Yardbarker's Ultimate NBA Hall of Fame tiers

Mind-blowing stat: He holds the record for most three-pointers in a season with 402 — and he also has the third, fourth, sixth, ninth and 15th on the single-season list. 

Curry has won three NBA titles and two MVP Awards, the second of which was the only unanimous selection ever. He’s the greatest three-point shooter of all time, has the best free throw percentage in history (90.5 percent) and revolutionized how teams play offense — three-point attempts have risen 43 percent since the Warriors first title in 2015. Plus he's the first-ever NBA star to host his own miniature golf game show.

Mind-blowing stat: During his MVP season of 2013-14, he scored 25 points in 41 consecutive games, which hadn’t been done in 50 years. 

KD won consecutive Finals MVPs with the Warriors and is one of only four players to average more than 30 points per game in their Finals careers (minimum 10 games). Durant is a 10-time All-Star, a four-time scoring champion, and as a knockdown shooter who stands 6-foot-9 in shoes, the only thing that can stop him is a Jones fracture or Achilles tear.

Mind-blowing stat: Since the trade that sent him to Houston from Oklahoma City in 2012, he is averaging 29 points per game,which would be the third-highest scoring average of all time.

In the past five years, Harden has won his first MVP trophy, finished second in the voting three times, won two scoring titles and an assist title and led the league in free throws every year. His own GM said he could become "the best offensive player of all time," though he was wise not to mention defense with Harden. And with apologies to Larry Bird’s mustache, Harden’s beard is the most famous facial hair in NBA history.

Mind-blowing stat: He has 8,662 assists, good for 10th all time, which is 2,527 more than the next best forward on the list: Scottie Pippen.

There’s never been anyone who could combine scoring and distributing quite like LeBron, who is on pace to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in scoring and Magic Johnson in assists before his Lakers contract is up. He has four MVPs, three Finals MVPs, 15 All-Star berths and in his most unbelievable accomplishment: He won a title in Cleveland. There hasn't been more of a Hall of Fame lock since Michael Jordan, his rival for Greatest Of All Time, so the tiebreaker must be whose version of “Space Jam” turns out better.

Mind-blowing stat: He's the only player ever to win two Finals MVPs and two Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

Kawhi Leonard's career totals aren’t overwhelming, since he’s only played seven full seasons, and they’ve been “load managed,” but he’s been dominant in the playoffs. At 28, he’s second-youngest two-time Finals MVP ever (behind former teammate Tim Duncan) and the first player to bring an NBA title to Canada. Kawhi’s combination of lockdown defense and offensive efficiency (38.3 percent three-point shooting, nearly 60 percent true shooting) is almost unprecedented in basketball history.

Mind-blowing stat: He has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.04, which is the best in NBA history and especially impressive for a guy who's third all time in assists per game.

Chris Paul has led the NBA in steals a whopping six times, which is twice as many as the next closest thief, Allen Iverson. He's also led the league in assists four times, proving he gives as much as he takes away. Paul is one of the greatest defenders of his era, as evidenced by his nine All-Defensive Teams to go along with his nine All-Star Games, and he might be in the absolute pantheon of Hall of Famers if he could just stay healthy in the playoffs.

Mind-blowing stat: He became the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 to average a triple-double for the season – then did it again the next two years. 

Westbrook is the only player in history with two scoring titles and two assist titles, demonstrating what a force he is with the ball in his hands. He’s been an All-Star eight times, an All-Star MVP twice and a fashion icon always. The only knock on Westbrook is his inability to hit threes and his unwillingness to stop taking them. He's going to have to share in Houston!

Mind-blowing stat: He is the only man to ever win three Olympic gold medals in basketball.

In the NBA, Anthony made 10 All-Star teams and was a top-four scorer six different seasons. The knock on Melo is his lack of playoff success, the abrupt decline at the end of his career and his lackluster performance in MVP voting, where his best finishes were third and sixth in 2013 and 2010, respectively. If only the NBA let him play in a hoodie!

Mind-blowing stat: Carter has played 1,481 games, fifth-most in NBA history. 

Carter's longevity is exceptional for a wing player (he's played 92 more games than the closest wing, Reggie Miller), especially for one of the greatest dunkers in history, He dominated the 2000 dunk contest, posterized Frederic Weis so badly it scared Weis off joining the NBA at all, and he even threw down 15 dunks last year at age 42. But he's also sixth all time in three-pointers, sinking 834 more than the next closest dunk champion, Brent Barry. The knock on Carter? He forced his way out of Toronto in an ugly way and only once made it as far as the conference finals.

