NBA Hall of Fame Locks: LeBron, Curry, Jokić Headline List
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- LeBron James is called "arguably the GOAT" — the all-time leading scorer in both regular season and playoffs, with four championships, four MVPs, four Finals MVPs, three Olympic golds, and the only player in history to win an MVP and a title with three different franchises.
- Stephen Curry won four titles and two MVPs in the LeBron era, including the only unanimous MVP in history, and is the all-time 3-point leader whom the source labels "the greatest shooter to ever live by a wide margin."
- Nikola Jokić won three MVPs in four years and led the Nuggets to the 2023 title without another All-Star on the roster, and is the only player in history to lead the league in both assists and rebounds per game in the same season.
- Joel Embiid won 2023 MVP averaging 33.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game — the highest scoring average for an MVP since Michael Jordan in 1988 — and the source notes every past NBA MVP has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
- Draymond Green is called "the second-most important piece" of the Warriors dynasty and a "generational defender" who the source argues should make the Hall on the first ballot despite persistent "coattails" criticism.
- James Harden averaged more than 33 points per game over a three-year span — a feat matched only by Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry, and Luka Dončić — and won MVP in 2018.
- The 2026 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class — featuring Amar'e Stoudemire, Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw, coaches Mike D'Antoni, Mark Few, and Doc Rivers, and the entire 1996 U.S. women's national team — is being inducted Saturday night.
Why it matters: The first-ballot tier crystallizes the modern NBA's hierarchy ahead of Saturday's induction: LeBron, Curry, Durant, Jokić, Antetokounmpo, and SGA sit atop the list, while Embiid's and Green's inclusions show that peak dominance or dynasty success can override injury-plagued or "coattails" concerns in Hall voting.
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