NBA Hall of Fame tiers: Why Joel Embiid, Draymond Green are first-ballot locks, Kyrie Irving may have to wait
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- The 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame class will be inducted Saturday night, featuring Amar'e Stoudemire, Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, Elena Delle Donne, coaches Mike D'Antoni, Mark Few and Doc Rivers, and the entire 1996 U.S. women's national team.
- LeBron James headlines the first-ballot locks as the all-time leading scorer in both the regular season and playoffs, with four championships, four MVPs, four Finals MVPs, three Olympic golds, and a championship with each of three different franchises — now trying to add a fourth with Philadelphia.
- Nikola Jokić won three MVPs in four years (never finishing lower than second in voting since 2020), led Denver to the 2023 title without another All-Star on the roster, and became the only player in history to lead the league in both assists and rebounds per game in the same season.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joins an elite group of eight players who have won two MVPs, a Finals MVP, and a scoring title — alongside Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Curry, LeBron, Moses Malone, Wilt Chamberlain, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
- Joel Embiid's 2023 MVP season (33.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG) produced the highest scoring average by an MVP since Michael Jordan in 1988, and the article notes that every eligible past NBA MVP has been inducted into the Hall.
- Draymond Green is dismissed by some as a Warriors "coat-tail rider," but the article argues he was the second-most important piece of that dynasty — a generational defender and offensive hub who deserves first-ballot induction.
- Damian Lillard sits 42nd all-time in both points and assists, was an early pioneer of the deep 3-pointer, and lacks only a championship from an otherwise first-ballot résumé.
Why it matters: The article frames 13 active players as already-cemented first-ballot Hall of Famers, meaning the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame faces a backlog of surefire inductees across upcoming classes. The contested debates aren't whether these players get in — it's whether cases like Draymond Green's defense-first résumé clear the bar without traditional counting stats.
Ask SkimNews
