Hassan Whiteside was a high second-round pick by Sacramento in 2010, but he spent most of his first two professional years in the G-League. Following this, he played overseas for the next two years in Lebanon and China, where he won the Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP. Encouraged by his success in Asia, Whiteside decided to give the NBA another chance, this time with Miami, and he was successful in making a name for himself.
Whiteside became the Heat's starting Center in the 2014-15 season and proved his defensive worth. The following season, he won the Blocks Title (3.7), was third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and was a Second Team All-Defensive Selection. He won the Rebounding Title the year after (14.1) and was fifth for the DPOY. He had two more good years with Miami before he was traded to Portland, where he won his second Blocks Title (2.9). Whiteside played two more seasons, one with Sacramento and the other with Utah, before retiring.
It is a tough week to be a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Days after star Center Jason Kelce retired from the NFL, Defensive Tackle Fletcher Cox announced his retirement from the game of football.
Like Kelce, Cox played his entire 12-year career with the Eagles, the team that drafted him 12th Overall from Mississippi State in 2012.
As the Eagles hoped, Cox made an immediate impact as a starting Defensive Tackle, earning All-Rookie honors. Comfortable against the rush and pass, Cox began a six-year run of consecutive Pro Bowls in 2015 and was also a First Team All-Pro in 2018. Cox played a large part in Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LII. He was also named to the 2010s All-Decade Team.
Statistically, Cox leaves the gridiron with 70 Sacks, 519 Tackles, 88 Tackles for Loss and 173 Quarterback Hits. Cox will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2029.
Here at Notinhalloffame.com, we would like to wish Fletcher Cox the best in his post-playing career.
This makes three!
Two days after the WWE announced that Bull Nakano would be entering the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024 as their second entrant, a third, former WWE Tag Team Champions, The U.S. Express (Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo) will also be enshrined.
Windham and Rotundo first teamed in Championship Wrestling from Florida, winning the United States Tag Team Titles multiple times. They went to the then-named WWF in late 1984 and were now named the U.S. Express. Within months of their debut, they defeated Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch to win the WWF World Tag Team Titles. They competed at the first Wrestlemania, losing the titles to The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. They won it back but would lose them to Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and Brutus Beefcake. Windham, who was burnt out, left the company shortly after the loss of the titles. Windham had far greater success in the NWA/WCW, where he was a member of the Four Horsemen and an NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He would return twice, once briefly in 1989 and in the Attitude era, in a mid-card run, first as the Stalker and then one-half of the New Blackjacks.
Rotundo also had success in the NWA, winning the Television Title and leading the Varsity Club stable. He returned in 1991 and had a four-year run as Irwin R. Schyster (I.R.S), where he won the World Tag Team Titles with Ted DiBIase and competed in multiple main events. He returned to WCW, though in a reduced role, and later served in various capacities in the WWE.
Notably, Rotunda (his real name) is the father of Bo Dallas and the late Bray Wyatt.
Rotundo was ranked #42 on our Notinhalloffame list of those to consider for the WWE Hall of Fame. Windham was unranked, as he is already in with the Four Horsemen. Notably, we will work to revise that list following Wrestlemania, and Rotundo will be one of the names removed.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Bull Nakano for her impending honor.
Goran Dragic, hailing from Slovenia, caught the attention of NBA scouts when he led his club team, Union Olimpija, to the 2008 league championship and earned the Finals MVP recognition. The Phoenix Suns picked him in the Second Round of that year's draft, and he made his way to the United States.
However, Dragic didn't get much playing time during his two-and-a-half seasons with the Suns, averaging less than 20 minutes per game. He only got his chance to start when he was traded to the Rockets.
In 2012, Dragic became a free agent, and the Suns re-signed him to be their starting point guard. He had his most successful season in the NBA in 2013-14, where he won the Most Improved Player award, was named to the Third Team All-Star, and averaged 20.3 points per game with a career-high PER of 21.3.
The Suns later traded Dragic to the Miami Heat, where he continued to perform well as a point guard. He was named to his only All-Star game in 2018, but a few years later, his age became a factor, and he was relegated back to the bench. He ended his career with stints in Toronto, Brooklyn, Chicago, and Milwaukee.
If Dragic were to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, his best chance would be through the International Committee, thanks to his outstanding performances representing Slovenia in the 2017 EuroBasket and the Slovenian League.