When watching the NBA, it’s fair to wonder where some of the league’s best players rank among the game’s all-time greats. Minutiae such as historical comparisons and talk of a player’s “potential” are bandied about on TV and in writing all the time, but ultimately a player’s legacy will be defined by his tangible accomplishments on the floor.
We would assume (this is probably naïve) that the goal of nearly every player who puts on an NBA uniform is to one day be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Well, that and to get paid. Making it to the Hall of Fame likely means you did both, considering that the best players in the league tend to also be the most well-compensated.
While the Basketball Hall of Fame is the goal, a player has to hit a lot of checkmarks along the way to get there. He’ll need a combination of All-Star bids (at least a few), All-NBA awards (hopefully at least one), and maybe even a couple championships to ensure his future enshrinement, and there are certainly a number of players who fit the bill who have currently spent a long, prosperous career in the league already.
Ignoring the “locks” (those that scored 95 percent or higher on Basketball Reference's Hall of Fame Probability list. A list that includes Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, and Ray Allen), we’ve taken a look at the league’s most experienced players and are now Ranking the Basketball Hall of Fame Eligibility of the NBA's Veterans.