Saquon Barkley, Dawn Staley, and more Philly ties on Time’s inaugural list of the most influential people in sports

On Tuesday, Time magazine dropped its inaugural list of the 100 most influential people in sports. And it should come as no surprise that the list is loaded with Philadelphia flavor.

Among the Delaware Valley connections are athletes, coaches, entrepreneurs, and even gamers. Here’s a look at six people with ties to the Philly area, whether that means they played here or, as is the case for several, are actually from here …

The longtime South Carolina women’s basketball coach grew up in North Philly and graduated from Dobbins Tech in 1988 before playing collegiately at Virginia. Staley split an eight-year WNBA career with the folded Charlotte Sting and Houston Comets and simultaneously served as the head coach of Temple women’s basketball. During her nine seasons on North Broad, Staley led the Owls to six NCAA Tournament appearances and four Atlantic 10 titles.

She’s found even more success since moving to the Palmetto State — her Gamecocks have won three NCAA titles in the last decade and have made eight Final Four appearances, including in each of the last six years. Staley, who has already been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, also won four Olympic gold medals, three as a player and one as a coach.

Barkley’s signing with the Eagles in 2024 marked a full-circle moment for the running back, who grew up an Eagles fan in Lehigh Valley. Out of Whitehall High School, Barkley committed to Penn State as a four-star recruit. Back-to-back seasons of 18 rushing touchdowns led to Barkley being selected second overall by the New York Giants in 2018. During his six years in North Jersey, Barkley only played in two playoff games.

It almost feels as if Barkley’s inclusion is coming a year too late. In 2024, his first season in Philadelphia, Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season on his way to winning the franchise’s second Super Bowl and being named the NFL’s offensive player of the year and a first-team All-Pro. But given his overall dominance, high profile, and previous time in the Big Apple, Barkley’s influence remains.

Many know Rob Mac (formerly McElhenney) as the creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is still going strong more than two decades later as it prepares for its 18th season. But recently, the St. Joseph’s Prep grad has ventured into the sports scene. In September of 2020, McElhenney and fellow actor Ryan Reynolds purchased Welsh soccer team Wrexham AFC. The team earned a league promotion in three consecutive seasons, a feat nearly unheard of across the sport.

Leveraging his TV background, the 49-year-old launched Welcome to Wrexham in 2022, a documentary series following the team. With Wrexham one promotion from the Premier League, Mac and Reynolds’ sports interest have extended outside English soccer. The pair also purchased minority stakes in the Alpine F1 team, as well as Mexican soccer team Club Necaxa, which also got the docuseries treatment last year.

» READ MORE: To Rob Mac, the devout Eagles fan, there’s only one ‘football.’ To the rest of us, it’s called soccer.

The Fanatics CEO and former Sixers limited partner grew up in Lafayette Hill. His entrepreneurial spirit was ignited at the young age of 13, when he used his Bar Mitzvah money to open up a ski store. Now 53, Rubin’s slightly larger venture, Fanatics, has become a rapidly expanding empire. The New York-based company holds exclusive merchandise and collectibles licensing rights for all of the big four professional sports and produces on-field/ice jerseys for MLB and the NHL.

In recent years, Fanatics has also taken over smaller brands, like Topps and Philly-based Mitchell & Ness, and has expanded into gambling and other sports-related businesses.

The central New Jersey native grew up an Eagles fan, a fact many New Yorkers are content ignoring as the 29-year-old guard looks to lead the Knicks to their first championship since 1973. Brunson certainly knows a thing or two about winning. During three seasons at Villanova, Brunson won two NCAA championships. During the 2018 season, Brunson averaged 18.9 points and was the consensus national player of the year.

Brunson’s Philly area connections run deeper, however. His father, Rick, now an assistant with the Knicks, played college basketball at Temple and spent several years as the head boys’ basketball coach at Camden High, which is likely what led Brunson to rooting for the Eagles over the Giants or Jets. When Brunson had his number retired by Villanova in 2023, he ended the ceremony with a “go Birds.”

» READ MORE: The Dawn Staley Legacy award honors Philly’s Big 5 women’s basketball coaches

Recognized as one of the world’s most dominant League of Legends players, Faker, “the LeBron James” of esports, is a team member and part owner of T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between Comcast Spectacor and Korea-based SK Telecom. Back in November, T1, which got its start in Philly and has some local ties in its leadership, won its third consecutive League of Legends championship.