Mind-blowing stat: He dunked 608 times in his first three NBA seasons, not counting the one over the Kia.

Griffin has become a well-rounded player as he’s aged, going from just a dunker and stellar rebounder to becoming a top-20 assist man and three-point shooter. He’s made six All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams, and he’ll be heading to the Hall as long as he’s not distracted by his comedy career.

Mind-blowing stat: 22-5, the record the Los Angeles Lakers achieved after trading for Gasol in February of 2008. With a full season of Gasol the next year, the Lakers improved by eight games and went 65-17, the third-best record in their illustrious history.

While the beginning of his prime was spent excelling in relative anonymity in Memphis, Gasol joined the Lakers and immediately reached three straight Finals. They won the second two series, with Gasol clinching the 2010 title with a dominant 19-point, 18-rebound performance in Game 7. He made six All-Star teams and it would have been more if the media remembered that the Grizzlies existed while he was putting up 20 and 10 nearly every night.

Mind-blowing stat: He has 32 career triple-doubles, 10 of which came in the playoffs. The Warriors are 30-2 in those games.

While he’s an all-time great defender, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, it’s his playmaking ability that sets Green apart. Although he’s a power forward, he’s finished in the top 10 in assists in three different seasons. In the playoffs, his ability as a defensive stopper lets him guard players from centers to point guards, hopefully with a minimum of kicking.

Mind-blowing stat: 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 80 games played. That was George's stat line for the 2015-16 season after a horrific broken leg made him miss 76 games and nearly ended his career.

In his eight healthy seasons, Paul George has made six All-Star teams, won the Most Improved Player Award and was named to four All-Defensive teams. And at age 28, he’s still getting better, finishing third in the MVP vote last year and notching career highs in points, assists, three-pointers and rebounds while leading the NBA in steals. Barring another freak leg injury, George is well on his way to the Hall as long as the NBA keeps stanchions back from the baseline.

Mind-blowing stat: 13.7 rebounds per game is what Dwight Howard averaged from 2007-08 to 2012-13, a stretch where he led the NBA in rebounding five out of six years.

When he was a young player in Orlando, Dwight Howard was an unstoppable force. He won three straight Defensive Player of the Year Awards and took the Magic to the Finals. But then he forced his way out of Orlando, endured a disaster season in Los Angeles (where he still led the league in rebounds per game), clashed with James Harden in Houston and turned into a journeyman. Howard is a guaranteed Hall of Famer based on what he did through age 28, but everything that happened after guarantees fans won't feel great about it.

Mind-blowing stat: In the 2015 Finals, Iguodala averaged 16.3 points per game, the lowest-ever total for a Finals MVP.

Andre Iguodala is a stellar defensive player, an integral part of the Warriors dynasty and also a 12.1 points per game scorer. for his career. There's no doubt he was a crucial championship piece, but his resume is otherwise a little light: one All-Star Game and only two All-Defensive teams. He's a great player, and he's probably getting in, especially after the induction of Bobby Jones and Sidney Moncrief this year, but aside from steals he barely makes a dent on the statistical leaderboards.

Mind-blowing stat: Last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo made 116 unassisted dunks, the most by far since the NBA started keeping track in 1996-97. (Dwight Howard is second with 95.)

Giannis Anteotokounmpo is perhaps the most well-rounded dominant post player we've ever seen. In 2016-17, the Greek Freak became the first player to finish in the top 20 of all of the major statistical categories: points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals. And according to the voters, he's still getting better: Antetokounmpo has finished in the top 12 of the Most Improved Player voting every year he's been eligible (he won in 2017), including a 10th-place finish in this year even though he won MVP. 

Mind-blowing stat: 33.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 2.8 blocks, which is Anthony Davis' line from the underdog Pelicans sweep of the Blazers last year in the first round.

Anthony Davis has made the All-Star team in six of his seven seasons and the All-NBA First Team three times. He's a great shot-blocker, a powerful inside scorer and a superstar who should have the highest profile and best teammate of his career alongside LeBron James in L.A. No matter how you feel about super teams, it is absolutely time to see how The Brow performs in a deep playoff run.

Mind-blowing stat: 25.2 points, 44 percent three-pointing shooting, which was Kyrie Irving's average for the 2016 playoffs, where he also hit the title-clinching shot.

