Top 10 Times Joey Was the Best Friend on Friends

Out of every other friend in the group, it was Chandler who supported Joey the most, whether it was for his career or for financial means. In appreciation for his best friend’s help, Joey buys him an expensive friendship bracelet to commemorate their bond. And while Chandler finds it embarrassing to wear it in public because of the bracelet’s impact on his dating life, Joey has no such problems. After initially being sour about Chandler openly insulting the gift, Joey is ecstatic when he thinks Chandler’s bought him an identical bracelet. Not only does he instantly forgive Chandler, Joey flaunts his bracelet for everyone to see, signifying how he values his friendship over his dating life.

With his long list of exploits, and most of his relationships barely lasting for a few weeks, you’d think that Joey would be against marriage. However, he has absolutely no second thoughts when he thinks Phoebe’s pregnant. As soon as he finds out the news, Joey goes down on a knee and unveils a beautiful ring for Phoebe. Proposing marriage so that she doesn’t have to struggle as a single parent, Joey proves he’ll do anything for his friend, even if it means giving up his bachelor life. After finding out that Rachel’s really the one pregnant, he repeats the same move without hesitation. Considering his hurt expression after Rachel turns his offer down, we can be sure Joey planned to stick to his proposal.

The trip to the beach house may have led to Joey being embarrassed by his friends more than anything else, but he was still the first one to step up when help was needed. Unfortunately, the help in question was something no one was looking forward to. When Monica’s stung by a jellyfish, the only solution turns out to be peeing on the wound. While Chandler is reluctant, Joey volunteers to do the job to ease Monica’s pain, even offering her a place in the hole he spent hours digging. And although he fails to perform when the moment comes, Joey keeps Monica greatest embarrassment a secret, only revealing it to the gang once she gives her consent.

If there’s one thing we can be sure about Joey, it’s that he’s never low on dates. Always willing to help his friends with dating advice, he did one better by being Rachel’s date. At a time when Rachel felt left out due to her pregnancy, Joey stepped in to boost her self-esteem. In order to avoid making it feel like a gesture out of pity, he goes the distance by giving Rachel the full Joey Tribbianni dating experience. This involves teaching her his dating techniques and letting Rachel show her own. By the end, a grateful Rachel appreciates Joey making her feel special, going so far as to calling it her best date ever.

Having grown up being extremely protective of his sisters, Joey has a soft spot when it comes to respecting women’s feelings. This is why, when the building super Mr. Treeger makes Rachel cry, Joey is quick to confront Treeger for hurting his friend’s feelings. Unfortunately, his bravado leads to Treeger threatening to evict the girls for illegally subletting Monica’s grandmother’s apartment. In order to avoid this from happening, Joey agrees to become Treeger’s dancing partner, a prospect he clearly dreads. Despite his initial embarrassment, and the friends’ jokes at his expense, Joey stays true to his word, both to the girls and to Treeger as they dance up a storm.

While Joey was always there for his friends, he went the extra mile for Phoebe whenever he could. Although we can’t forget when he gave her the kiss of a lifetime to lift her spirits, an even sweeter gesture by Joey arrived at Christmas. When he learns that Phoebe is against trees being cut down for the holidays, and she is traumatised by when she witnesses what happens to the rejected ones, Joey makes use of his job as a Christmas tree salesman. Setting up a surprise for her, he saves every leftover tree from their fate in the chipper, as an ecstatic Phoebe regains her holiday spirit.

He might have owed Chandler more money than he could count, but Joey wished a potential fortune away in favor of Chandler’s career. In this episode, Joey comes up with the idea to buy lottery tickets, a plan the other friends join in. To increase their chances, Monica has Phoebe and Joey pull on a wishbone, and while Joey ends up winning, he refuses to reveal what he’s wishing for. Meanwhile, after a series of arguments and mishaps, the friends accept defeat in the lottery. However, Chandler’s hopes for landing a job do come true, as Joey admits he wished for Chandler’s job over becoming a millionaire. Considering he gave up his dream to buy the Knicks, this truly was a huge sacrifice.

Do we really need to mention how much Joey loves food? The incredible feats he achieved speak for themselves when he was in the mood to eat. And while he had a hard time deciding whether he preferred dating over food, Joey made it clear Phoebe came first. During her pregnancy, Phoebe’s craving for meat overcomes her, and she’s disappointed to realize she can’t control it. Hoping to free her of any guilt for giving up on her principles, Joey volunteers to give up eating meat for the duration of pregnancy, effectively becoming a vegetarian. We then watch as he struggles to contain his urges, but keeps his promise until the triplets are born. Well, there was his time in London . . .

Joey’s late realization of important news is a major contributing factor to his character, but he was the first friend to figure out the secret relationship between Monica and Chandler. Once he puts the clues of their affair together, he’s quickly sworn to secrecy by the two. Honoring his commitment is far from easy, as Joey is placed in hilariously embarrassing situations to hide Monica and Chandler’s truth. Poor Joey not only has to endure these humiliations, but also pretends to be unaware even when he’s clearly caught lying. Unlike Phoebe and Rachel, Joey takes no part in trying to fool Chandler to confess his feelings for Monica, and is ecstatic when everybody finds out the secret.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Putting Up With Janice
"The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy"

When He Ate the Meat Trifle To Spare Rachel's Feelings
"The One Where Ross Got High"

Being Ross's Nap Partner
"The One with the Nap Partners"

Letting Chandler Keep the Foosball Table
"The One Where Joey Moves Out"

Breaking Up with Janine for Monica & Chandler
"The One with the Apothecary Table"

Joey went through it all with Chandler, from their sadness over his moving out to embarrassing one another when competing for a girl’s affections. However, Chandler truly crosses the line when he makes Joey’s girlfriend Kathy cheat on him. While Joey forgave Chandler for kissing his sister because he was drunk, this betrayal is something he just can’t seem to overlook. However, he gives Chandler one last chance by shutting him in a box for Thanksgiving. Just when it seems as if Chandler’s lost Kathy forever, though, Joey swallows his anger and rushes to free his best friend. On the verge of tears, he overlooks everything Chandler did and even gives him his blessing. All because he just couldn’t bear to see Chandler unhappy.