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 Oklahoma City Thunder.
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, the Thunder had a nice playoff run and proved they are a young team on the rise. There was one new entrant and one significant elevation.
As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:
1. Russell Westbrook
2. Gary Payton
3. Kevin Durant
4. Shawn Kemp
5. Jack Sikma
You can find the entire list here.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has rocketed to #8 from #27. He was a First-Team All-NBA selection and the MVP runner-up last year to Nikola Jokic, and the sky is the limit for this young Canadian.
The new entrant was Jalen Williams, who debuted at #46.
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 Oklahoma City Thunder.
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, OKC went as far as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could take them, and coincidentally, he was the only jump on the list. There were no new entrants.
As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:
1. Russell Westbrook
2. Gary Payton
3. Kevin Durant
4. Shawn Kemp
5. Jack Sikma
You can find the entire list here.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, wo is arguably a top five player now, skyrocketed to #27 from #36.
We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.
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 the first revision of our top 50 Oklahoma City Thunder of all-time.
As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NBA.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Please note that this is the first update since 2016, and it does not reflect the current season. Please also note that the history of the Thunder includes that of the Seattle SuperSonics.
Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories, which has altered the rankings considerably.
This list is updated up until the end of the 2018-19 Season.
The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article. They are:
2. Gary Payton
3. Kevin Durant
4. Shawn Kemp
5. Jack Sikma
We have used a different algorithm from our initial list, and this has resulted in a few changes that are reflected on the entire list, and even in the top five.
Current Houston Rocket, Russell Westbrook, takes over at #1 from #3 three years ago. The last two seasons he had with OKC, put him over Durant and Payton. Gary Payton dropped from #1 to #2 due to Westbrook’s ascension to the top. Kevin Durant, who almost made it to number, fell from #2 to #3. With the new algorithm in use, Shawn Kemp and Jack Sikma reversed their rank at #4 and #5 respectively.
There were other significant changes. We dropped the ball by not ranking Serge Ibaka. That was a major oversight, and the Congolese Center enters at #11. Steven Adams, who has been their Center for the last few seasons, debuts at #17.
As always, we thank you for your support.
Following our last piece on the six names (Al Attles, Chuck Cooper, Vlade Divac, Bobby Jones, Sidney Moncrief and Paul Westphal leaked by Adrian Wojnarowski the Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the full class. The additional members are:
Carl Braun: Braun played at Colgate University and played 12 of his 13 seasons with the New York Knicks where he was a five time All Star (1953-57). He would win the NBA Championship in his last year as a player, 1962 with the Boston Celtics.
Bill Fitch: Fitch coached at Coe, North Dakota, Bowling and Minnesota before jumping to the pro ranks where he helmed the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1970 to 1979 and was the organization’s first Head Coach. He would later take over in Boston and he took them to the title in 1981. He finished out his career with coaching stints in Houston, New Jersey and the Los Angeles Clippers and had a career record of 944-1,106 and was a two time Coach of the Year (1976 & 1980)
Jack Sikma: A two time NAIA All-American at Illinois Wesleyan, Jack Sikma split his pro career for the Seattle SuperSonics and the Milwaukee Bucks where he helped the latter win the NBA Championship in 1979. He was a seven time All Star. He was ranked #3 on our last Notinhalloffame.com list.
Teresa Weatherspoon: Witherspoon led Louisiana Tech to the NCAA Title in 1988 and won the Wade Trophy along the way as the nation’s top player. She was a six time Italian League All Star and a four time WNBA All Star and was twice named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. She also helped the United States win Olympic Gold in 1988.
Also inducted are the 1957-59 Tennessee A&I Men’s Team and the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens Women’s Program.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
As is tradition every NBA All Star Weekend, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces the Finalists for their impending Hall of Fame Class.
The Finalists are:
Hugh Evans (Referee): Evans officiated nearly 2,000 regular season games and 170 playoff games in the NBA from 1972 to 2001.
Bill Fitch (Coach): Fitch coached in the NBA for 25 seasons and he was named the Coach of the Year in 1976 and 1980. In 1981, he would take the Boston Celtics to the NBA Championship.
Marques Johnson (Player): A five time All Star and First Team All NBA Selection in 1979, Marques Johnson was a champion at UCLA in 1975 and was named the National College Player of the Year in 1977. He is ranked #29on Notinhalloffame.com.
Bobby Jones (Player): Jones was named an All Defensive First Team player eight times (1977 to 1984) and was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers 1983 Championship Team. Collegiately, Jones took the University of North Carolina to a Final Four in 1972. He is ranked #14on Notinhalloffame.com.
Sidney Moncrief (Player):A five time All Star (1982 to 1986), Sidney Moncrief was a two time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1983 & 1984) was also an All-American at the University of Arkansas. He is ranked #2 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Jack Sikma (Player):Sikma was chosen for seven straight All Star Games (1979 to 1985) and would help the Seattle SuperSonics win the NBA Championship in 1979. He is ranked #3on Notinhalloffame.com.
