As dawn rises on the 2021-21 NBA Season, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are continuing our new tradition of the pre-season 50 current players based on their Hall of Fame current resume.  

Consider this our version of a Hall of Fame monitor.

Here is how we decide our Top 50:

The most significant factor we look at is how each active player measures up to the last fourteen players who were chosen.  To be specific, we are focusing only on players who were voted through the conventional means and not through any special committee. What this means that no Direct-Elect Committee Inductees will part of the comparisons.  The Direct-Elect categories are Contributors, Early African-American Pioneers, International, and Veterans.  Please note that at present, we are not ranking women, but may make a separate list in the future.  

Inspired by Jay Jaffe’s JAWS statistic that looks at the best seven-year stretch of a baseball player according to bWAR, we are doing the same with current basketball players.  Specifically, we compiled the average PER, Win Shares and VORP for each of the past Hall of Famers based on their best seven-year period.  The additional thinking behind this is that in Basketball, there is an additional focus on periods of greatness as opposed to sports like Baseball, where compiling statistics is more glorified.  Consider this the “Elite Period”

As opposed to what we have done with Football, we are not isolating these metrics by their position as the PER, Win Shares and VORP considers everything, thus the Elite Period stats work for all.

We are also looking at the amount of All-Star Games and All-NBA Selections.  In terms of the All-NBA and All-Defensive Selections, we are compiling in a weighted fashion.  In terms of Third Team All-NBA Selections, one point will be assigned, Second Team All-NBA Selections will have two points will be granted, and First Team All-NBA Selections will have three points.  

So, let’s continue!

We have made one huge change, as we added the members from the 2021 Class, and focused exclusively on the last four years.  This has generated a pool of 18 players, who we are looking at.

Specifically, this has generated the following averages:

The new Top 50 can be found here.

As you would expect, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is number 1, on this ranking, and has a resume so loaded that if the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame elected to waive the three-year waiting period, it would be akin to when the Hockey Hall did the same for Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.  Interestingly, the Lakers are stocked with veteran stars, and have the most players on this list, also featuring Russell Westbrook (#6), Dwight Howard (#8), Anthony Davis (#9), Carmelo Anthony (#13) and Rajon Rondo (#25).

The Brooklyn Nets are also heavily represented with Kevin Durant (#2), James Harden (#4), Kyrie Irving (#14), Blake Griffin (#16), LaMarcus Aldridge (#20) and Paul Millsap (#35).

Other players in the top ten are Chris Paul (#3), Steph Curry (#5), Giannis Antetokounmpo (#7) and Kawhi Leonard (#10).

As always, we welcome your feedback, and we look forward to another incredible NBA season.

Undrafted from West Alabama, Malcolm Butler had a brief, yet potent career as a Defensive Back in the NFL.

Butler signed with the New England Patriots, making the squad, and becoming a Pro Bowl at Cornerback in his second year (2015).  Butler, who would have eight picks as a Patriot, will be forever known for the one in Super Bowl XLIX, against Seattle, that cemented the game and won it all.  He would also help New England win Super Bowl LI.

Butler would finish his career with the Tennessee Titans (2018-20), and had 17 Interceptions in total.

From the University of Pittsburgh, McCoy was phenomenal with the Panthers, winning the Big East Offensive Player of the Year (2008) and parlaying that into a Second Round Pick to the same-state Philadelphia Eagles in 2009.

McCoy played his first six years with the Eagles, four of which would see the Running Back exceed the four-digit mark in Rushing Yards.  The “scat back” led the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns (17), Touchdowns (20) in 2011, and in Rushing Yards in 2013 (1,607) and in both of those seasons, McCoy was a First Team All-Pro.  McCoy was a phenomenal player for the Eagles, but he was surprisingly traded to the Buffalo Bills in 2015.

McCoy, who went to three Pro Bowls with Philadelphia, did the same with Buffalo.  As he got older, his skills eroded, but he provided veteran presence on back-to-back Super Bowls, first with Kansas City (2019) and Tampa Bay (2020).

McCoy was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team and retired with an even 15,000 Yards from Scrimmage and 89 Touchdowns.

Playing his college ball at USC, Casey arrived in the NFL to Tennessee as a Third Round Pick in 2011.  Casey became an immediate starter at Right Defensive Tackle, and was arguably robbed of a Pro Bowl in 2013, a year he had a career-high 10.5 Sacks.  He would finally get that first Pro Bowl in 2015, which would lead to four more in succession.

A Titan for all but his final year in football, Casey had 51.0 Sacks, all in Tennessee, and was a large part of the Titans defensive turnaround in the 2010s.

Casey, was also known for his philanthropy, and was the winner of two community service awards.