What were some of the best Philly sports moments of 2022? Here’s our short list.

There have been only a few times in this city’s sports history in which one can boast Philly as a “city of winners.”

This was one of those years.

Think about it: A Sixers team that hyped up the masses in the playoffs, a Phillies team that had so many ‘Dancing on My Own,’ and the Union even turned Philly into a soccer town for a chunk of the year.

We’re also in the throes of what’s shaping up to be a memorable Eagles season that, by all accounts, should get 2023 off to a pretty phenomenal start. With that said, The Inquirer compiled this short list of the best sports moments in Philly in 2022 — and a couple that bring hope as we kick off a new year.

In Philly sports lore, this moment is right up there with 4th-and-26, Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beater, and Keith Primeau’s 2 a.m. game-winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The difference is Bryce Harper’s two-run bomb in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the National League Championship Series snapped a 13-year World Series drought for the Phillies, and truly sent the city ‘Dancing’— inside the clubhouse and throughout the region.

Those in attendance will tell you it was the loudest they’ve heard Citizens Bank Park and Phillies owner John Middleton described the moment as a “fairy tale.”

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and the 2022 Phillies have made themselves immortal

It felt like we’d be hamstrung with the drama that was Ben Simmons’ final days on the Sixers roster, didn’t it? Nevertheless, said drama came to an end just hours before the Feb. 10 NBA trade deadline when the team announced it would trade the beleaguered guard in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap. The move marked the end of a Simmons trade request, subsequent holdout, getting kicked out of practice, you name it.

» READ MORE: A timeline of Ben Simmons’ rift with the Sixers

If you remember what the Raptors did to the Sixers the last time they met in the postseason, to get a chance at revenge must have felt like an early holiday gift. Fast forward to the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs, and the Sixers up 2-0 in the series. With Game 3 tied, 101-101 with just 2.6 seconds left in overtime, center Joel Embiid took an inbounds pass from Danny Green, turned around, and drained a three to win it on the road for the Sixers.

The Sixers would end up winning the series, 4-2, before falling short to Miami in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

» READ MORE: Embiid puts Raptors demons to rest, draining buzzer-beater and placing 2019 loss behind him

If you watched the game on TV, then you probably heard Union coach Jim Curtin scream, “three minutes, guys!”

Curtin was referring to the remaining time for the Union to beat Los Angeles FC and secure its first MLS Cup title. When Union defender Jack Elliott got his boot on a ball in the box for a goal in the 124th minute, the Union hoisting the Cup looked imminent.

Enter LAFC’s million-dollar man, Gareth Bale, who pounded a header home with seconds left to tie the match at 3-3 and send it into penalty kicks.

And for the second time in just weeks, a Philly team would have a hometown hero come up big — for the opposition. Former Union goalie and North Catholic alum John McCarthy iced the Union in a penalty kick shootout en route to LAFC winning the title at home and McCarthy earning MVP honors — despite coming off the bench.

» READ MORE: Philly native John McCarthy denies Union the MLS Cup

What if we told you that City 6 women’s basketball players are leading the nation in scoring? As you read this, Drexel’s Keishana Washington and Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist are No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in scoring.

Washington averages 28.7 points while being double- and sometimes triple-teamed while Siegrist is right on her heels, averaging 28.0 complete with seven double-doubles, including three straight following a win over Marquette on Wednesday.

For a sizable chunk of the spring and summer, Philadelphia was the center of the fight universe boasting four undefeated fighters in the UFC. The kicker is that all four trained out of the same camp. Andre Petroski (3-0), Jeremiah Wells (3-0), Pat Sabatini (4-0), and Sean Brady (5-0) were the class of a collaboration between fight instructors Daniel Gracie and Jon Marquez to create Gracie-Marquez MMA.

At year end, only two of the four — Wells and Sabatini — remain undefeated in UFC competition within their respective weight divisions. Ask Gracie about it and he’ll say that “it takes trust and a lot of balls to do what these guys do … we don’t take that for granted.”

» READ MORE: With four undefeated UFC fighters, there's something special brewing inside this Frankford gym

In May, a senior from Archbishop Wood shocked the running world when he ran a sub four-minute mile at the Catholic League Championships with a time of 3 minutes, 57.98 seconds.

Two months later, Martin would do it again during a meet in St. Louis where he crossed the finish line at 3:57.89 — wait for it — as the fourth-place finisher in the overall race, in a meet that marked the first time a pair of high school runners ran a sub-four in the same race.

» READ MORE: Gary Martin runs a second sub 4-minute mile to set a personal record, as history is made

Before we can discuss his exit, we have to back up to earlier in the year in March when the longtime Flyers forward and consummate captain became just the second player ever to play 1,000 games in the orange and black. When you think about the notion that Claude Giroux joined the club as a fresh-faced 18-year-old in 2007, and played here until he was 34, serving then as the city’s longest-tenured athlete, it was a testament to all his hard work.

The Flyers ultimately traded Giroux to the Florida Panthers in the same month as his 1,000th game, a move that required Giroux to waive his no-trade clause before he became an unrestricted free agent.

» READ MORE: In 15 years, Claude Giroux transformed from a shy rookie into a franchise legend

Villanova fans can probably still picture it: Caleb Daniels, Colin Gillespie, and former coach Jay Wright climbing the ladder to cut their own net strand of an indelible memory after the Wildcats tamed Houston, 50-44, to make it to the Final Four in what our Mike Jensen described as “one of the most satisfying March runs in school history.”

It must’ve been very satisfying, as longtime coach Jay Wright announced his retirement via a late night statement on Twitter. It would be the start of a series of commemorations for Wright in honor of a 21-year-run as head coach at Villanova, one that brought eight regular-season Big East titles, five conference tournament titles, and two memorable NCAA championships that would not only transform the program, but the university as many would come to know it.

» READ MORE: Jay Wright’s retirement stunned college basketball. The circumstances explain why he did it.

Courtesy of the Eagles, the good times appear to be rolling right into the new year. Yes, there are notable injuries to key players — including quarterback Jalen Hurts — but let’s focus on the positives.

The offseason acquisition of A.J. Brown has already paid for itself (in the figurative sense, anyway) as he and fellow wideout in DeVonta Smith are having All-Pro seasons. Hurts was at the heart of NFL MVP conversation prior to a shoulder injury, and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni appears to be a shoe-in for NFL Coach of the Year.

We’re talking about a 13-2 team that was the first in the NFL to clinch a playoff berth after a Week 14 thumping of the Giants and is now out to secure the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with a win over the Saints on Sunday (1 p.m., Fox).

» READ MORE: Birds still in pole position to clinch No. 1 seed and a first-round bye