If you are a regular visitor at Notinhalloffame.com, you know that we created the Notinhalloffame NBA Cup, where in every regular season game, we award points (5-4-3-2-1) to the top five performers.  This is the fourth year that we have done this, and Denver’s Nikola Jokic winning the first two, and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers winning last year.

To keep everyone regularly in the loop this time, we have decided to give regular updates, starting at Thanksgiving.  We will update this every Monday.

Here is the current top ten:

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets, 119 Cup Points, 30 Games, 3.97 Cup Points per Game, 26.4, PPG, 12.3 RPG, 9.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 31.6 PER, 6.3 WS.  Last Week, #1.

Remaining at the top is Nikola Jokic, who is now an NBA Champion and Finals MVP.  At present, the Joker is leading the NBA in Total Rebounds (368), Defensive Rebounds (236), True Shooting Percentage (.701), Win Shares (6.3), Offensive Win Shares (4.5) Box Plus/Minus (13.9) and VORP (4.1).  He is also second in Rebounds per Game (12.3), PER (31.6) and third in Assists per Game (9.5).  Jokic also was named the November Player of the Month, which is his seventh overall.

2. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers, 112 Cup Points, 25 Games, 4.15 Cup Points per Game, 35.0, PPG, 11.7 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 34.8 PER, 5.7 WS.  Last Week #2

Embiid is the reigning MVP, NIHOF Cup Winner, and two-time scoring champion, and he is currently leading the NBA in scoring again (35.1).  The 76er is also first in Usage Percentage (36.0), and PER (34.8), and is in the top ten in Rebounds and Blocks per Game.  Embiid has missed a few games, costing him Cup Points, and would be ahead of Jokic had he not.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, 109 Cup Points:  29 Games, 3.76 Cup Points per Game, 30.8 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 29.9 PER, 4.6 WS.  Last Week, #2.

The two-time MVP has never had a better supporting cast than he does now, and he is responding by doing what he always does: dominate.  Antetokounmpo, however has slightly less metrics than previous years, but the arrival of Damian Lillard means he does not have to always carry the load.  He is fifth in Points per Game (29.9), sixth in Rebounds per Game (10.9), and is the league-leader in Field Goals (319).

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, 108 Cup Points:  27 Games, 4.00 Cup Points per Game, 32.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 9.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 27.1 PER, 4.1 WS.  Last Week #4.

Doncic is on a four-year streak of First Team All-NBA stars, and he is on pace to add a fifth.  Hs is second on Points per Game (32.9), fourth in Assists (9.1), and is in the top ten in PER (27.1), Box Plus/Minus (6.7), VORP (2.7) and Win Shares (4.1).

5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder, 106 Cup Points:  26 Games, 4.08 Cup Points Per Game, 30.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 6.3 APG, 2.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 30.8 PER, 5.5 WS.  Last Week #6.

Gilgeous-Alexander broke through to the upper-tier last season, and he is proving that this was no fluke.  He is leading the NBA in Steals per Game (2.8) and is third in PER (30.7), Win Shares (5.5) and VORP (2.8) and is fourth in Points per Game (30.8).  The Canadian is now an MVP contender, and could join Steve Nash in that exclusive club.

6. Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors, 101 Cup Points:  27 Games, 3.74 Cup Points per Game, 28.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 21.9 PER, 3.2 WS. Last Week #8

The Warriors are an aging team, but Father Time has not yet found Curry, who is the best beyond-the-arc shooter of all-time.  He is eighth in PPG (28.3) and is leading the league in 3-Point Field Goals (131) and Free Throw Percentage (.933), but the pieces around him are falling apart.

7 (TIE). Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics, 97 Cup Points:  27 Games, 3.59 Cup Points per Game, 26.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 20.8 PER, 3.3 WS.  Last Week #8.

