Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023-24 revision of our top 50 Cleveland Cavaliers.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Cleveland had a good season and continued to build around their young and dynamic team.  There was no new entrant but five elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. LeBron James
2. Mark Price
3. Brad Daugherty
4. Zydrunas Ilgauskas
5. Larry NanceYou can find the entire list here.

Center and 2022 All-Star Jarrett Allen broke into the top 15 and is now at #11.  He was ranked at #22 before

The returning Tristan Thompson inched up one spot to #12.

Superstar Donovan Mitchell, who has only been a Cavalier for two years, rocketed up the list from #40 to #20.  Only in Basketball can we see that happen!

Guard Darius Garland advanced to #31 from #36.

Power Forward Evan Mobley went to #32 from #45.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Cleveland Cavaliers.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Cleveland returned to the playoffs after a significant drought, and this generated some list fluctuation with two new entrants.

As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:

1. LeBron James

2. Mark Price

3. Brad Daugherty

4. Zydrunas Ilgauskas

5. Larry Nance

You can find the entire list here.

Kevin Love, who was traded during the year to Miami, was unable to rise from his #8 spot.

Jarrett Allen shot up to #22 from #35.

Another significant jump came from Darius Garland, who advanced from #49 to #36.

Donovan Mitchell, who just had the best season of his career, debuted at #40. 

The second new player is Evan Mobley, who comes in at #45.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

The NBA is so much different than the other Big Four Sports in North America as you can’t expect a player to rank in the Top 50 after only playing one season on an established team, but that is the game of basketball, and here we have Donovan Mitchell, who established that he was the heart of Utah’s previous success, and not Rudy Gobert.

The Cavaliers gave up a lot to get Mitchell (Collin Sexton, Lauri Markannen and five 1^st Round Picks) and though it is early, Mitchell provided Cleveland with his best year to date, a Second Team All-NBA with a 28.3 PPG.  The Shooting Guard went to his fourth All-Star Game, took Cleveland to the playoffs, and is the piece they will build around.

Time will quickly tell how that pans out.

If you are a regular visitor at Notinhalloffame.com, you know that we created the Notinhalloffame NBA Cup, where in every regular season game, we award points (5-4-3-2-1) to the top five performers.  This is the third year that we have done this, and Denver’s Nikola Jokic won the first two.

To keep everyone regularly in the loop this time, we have decided to give regular updates, starting at when the first player cracked 120 Points, and tell all of you the top ten.  We will this going forward with every update as the first player breaches the elevated ten-point threshold afterward.

Here is the current top ten, based on the first player to breach 120 Notinhalloffame Cup Points:

1 (Tie). Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets, 121 Points:  31 Games, 30.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 27.0 PER, 5.0 WS.  (#2 on last ranking)

Durant moves back up to the top spot, albeit in a tie, and sure enough, he also shares the most amount of Points (934) with Luka Doncic, though KD has played two more Games.

1 (Tie). Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, 121 Points:  29 Games, 32.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 8.7 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 30.3 PER, 5.3 WS.  (#1 on last ranking)

Doncic remains at the top (though now tied with Durant) and should be considered the top contender for the MVP.  At present, he is second in Points per Game behind Joel Embiid, and is also topping the stat line in VORP (3.6).

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder, 113 Points:  29 Games, 31.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 27.0 PER, 4.5 WS.  (#5 on last ranking)

Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be an All-Star this year, and is shattering last year’s averages, which were already good.  How great will this Canadian be?

4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics, 111 Points:  30 Games, 30.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 24.9 PER, 4.4 WS.  (#3 on last ranking)

Tatum continues to get better which should scare the hell out of anybody cheering against the Celtics.  He has never finished a season averaging over 30 Points per Game, and Tatum is over that now.

5.  Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, 110 Points:  26 Games, 31.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 5.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 28.8 PER, 3.7 WS. (#5 on last ranking)

Giannis is back where he belongs in the top five and the two-time MVP’s Bucks look ready to win it all.  He is in the top five in Rebounds and Points per Game.

6. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets, 103 Points:  27 Games, 24.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 9.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 32.0 PER, 5.5 WS.  (#10 on last ranking)

The “Joker” is on fire lately, and we know someone wants to get that third Cup!  He is currently leading the NBA in Box Plus/Minus (12.0) and Win Shares (5.5).

7 (Tie). Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics, 102 Points:  30 Games, 26.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 19.8 PER, 2.3 WS. (#7 on last ranking)

Brown’s appearance here gives Boston the only team to have two players in the top ten, and he currently has the highest traditional numbers of his career.  

7 (Tie). Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors, 102 Points:  26 Games, 30.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 26.7 PER, 4.1 WS. (#4 on last ranking)

Curry is now out with an injury, and will likely be out of the top ten by the next update.

9. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers, 99 Points:  29 Games, 29.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 24.8 PER, 4.9 WS.  (Not on last ranking)

Mitchell returns to the top ten, and more and more it looks like he was the true star of his previous team, Utah.

10.  Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies, 98 Points:  25 Games, 27.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 7.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 23.8 PER, 2.6 WS. (#10 on last ranking)

Morant is the face of the Grizzles, and he is posting similar numbers from last year, when he took Memphis to the next level.

Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers fell off the top ten.

Our next update will happen after the first player breaches 130 Cup Points.

If you are a regular visitor at Notinhalloffame.com, you know that we created the Notinhalloffame NBA Cup, where in every regular season game, we award points (5-4-3-2-1) to the top five performers.  This is the third year that we have done this, and Denver’s Nikola Jokic won the first two.

To keep everyone regularly in the loop this time, we have decided to give regular updates, starting at when the first player cracked 100 Points, and tell all of you the top ten.  We will this going forward with every update as the first player breaches the elevated ten-point threshold afterward.

Here is the current top ten, based on the first player to breach 100 Notinhalloffame Cup Points:

1. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, 100 Points:  23 Games, 32.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 8.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 31.2 PER, 4.6 WS.  (#1 on last ranking)

Doncic remains at the top and should be considered the top contender for the MVP.  At present, he is the current scoring leader, and is also topping the stat line in PER, Win Shares and VORP (2.8).

2. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets, 94 Points:  25 Games, 29.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 26.5 PER, 4.0 WS.  (#2 on last ranking)

Durant might play for the most dysfunctional team in the NBA, but the Nets struggles cannot be pinned on KD, who has been electric this year.  He is currently leading the league in Field Goals (265).  

3. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics, 91 Points:  24 Games, 30.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 25.8 PER, 3.8 WS.  (#4 on last ranking)

Tatum continues to get better which should scare the hell out of anybody cheering against the Celtics.  He has never finished a season averaging over 30 Points per Game, but he is currently over that now. 

4. Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors, 90 Points:  23 Games, 30.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 7.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 26.3 PER, 3.8 WS. (#3 on last ranking)

Curry only played one Game in this period, but was not awarded any Cup Points, which cost him one spot to Tatum.

5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder, 87 Points:  22 Games, 31.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 28.0 PER, 3.6 WS.  (#4 on last ranking)

Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be an All-Star this year, and is shattering last year’s averages, which were already good.

6.  Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, 82 Points:  19 Games, 31.9 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 5.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 29.6 PER, 2.8 WS. (#7 on last ranking)

The two-time MVP missed a few Games, which dropped Antetokounmpo in the standings, but the Bucks are considered the top contenders to win it all this year.

7. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns, 81 Points:  24 Games, 28.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 23.6 PER, 3.6 WS. (#6 on last ranking)

Booker is on pace to have the highest PPG and PER of his career, though his last two Games dropped his stat line and two spots here.

8.  Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies, 80 Points:  20 Games, 28.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 7.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 24.5 PER, 2.2 WS. (#8 on last ranking)

Morant is the face of the Grizzles, and he is posting similar numbers from last year, when he took Memphis to the next level.

