maxey, the Embiid Sixers have still not improved beyond a second-round exit. Embiid won an MVP award two seasons ago, but Simmons had an ugly falling out with Philly and became a laughingstock role player in Brooklyn. Harris was signed to a rich contract that finally expired last year and he's gone on to greener pastures with the Pistons.
Total points: 15
This core of Flyers forwards helped lead the team to one of the most historic playoff runs in history, coming back from a 3-0 deficit against the Bruins in the 2010 second round. They made it all the way to the Finals that spring, faltering to the Blackhawks in their best chance of winning the Stanley Cup since the turn of the century.
Giroux was one of the most beloved and important players in the history of the team, and he is the only still active member of this group of five (though now playing in Ottawa). Briere is the Flyers' current GM, hoping to slowly build the team's next core from the ground up as they continue to rebuild.
Total points: 14
This foursome was a mainstay on five Flyers teams in a row, most of which made deep postseason runs. However, they were assisted in large part from overlapping stints during this half decade from Jeremy Roenick (three seasons) and Eric Lindros (one season, in 1999-2000).
The team led by this core twice made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and two players (Recchi and LeClair) are already in the Flyers' Hall of Fame, with the others likely to follow.
Total points: 13
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