Tatum begins the year the way he ended the last one: an MVP contender on a power team.  He has already a nabbed a Player of the Week Award, is tenth in PPG (26.9) and is poised to take the Celtics on his back to a title.

7 (TIE). Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns, 97 Cup Points:  24 Games, 4.04 Cup Points Per Game, 30.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 24.2 PER, 3.1 WS.  Last Week #8.

Durant remains a superstar and when he is healthy, he is among the best in the world.  KD is chasing another title and MVP with the Suns, and he is having one of his best starts in recent years.  At present, Durant is third in scoring (30.9) has not averaged over 30 Points per Game since the 2013/14 Season, but is over that right now.  Durant is also ninth in PER (24.2).  Sadly, the Suns are underperforming as a group, and arguably the Durant experiment is not generating the expected team success.

9. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, 95 Cup Points:  27 Games, 3.52 Cup Points per Game, 25.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 7.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 25.3 PER, 3.5 WS.  #9 Last Week.

James set the all-time scoring record last year, and he continues to defy time by playing at an elite level. 

10. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers, 87 Cup Points:  28 Games, 3.11 Cup Points per Game, 24.4 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, 0.9 SPG, 2.5 BPG, 25.4 PER, 4.4 WS.  (Not in the Top Ten Last Week)

Davis is the current rebounding leader per game (12.4), and is the healthiest he has been in years.   He is also fifth in Blocks per Game (2.5) and seventh in PER (25.4). 

Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns fell off the top ten.

Our next update will be up on next Monday.

Jesper Brett was a steal for the New Jersey Devils, who only had to use a Sixth Round pick in 2016 to grab the Swedish Wing.  He signed with New Jersey a year later and was expected to join the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, but was so impressive in Devils training camp that he made the roster and shockingly was an NHL player as a teenager despite being drafted so low.

Bratt scored a respectable 35 Points as a rookie, but his progression stalled in the three seasons after as his production stayed at the same level over the next three seasons.  He broke out in 2021/22 with a 73-Point campaign, which he duplicated the year after, albeit with a higher Goal tally (32).  Last season, he broke the 80-Point mark for the first time, was New Jersey's leading scorer, and went to his first All-Star Game.

Bratt is a future Point-per-Game player and All-Star and could be a top ten all-time Devil.

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 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Nashville Predators.

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 not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Nashville did not make the playoffs but they still, had several new entry and multiple elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw a change:

1. Roman Josi

2. Shea Weber

3. Pekka Rinne

4. Filip Forsberg

5. David Legwand

You can find the entire list here.

Josi is still active, and the former Norris Trophy winner is putting more distance between himself and all others who played in Nashville.

Forsberg moved up one spot, overtaking Legwand for #4.

Defenseman, Matias Ekholm, who was traded to the Edmonton Oilers late last year did enough to move up one spot to claim the #9 spot.

Goalie, Jusse Saros, climbed two spots to #14.

Center, Ryan Johansen, who is now with the Colorado Avalanche, inched up one rank to #16.

Another Center, Matt Duchene, debuts on the list at #31.

A third Center, Colton Sissons, went from #35 to #33, and in keeping with Centers, Mikael Granlund, who is now a Pittsburgh Penguin made it to #45 from #48.

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

1953 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project Class.

Here we are!  Again!!

If you have been following our Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project, you know that we have asked the rhetorical question…what if the PFHOF began in January of 1946?

After soliciting and obtaining a passionate group of football fans and historians, we sent out a ballot for a Preliminary Vote, which we asked each voter to give us 25 names as their semi-finalists, and 5 in the Senior Pool. Following that, we asked the group to vote for their 15 Finalists in the Modern Era, and 3 in the Senior Category. The final stage was to vote for their five Modern Era inductee, one Senior inductee and one Coaches/Contributor inductee.

This is the result of the eighth official class;

Below, are the final results of this project based on 30 votes, with a major change:  ALL FINALISTS MUST obtain 50% of the VOTE!