9. (Tie). Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics, 79 Points:  23 Games, 26.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 20.7 PER, 2.1 WS. (#10 on last ranking)

Brown’s appearance here gives Boston the only team to have two players in the top ten, and he currently has the highest traditional numbers of his career.

9. (Tie). Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers, 79 Points:  23 Games, 29.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 24.6 PER, 3.9 WS. (#9 on last ranking)

Mitchell’s numbers in his first year in Cleveland are higher than his last year in Utah, and it is reflecting in the Cavaliers overall performance.

The Lakers’ Anthony Davis fell off the top ten.

Our next update will happen after the first player breaches 110 Cup Points.

If you are a regular visitor at Notinhalloffame.com, you know that we created the Notinhalloffame NBA Cup, where in every regular season game, we award points (5-4-3-2-1) to the top five performers.  This is the third year that we have done this, and Denver’s Nikola Jokic won the first two.

To keep everyone regularly in the loop this time, we have decided to give regular updates, starting at when the first player cracked 90 Points, and tell all of you the top ten.  We will this going forward with every update as the first player breaches the elevated ten-point threshold afterward.

Here is the current top ten, based on the first player to breach 90 Notinhalloffame Cup Points:

1. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, 92 Points:  21 Games, 33.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 8.6 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 31.3 PER, 4.2 WS.  (#3 on last ranking)

Is this the year that Doncic becomes the MVP?  If so, this will make the fifth year that a non-American wins the prize.  At present, he is the current scoring leader, and is also topping the stat line in PER, Win Shares and VORP (2.6).

2. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets, 91 Points:  24 Games, 29.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 26.7 PER, 4.0 WS.  (#1 on last ranking)

Durant might play for the most dysfunctional team in the NBA, but the Nets struggles cannot be pinned on KD, who has been electric this year.  He is currently leading the league in Points (716) and Field Goals (252).

3. Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors, 90 Points:  22 Games, 30.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 7.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 27.5 PER, 3.9 WS. (#2 on last ranking)

The Warriors have disappointed this year, and are clearly aging, but that is not the case for Curry, who is leading the NBA in Win Shares, Offensive Box Plus/Minus (9.2) and Three-Point Field Goals (115).

4 (Tie). Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics, 82 Points:  22 Games, 30.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 26.1 PER, 3.6 WS.  (#4 on last ranking)

Tatum continues to get better which should scare the hell out of anybody cheering against the Celtics.  He has never finished a season averaging over 30 Points per Game, but he is currently over that now.

4 (Tie). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder, 82 Points:  21 Games, 31.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 28.1 PER, 3.5 WS.  (#4 on last ranking)

Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be an All-Star this year, and is shattering last year’s averages, which were already good.

6. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns, 78 Points:  22 Games, 29.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 24.5 PER, 3.5 WS. (#8 on last ranking)

Booker is on pace to have the highest PPG and PER of his career.

7.  Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, 77 Points:  18 Games, 31.8 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 5.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 29.3 PER, 2.6 WS. (#7 on last ranking)

The two-time MVP missed a few Games, which dropped Antetokounmpo in the standings, but the Bucks are considered the top contenders to win it all this year.

8.  Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies, 75 Points:  19 Games, 28.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 7.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 25.7 PER, 2.0 WS. (#6 on last ranking)

Morant is the face of the Grizzles, and he is posting similar numbers from last year, when he took Memphis to the next level.

9 (Tie). Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers, 73 Points:  19 Games, 27.2 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 2.4 BPG, 30.6 PER, 3.8 WS. (#9 on last ranking)

Davis has been on fire lately, though the same can’t be said about the rest of his team.  He is currently the league leader in Rebounds per Game. 

10. (Tie). Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics, 72 Points:  21 Games, 26.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 20.0 PER, 1.7 WS. (not on the top ten in the last ranking)

Brown’s appearance here gives Boston the only team to have two players in the top ten, and he currently has the highest traditional numbers of his career.

