Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will look at how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Pittsburgh Pirates have announced that Barry Bonds, Jim Leyland and Manny Sanguillen to their franchise Hall of Fame,

This will be the third class, and the trio will be officially inducted during their home game on August 24.

Bonds was drafted in the first round in 1985 and made his Pirates debut the following year. Blasting 176 Home Runs with 556 RBIs for Pittsburgh, he propelled them to three straight playoffs (1990-92), and won the MVP in 1990 and 1992, with a second-place finish in 1991.  In addition, from ’90 to ’92, Bonds led the NL in bWAR, and won each year's Silver Slugger and Gold Glove.  He went on to win five more MVPs with the San Francisco Giants.

Bonds enters with his longtime manager, Jim Leyland, who months earlier was selected by the Veteran’s Committee to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Leyland was their manager from 1986 to 1996, and had a record of 851-863, which was impressive considering that he did have a lot of talent to work with.

A Pirate for 12 of his 13 MLB Seasons, Sanguillen had 1,343 Hits, was a three-time All-Star and won two World Series rings with the club.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Bonds, Leyland and Sanguillen for this impending honor.

The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, so this results in a long push to revise what we already have; specifically, now with our Football and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the tenth ten of the 2024 Football List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 91 to 100:

91. Joe Fortunato
92. Nick Mangold
93. Adam Vinatieri*
94. Clay Matthews Jr.
95. Cornelius Bennett
96. Abner Haynes
97. Jim Benton
98. Albert Lewis
99. Eli Manning*
100. John Hadl 

*Denotes First Year of Eligibility

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.

Dick Van Arsdale was a college star with the Indiana Hoosiers before he was drafted by the New York Knicks, where he played his first three seasons, but he was chosen by the expansion Phoenix Suns in the Expansion Draft and he became the face of the new team.

Van Arsdale developed a sweet mid-range shot, and coupled with his high free-throw ability, he was one of the most accurate shooters of his day.   The original Sun was an All-Star in his first three seasons in Phoenix.  In those All-Star years, Van Arsdale averaged over 21 Points per Game and was the main star for those struggling Suns squads. As he got older, Van Arsdale became a more competent defender and even won an All-Defensive (Second Team) Selection in 1973-74. 

He would later provide a veteran role on Phoenix’s first NBA Final in 1976, and would retire a year later.  Fittingly, Van Arsdale’s twin brother Tom was with him for his final campaign.

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is currently in the best form of his career. His incredible consistency with five 40-point games in eight games has helped his team reach the 2024 NBA playoffs and ranks him among the greats, like Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Jerry West.

The question being asked here is, can Brunson lead the Knicks to their first NBA championship win since 1973? Let’s dive in to find out.

Can Brunson lead the New York Knicks to the 2024 NBA title?

If point guard Jalen Brunson can continue with his fine form, there is a very good chance he could be the key player to make the difference and help lead the Knicks to their first NBA title in over 50 years.

Many are saying that the 27-year-old who wears the number 11 shirt is simply unguardable and one of the most talented players right now in the NBA.

The best way to find out if the Knicks can win the NBA championship this year would be to look at the latest 2024 NBA outright winner odds on today’s most reputable iGaming sites.

What are the odds of the Knicks winning this year?

There are just seven teams left battling it out to win this year’s NBA championship, and the NBA finals are fast approaching. Here are the latest odds of winning the NBA championship outright for each of the remaining teams, starting with the team most likely to win (the odds-on favourites):

• Team: Boston Celtics (favourites) to win the 2024 NBA Championship Decimal odds: 1.65. American/moneyline odds: -154. Fractional odds: 13/20. Implied probability rate (IPR): 60.60%
• Team: Denver Nuggets. Decimal odds: 4.00. American/moneyline odds: +300. Fractional odds: 3/1. IPR: 25.00%
• Team: Dallas Mavericks. Decimal odds: 9.00. American/moneyline odds: +800. Fractional odds: 8/1. IPR: 11.10%
• Team: Minnesota Timberwolves. Decimal odds: 9.00. American/moneyline odds: +800. Fractional odds: 8/1. IPR: 11.10%
• Team: New York Knicks. Decimal odds: 21.00. American/moneyline odds: +2000. Fractional odds: 20/1. IPR: 4.80%
• Team: Oklahoma City Thunder. Decimal odds: 21.00. American/moneyline odds: +2000. Fractional odds: 20/1. IPR: 4.80%
• Team: Indiana Pacers. Decimal odds: 81.00. American/moneyline odds: +8000. Fractional odds: 80/1. IPR: 1.20%

In other words, it’s not looking good for the Knicks to win this year. However, nothing is ever guaranteed in basketball, and even the outsiders/underdogs can upset the odds sometimes.

In other words, betting on the favourites, the Boston Celtics, or the Denver Nuggets, won’t guarantee a return on your wager.

Upcoming fixtures

On Saturday, May 18, the New York Knicks play game six against the Indiana Pacers. They are currently leading 3 games to 2 and are the odds-on favourites to win. Their final game against the Pacers is on Sunday, May 19.

Final thoughts

Many Knicks fans, sports analysts, and NBA experts feel that Jalen Brunson and the Knicks could go all the way this year. It will be interesting to see how far they can go, but we will have to wait and see.

If they do end up winning the NBA championship this year, Brunson’s value will go through the roof, and all the bigger clubs will no doubt want to sign him for a record-breaking fee.