Tired of Waiting: About the Rankings

Daily News sports staff members were asked to nominate the best players from the four major pro teams who have played here during the drought era (June 1, 1983, to today). We eliminated all players who had won a title here but were still playing, such as Sixers stars Moses Malone and Julius Erving (who won in 1983) and the Phillies' Mike Schmidt (who won in 1980). Based on the nominations, we sent out a ballot and asked the staff to rank their top 20, then tabulated the votes. Those entries led to this ranking, one you might not agree with in total, but certainly one you will talk about.

The tabulations:

1. Allen Iverson, Sixers 571

2. Reggie White, Eagles 562

3. Charles Barkley, Sixers 553

4. Donovan McNabb, Eagles 416

5. Eric Lindros, Flyers 393

6. Curt Schilling, Phillies 374

7. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies 341

8. Brian Dawkins, Eagles 313

9. Randall Cunningham, Eagles 308

10. Chase Utley, Phillies 295

11. Ron Hextall, Flyers 262

12. Brian Westbrook, Eagles 240

13. Ryan Howard, Phillies 209

14. John LeClair, Flyers 188

15. Mike Quick, Eagles 176

16. Tim Kerr, Flyers 154

17. Mark Howe, Flyers 153

18. Lenny Dykstra, Phillies 130

19. Jerome Brown, Eagles 125

20. Jim Thome, Phillies 105

21. Terrell Owens, Eagles 120

22. Scott Rolen, Phillies 86

23. Jon Runyan, Eagles 81

24. Peter Forsberg, Flyers 74

25. Troy Vincent, Eagles 72

Others receiving votes: Keith Primeau (62), Darren Daulton (52), David Akers (51), Bobby Abreu (47), Eric Allen (39), Seth Joyner (28), Duce Staley (27), Eric Desjardins (20), Mark Recchi (20), Derian Hatcher (16), Ricky Watters (15), Andre Waters (14), Mike Lieberthal (4), Mitch Williams (3), Tra Thomas (1)