10. (Tie). Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers, 72 Points:  21 Games, 28.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 24.3 PER, 3.5 WS. (#9 on last ranking)

Mitchell’s numbers in his first year in Cleveland are higher than his last year in Utah, and it is reflecting in the Cavaliers overall performance.

Our next update will happen after the first player breaches 100 Cup Points.

If you are a regular visitor at Notinhalloffame.com, you know that we created the Notinhalloffame NBA Cup, where in every regular season game, we award points (5-4-3-2-1) to the top five performers.  This is the third year that we have done this, and Denver’s Nikola Jokic won the first two.

To keep everyone regularly in the loop this time, we have decided to give regular updates, starting at when the first player cracked 80 Points, and tell all of you the top ten.  We will this going forward with every update as the first player breaches the elevated ten-point threshold afterward.

Here is the current top ten, based on the first player to breach 80 Notinhalloffame Cup Points:

1. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets 82 Points:  22 Games, 30.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 26.6 PER, 3.5 WS.

Durant might play for the most dysfunctional team in the NBA, but the Nets struggles cannot be pinned on KD, who has been electric this year.  The last time Durant finished with 30 Points per Game was in 2013/14, and his 1.8 BPG is higher than any year-end total.  As of this writing, Durant has logged the most minutes (807), sunk the most Field Goals (233) and has the most Points (660).

2. Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors 80 Points:  19 Games, 31.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 7.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 29.1 PER, 3.6 WS.

The Warriors have disappointed this year, and are clearly aging, but that is not the case for Curry, who is leading the NBA in Win Shares, Offensive Win Shares (3.0) and Three-Point Field Goals (99).

3. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks 78 Points:  18 Games, 33.1 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 8.4 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 31.0 PER, 3.6 WS.

Doncic is our first-quarter MVP, and the current leader in Points per Game, and is on pace for his first 30 PER/30 PPG year.

4 (Tie). Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics 77 Points:  20 Games, 30.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 4.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 26.6 PER, 3.3 WS.

Tatum continues to get better which should scare the hell out of anybody cheering against the Celtics.  He has never finished a season averaging over 30 Points per Game, but he is currently over that now.

4 (Tie). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder 77 Points:  20 Games, 31.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 6.1 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 27.6 PER, 3.32 WS.

Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be an All-Star this year, and is shattering last year’s averages, which were already good.

6. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies, 69 Points:  17 Games, 28.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 7.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 25.7 PER, 2.0 WS.

Morant is the face of the Grizzles, and he is posting similar numbers from last year, when he took Memphis to the next level.

7 (Tie). Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, 67 Points:  20 Games, 30.9 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 5.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 28.5 PER, 2.1 WS.

The two-time MVP missed a few Games, which dropped Antetokounmpo in the standings, but the Bucks are considered the top contenders to win it all this year.

7 (Tie). Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns, 67 Points:  20 Games, 27.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 22.4 PER, 2.3 WS.

Booker is on pace to have the highest PPG and PER of his career.

9. (Tie). Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers, 64 Points:  19 Games, 28.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 23.9 PER, 3.0 WS.

Mitchell’s numbers in his first year in Cleveland are higher than his last year in Utah, and it is reflecting in the Cavaliers overall performance.

9 (Tie). Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers, 64 Points:  17 Games, 26.2 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.5 SPG, 2.3 BPG, 29.6 PER, 3.2 WS.

Davis has been on fire lately, though the same can’t be said about the rest of his team.  He is currently the league leader in Rebounds per Game.

Pre-2022-23 Rank: #44, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #32.

Peak Period: From 2017-18 to 2023-24.  Mitchell has completed only seven seasons, the maximum of a Peak Period.

Unlike DeShaun Watson, Cleveland agrees with Donovan Mitchell.

Mitchell was a three-time All-Star at Utah, but the pairing between himself and Center Rudy Gobert was not working, and bluntly, they did not get along.  The Guard was traded to the Cavaliers, where in his first season, he was sixth in MVP voting and was an All-NBA Selection.

Going into this campaign, the Cavs are on the rise, and Mitchell’s best basketball could still be ahead of him.