A legend has died.

Bill Russell, 

After his great career at the University of San Francisco where he took them to two NCAA Championships, Boston Celtics Head Coach, Red Auerbach engineered a draft-day trade to get him.  He gave up Cliff Hagen, who hadn't yet suited up for Boston as he was performing his military duty, which at the time seemed like a lot to get a Center who preferred defense first.  With all due respect to Hagen, who turned out to be a pretty good player, it turned out to be a steal.

Bill Russell is without question the greatest defensive player of all-time, he is also considered by many to be the BEST ever basketball player period!  Russell was the literal centerpiece that the Celtics dynasty was built around and his ability to run the floor and block shots out of nowhere transformed the game.  Other than his rookie season, he was named to the All-Star Game, and the only reason he was snubbed is that he arrived late that year due to his U.S. Olympic commitment.  He may not have been a great scorer, but 15.1 Points per Game is nothing to sneeze at, especially when it is complemented by that sick 22.5 Rebounds per Game Average.

Now while it can be argued that Russell was only a three-time First Team All-NBA Selection because of Wilt Chamberlain, many look back and think many more should have gone to Big Bill.  It was Russell who made his teammates better, it was Russell who won the titles, and it was Russell who wanted it more.

When it was all said and done, Bill Russell retired as an 11-time champion, five-time rebounding champion and a five-time MVP.  The more important the game, the better he was, and there is no more deserving man for the NBA Finals MVP to be named after. 

Russell later became the first African-American Head Coach in the NBA when he took over in 1969, and his off-the-court philanthropy and demeanor matched his on-the-court skills.

He would later enter the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach, and was also chosen for the College Basketball Hall of Fame and FIBA Hall of Fame.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Bill Russell.

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-2021 revision of our top 50 Minnesota Vikings.

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 National Football League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

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

Last year, the Vikings went 8-9 but did not make the playoffs.  Two new players made the top 50, and one elevation took place.

As always, we present our top five, though there were no changes in this elite group:

1. Alan Page

2. Fran Tarkenton

3. Randall McDaniel

4. Carl Eller

5. Mick Tinglehoff

You can find the entire list here.

Safety, Harrison Smith, advanced four spots to #30.

Debuting is four-time Pro Bowl Linebacker, Anthony Barr at #44, who is currently a Free Agent, and unlikely to return to the Vikes.  

Quarterback, Kirk Cousins, enters at #48.

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

After six seasons with Washington, Kirk Cousins signed what was then the highest guaranteed contract in franchise history with the Vikings before the 2018 Season.  There were many who wondered if Cousins was worth the money, but he has shown himself to be a far better Quarterback in Minnesota than he was as a Redskin.

Cousins, who threw for over 4,000 three times in Washington, has matched that in Minnesota, but with a far better TD-INT ratio (99-55 in WAS, 153-50 MIN) and had a three-year streak (2019-21) of having a Passer Rating over 103.  A Pro Bowl Selection in 2019, 2020 & 2021, Cousins goes into 2023 still as the Vikings QB, and while there is no chance that he will become the greatest pivot in Minnesota history, he has time to climb this rank and stay here for decades.  

A First Round Pick (9^th Overall) and All-American from UCLA, Anthony Barr made the Minnesota Vikings starting lineup as a rookie at Right Linebacker, but it was the next four seasons that land him on this list.

Chosen for the Pro Bowl annually from 2015 to 2018, Barr might have worked the right side of the field, but was capable of plowing through the interior at any time.  A punishing tackler (ask Aaron Rodgers), Barr had been accused of taking his foot off the gas pedal on occasion but when he was on, there were few better.

Barr was not resigned after the 2021 Season and would leave Minnesota with 495 Tackles in 98 Games.