The 2024-25 NBA Season is coming soon, but it will be without a former MVP.

Derrick Rose announced on his social media that he is retiring from basketball. He did so in a classy way, also by placing full-page ads in the six cities he played in.

The 2007 Mr. Illinois Basketball, Rose played one year at the University of Memphis and was drafted number one by the Chicago Bulls in the 2008 draft. Rose promptly won the Rookie of the Year Award with 16.8 PPG; the year after, he went to his first All-Star Game. Rose had a spectacular 2010-11, during which time he made history as the youngest MVP with 25.0 Points/7.7 APG and would take the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Rose dealt with injuries throughout the following season. In the playoffs, he tore his ACL, which resulted in the Guard missing the entire 2012-13 Season.  Upon his return, Rose was never the same player.  He was still a regular starter, but the magic was gone. 

He continued to play for many years, competing for New York, Cleveland, Minnesota, Detroit, and Memphis.

Internationally, Rose was also a two-time Gold Medalist for the United States at the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Cups.

Rose will be eligible for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2028, and every player who won an NBA MVP quickly entered Springfield. Still, following his devastating injury, he was never a top player again.  With only three All-Star appearances and one All-NBA selection, he falls short in those categories, and other than the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals with Chicago, he was never on a contending squad. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com wish Derrick Rose the best in his post-playing career.

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.

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 examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that USC will be retiring Quarterback Caleb Williams's number 13 and appears to have reinstated running back Reggie Bush's retired number 5.

Williams began his college career at the University of Oklahoma in 2021 as a backup but went through the transfer portal to join USC the year after, when he had a season for the ages.   That year, he won the Heisman after a 4,537 Yard/42 Touchdown year where he only surrendered five Interceptions.  He had more modest numbers the year after (3,333 Passing Yards and 30 TDs, and would go number one in the following NFL Draft, joining the Chicago Bears.

In other USC retired number news, the reinstatement of Reggie Bush’s #5, a number that holds a significant place in the history of USC, has been recognized.  This follows the reinstatement of his 2005 Heisman Trophy.  Coincidentally, Bush has since sued USC, the PAC-12, and the NCAA, seeking compensation for his name, image, and likeness during his time with the Trojans.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Caleb Williams for his impending honor.

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 New Jersey Devils.

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

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

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

Last year, the Devils regressed and failed to make the postseason, but there were three elevations from this young core of players.

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

1. Martin Brodeur
2. Scott Stevens
3. Scott Niedermayer
4. Patrik Elias
5. Ken Daneyko

You can find the entire list here.

Center Nico Hischier climbed to #24 from #31.

Jesper Bratt is right behind Hischier.  The Wing moved to #25 from #38.

The third elevation is Jack Hughes, now at #33 from #39.

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