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1953:

This is for the “Senior Era”, which resulted in no entry. Three also voted for None of the Above.

This is for the Coaches/Contributor.  There was one vote for None of the Above.

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1952:

About the 1953 Inductees:

Ken Strong FB-TB-HB-WB-DB-K, SIS 1928-32, NYG 1933-35, 1939 & 1944-47: Inducted in 1953 on his 7^th Ballot.  Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

Listed mostly as a Halfback, Ken Strong could do everything as he excelled at every aspect of the game and could claim the title of the most complete player of his day.  Beginning his NFL career with the Staten Island Stapletons, Strong joined the New York Giants when the Staten Island folded in 1932.  Strong willed the Gants to the 1934 Championship, scoring 17 Points in their win over Chicago.  He missed some time in the NFL as he played for the New York Yanks of the short-lived AFL due to a salary dispute, but returned for another year in 1939.  Strong came back in 1944, where he was mostly used as a kicking specialist.  Overall, Strong was named an All-Pro four times.

Turk Edwards T, GNB 1930-40, BOS/WAS 1932-40: Inducted in 1953 on his 8^th Ballot. Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

After becoming the first player in Washington State history to be named an All-American, Turk Edwards signed with the Boston Braves and joined them in their inaugural season in the National Football League.  Edwards was with the team as they changed their name to the Redskins and relocated to Washington, playing all nine of his pro years with the team.  A punishing two-way Tackle, Edwards was a three-time First Team All-Pro and a stud player who led the Redskins to their first league championship in 1937.  Following his retirement as a player in 1940, Edwards became an Assistant Coach for Washington winning a second NFL Championship in 1942.  Edwards later became their Head Coach in 1946 and held that role for three years.  

Tuffy Leemans FB-TB-QB-DB, NYG 1936-43: Inducted in 1953 on his 5^th Ballot.  Was inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978.

After a good college run at George Washington, the New York Giants drafted Tuffy Leemans in 1936, where he would have an eight-year career with the New York Giants.  Like many NFL players of the 30s and 40s, Leemans played multiple positions on both sides of the ball (FB, TB, DB, QB), and he was exceptional at all of them.  As a rookie, Leemans led the NFL in Rushing Yards (830), and he was second in that stat in 1938, the same season he led the Giants to an NFL Championship.  Leemans also helped New York reach the Championship Game in 1939 and 1941. Leemans, who was named to the 1930s All-Decade Team, was involved in more passing in the 1940s, finishing ninth in Passing Yards, each year from 1941 to 1943.  Defensively, he also recorded four Interceptions over his career.

Ralph Hay: Inducted in 1953 on the 4^th Coaches/Contributor Ballot. Was never inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 1918, 27-year-old Ralph Hay bought the Canton Bulldogs, a member of a loose affiliation of teams that competed in the Ohio League. Canton was one of the better professional teams, but pro football, which was far behind college football in the national consciousness, needed a better organizational structure to move forward. This is where Hay came in.  Hay arranged a meeting with the Akron Pros, Cleveland Tigers, and Dayton Triangles managers to form the American Professional Football Conference. Four team does not a league make, and Hay, acting as the secretary, sent off letters to other football teams in the Midwest looking to form a league and request a meeting in Canton on September 17. Representatives from ten teams would be there, all in the automobile showroom of Hay's dealership. The American Professional Football Conference now had ten teams, and the league that would rename itself the National Football League two years later was born. Hay was asked by the owners to be the first president, but instead, he pushed (and got) Jim Thorpe as the first president, which he felt lent the new league credibility.

Canton won the league title in 1922, but Hay could not celebrate for long. The Bulldogs were not profitable, and Hay could not afford to keep the team. He sold the organization before the 1923 season, and Canton would win it all again, though Hay was no longer a part of it.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame would be awarded to Canton, and while Hay was not a part of that decision (he died 20 years before it opened), the vision that Hay had was bred in Canton, Ohio.