Kyrie Irving may have crazy theories about the world, he might get hurt a lot and he might sometimes alienate his teammates, but there's no denying his scoring ability. He might be the best "closer" in the NBA; a guy who can get, and make, his own shot as well as anyone in crunch time, whether it's a deep three or a layup that bounces in off the glass at an impossible angle. As long as his knee problems don't get worse, Irving will have punched his Hall of Fame ticket already.

Mind-blowing stat: 374 three-pointers, which is Klay Thompson's career playoff total and good for third all time (just 11 behind Ray Allen). Oh, and he's shot them at a 41.5 percent clip.

Klay Thompson was a huge part of the Warriors' three titles and specifically has bailed them out in some huge Game 6s. In 2016, he scored 41 points and hit 11 three-pointers to beat the OKC Thunder. In 2018, he hit nine threes and scored 35 points to keep the Warriors alive against the Rockets. And in this year's Finals, he had 30 points in 32 minutes before suffering a torn ACL. Klay's probably going to the Hall anyway, but it's an absolute lock if he comes back from his injury even close to his old self. 

Mind-blowing stat: 7.3 assists per game, which Jokic averaged last season. It's the most assists from a center since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967-68 and second-most was also Jokic, in 2017-18.

It's early to anoint Nikola Jokic a certain Hall of Famer, but it's not too early to call him the greatest passing center of all time. Jokic does things even Bill Walton and Arvydas Sabonis never did in their primes, with his array of no-look passes, lobs and ball fakes, making him essentially a 7-foot point guard. And he's only 24, which means this year's fourth-place MVP finish is only the beginning for the Joker. 

Mind-blowing stat: 37 feet, the distance on Damian Lillard's series-winning shot over Paul George this year in the first round.

Damian Lillard is pretty good at a lot of things: He's always a top-11 scorer and a good volume three-point shooter, and he distributes the ball well. But where he stands out is in his absolutely fearless clutch performances: the rare player who gets better in the fourth quarter when the lights are bright. He shoots close to 50 percent in clutch situations in the regular season, even though he'll bomb away from near halfcourt. His Hall chances are helped by his new supermax contract in Portland, because he might be the most beloved player in franchise history by the time he's done, if he isn't already. 

Mind-blowing stat: 3.8 fouls per game, which is what Towns averaged last season.

Karl-Anthony Towns is an incredible offensive player; a 7-footer who made 142 threes last year, shooting at a 40 percent rate and averaging 24 points and 12 rebounds. But in four years, he still hasn't figured out how to play defense, as evidenced by his leading the league in fouls the past two years. The shooting, rebound and post moves are so good they make up for it, but if Towns wants to be truly great — and stay on the floor more than 33 minutes per game  0151 he's got to stop biting on fakes and hacking people in the post.

Mind-blowing stat: 0.4 three-point attempts per game, LaMarcus Aldridge's career total.

LaMarcus Aldridge is legitimately a good shooter, making over 80 percent of his free throws and 42 percent of his long twos (from 16 feet to the three-point line) for his career. But even though he's a seven-time All-Star, Aldridge is deeply frustrating to his fans because he seems like he could be truly great if he took more threes and asserted himself more. He's had a good career, but has it been great? We think not. 

Mind-blowing stat : 27.1 points, 5.9 assists, 5.1 rebounds, which were Bradley Beal's averages after John Wall went out with an injury last season.

Bradley Beal has often felt like he's not reaching his potential despite making two All-Star teams. But it's possible that he simply isn't a good fit next to the Wizards' other star guard, John Wall. Out of Wall's shadow, Beal emerged to set career highs in all five major categories, even as the team traded away all its good players. He's still likely to fall short of the Hall, but his chances look markedly better after last season, especially since he's likely to get traded by the rebuilding Wizards.

Mind-blowing stat: Three trades in two years, which is Jimmy Butler's transaction history since the summer of 2017.

Jimmy Butler is an excellent player who perhaps mistakenly thinks of himself as a superstar. He's a good wing defender, he's good at creating his own shot, particularly when the shot clock is winding down and rarely turns the ball over. However, he feuded with the entire Timberwolves organization in his year-plus in Minnesota, he fought with coach Brett Brown in Philly, and the Sixers seemed perfectly content to let him go to Miami this summer. All that seems to say that Butler is not good enough to be worth the hassle of his personality. Plus he played heavy minutes for Tom Thibodeau, which suggests a steep decline may be coming in Butler's 30s.