Eddie Sutton (Coach):Sutton is a four time National Coach of the Year (1977, 1978, 1986 & 1995) and he made history as the first coach to take four different schools to the National Tournament. At present he is seventh all time in wins in the NCAA.
Ben Wallace (Player): Wallace is a four time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2002, 2003, 2005 & 2006) and a four time All Star (2003-06) would help the Detroit Pistons shock the world when they won the NBA Championship in 2004. He is ranked #4on Notinhalloffame.com
Chris Webber (Player): The leader of Michigan’s “Fab Five” would become a five time All Star (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 & 2003) and a two time First Team All-NBA Selection. He is ranked #1 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Paul Westphal (Player): Westphal would help the Boston Celtics win the NBA Championship in 1974 and would later be chosen for five NBA All Star Games (1977-81) and earned three First Team All NBA Selections (1977, 1979 & 1980). He is ranked #15 on Notinhalloffame.com.
The Women’s Committee Finalists are:
Leta Andrews (Coach): Andrews coached high school basketball for over 50 years and would win multiple championships at that level.
Barbara Stevens (Coach): Stevens is a veteran of college coaching for over 40 years and she has been a Division II National Coach of the Year five times and was a National Champion in 2014 with Bentley University.
Teresa Weatherspoon (Player): A five time WNBA All Star (1999-2003), Weatherspoon was also a two time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. She was also a champion in the NCAA (Louisiana Tech 1988) and the Olympics (United States 1988)
The Naismith Class of 2019 will be announced during the Final Four.
With Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh and Kevin Garnett on the horizon this is the year that the former players who are Finalists this year need to get enshrined for fear of a much longer waiting period.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com will certainly be paying close attention to what transpires next at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame!
We have another major update here at Notinhalloffame.com as our Basketball list of those who should be considered for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has gone through a significant revision.
Last April during the Final Four, 4 of our top 10 were selected (Steve Nash #1, Jason Kidd #2, Ray Allen #3 and Grant Hill #5), as was another former player in our top 15 (Maurice Cheeks #15). With four leaving our top five, the peak of our list is being overhauled but it will feature three new entries in the top three who we think will make the 2019 Basketball Hall of Fame Class the most loaded ever as we think they are all a lock to get in.
Before we get to our revised Notinhalloffame.com Basketball list please note that we only rank male players at this time.
Our Notinhalloffame.com Basketball Top Ten is:
Tim Duncan makes his first and what we expect his last appearance on our list at the top spot. Duncan did it all in the NBA winning the MVP twice and the NBA Championship five times in a career spent entirely with the San Antonio Spurs. Duncan would go to 15 All Star Games, was chosen for 10 First Team All-NBA and 8 First Team All-Defensive rosters. He is also in the top ten in Rebounds, Defensive Rebounds, Blocks, Win Shares, VORP and Games Played not to mention being a consensus All-American from Wake Forest.
It takes a player like Tim Duncan to have a megastar like Kobe Bryant debut at #2. Bryant played his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers and he is a five time NBA Champion and one time MVP. Bryant retired third all-time in Points. While we feel Duncan was the better player than Bryant there is no doubt that both are first ballot inductees. We would take Tim over Kobe but the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame won’t see it that way. Kobe is the bona fide headliner.
Kevin Garnett arrives in at #3. Amazingly despite being a former MVP himself, a Defensive Player of the Year, and a 15 time All Star he is still behind Duncan and Bryant. Garnett was a legend with the Minnesota Timberwolves but late in his career he led a group of veterans to a NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics. He is currently 2nd overall in Defensive Rebounds and 4th in VORP. This is quite the “big three” for the Class of 2019 right?
Chris Webber returns at #4. C-Webb was a Finalist last year but will face the same stiff competition in 2019. The former Rookie of the Year is a five time All Star.
Sidney Moncrief comes in at #5. The former two time NBA Defensive Player of the Year was named an All Star five times and was also a former SWC Player of the Year.
The #6 spot also holds the same as Jack Sikma returns to that slot. The big man from Illinois Wesleyan was a seven time All Star and a former NBA Champion with the Seattle Super Sonics.
Ben Wallace moved up from #8 to #7. Wallace was a four time All Star and a four time Defensive Player of the Year and was part of the shocking Detroit Pistons team that won the 2004 NBA Championship.
Shawn Kemp also moved up one spot to #8. Kemp was a six time All Star and three Second Team All-NBA Selection.
We go way back for our #9 selection, Max Zaslofsky who also went up one rank. Zaslofsky was an All Star in 1952 and was a First Team All BAA selection three times in the late 1940’s.
For the first time, Mark Aguirre is in our top ten. He moved up one spot from #11. The longtime Detroit Piston is a two time NBA Champion and three time All Star.
There is one more entry to our Notinhalloffame.com Basketball list as Elton Brand debuts at #50. Brand is a former ACC Player of the Year and two time All Star.
You know what we want you to do!
Take a look at our new list cast your votes, and offers us your opinions as they help us in future lists.
As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support and we will be bringing to you more lists and content in the future.