Mind-blowing stat: One per 4.59 games, which is the rate at which DeMarcus Cousins gets technical fouls. That's 123 career technicals (not counting playoffs) in 565 games.

Boogie Cousins is a great post scorer and rebounder, and even a willing passer, logging a career high of 5.4 assists per game in his injury-marred season with the Pelicans. But he also can't help himself from arguing with the officials constantly, even when it results in a technical or a fast break the other way. That he remained unsigned deep into the free-agent period speaks to teams' concerns about his recovery from Achilles and quad tendon injuries and his temperament — Cousins even got ejected while sitting on the bench in street clothes last season. Let's see if he fits in the Lakers' mix.

Mind-blowing stat: Andre Drummond has averaged 13.7 rebounds per game for his career, which is seventh all time.

Andre Drummond is great at one thing in basketball, and that's getting boards. He already has three rebounding titles at age 25, and his 15.99 per game in 2017-18 were the most since Dennis Rodman two decades earlier. Drummond also deserves credit for improving his formerly awful free-throw shooting to the point that he's just simply bad now, but he's not headed to the Hall. He could, however, reach the top 20 in career rebounds by his 30th birthday, so if there is ever a Hall of Boards, he's a shoo-in.   

Mind-blowing stat: Rudy Gobert dunked 306 times last year, shattering the former record of 269, held by Dwight Howard.

Gobert doesn't do a lot of different things on offense, but he's very good at his speciality, running to the rim. It's part of why he led the NBA in field goal percentage this year, while also nabbing his second straight Defensive Player of the Year Award. His defense and dunking are both impressive, but for Gobert to have a shot at the Hall, he's going to need more playoff success with the Jazz. With Mike Conley on board, this is the year for Gobert to show he's not just a regular season marvel.

Mind-blowing stat: 13-1, Al Horford's all-time record in NCAA tournament games.

For Al Horford to make the Hall of fame, voters would have to give strong weight to his excellent college career at Florida, where he won two straight titles alongside Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah. He's been a very good pro, especially since he developed a reliable three-point shot at age 30, but not a great one. He's been on some good-but-not-great teams in Atlanta and Boston, had some good-but-not-great recognition (one third team All-NBA appearance, one second team All-Defensive in awards. Horford is going to have to have a year with great postseason success to make his pro career closer to Hall-worthy.

Mind-blowing stat: He had 10 straight games with at least 20 points and seven assists in the 2017 playoffs, the longest such streak in a single postseason.

Wall was at his peak in those playoffs, averaging 27 points and 10 assists, along with 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks. The most impressive part of Wall's game is his athleticism, which shows in his champion-level dunking, his shot-blocking at an unprecedented rate for point guards, and relentlessness in transition. Unfortunately, after he made five All-Star teams through age 27, injuries have derailed Wall and his Hall ambitions. A knee injury cost him half the 2017-18 season, and then heel surgery and a subsequent Achilles tear means Wall's athleticism may be gone, along with his Hall of Fame chances.

Mind-blowing stat: DeAndre Jordan's career free throw percentage is .466.

DeAndre Jordan has always been an overrated defender and underrated offensive player, with his efficient finishing and excellent screen-setting. But his Achilles' heel came at the free-throw line where he couldn't be counted on to make any free throws at all, and often found himself on the sidelines in crunch time. It's part of why those Clippers teams always struggled in the playoffs. Jordan has two rebounding titles and a slew of State Farm commercials, but unless he gets rejuvenated in Brooklyn, he's not going to be sniffing the Hall.

Mind-blowing stat: In the 2016 Finals, when Kevin Love won his first championship, he averaged 8.5 points per game.

Kevin Love is a great shooter and in his Minnesota days, a monstrous offensive rebounder. Of course, those Minnesota teams never won, so Love's candidacy relies greatly on his playoff success in Cleveland. Only he missed most of their first playoff run with an injured shoulder, and aside from one defensive play, he was a non-factor in the 2016 win. Without the title LeBron and Kyrie won for him, you've got a guy with one rebounding title and two second team All-NBA slots and some chocolate milk commercials. Is that really enough for the Hall of Fame?

Mind-blowing stat: 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 20 made threes on 46.5 percent shooting, which is Kyle Lowry's line from the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Milwaukee.

No one changed his reputation and his Hall of Fame chances more than Kyle Lowry this year. He was unfairly scapegoated for Toronto's previous playoff struggles — he was quite good last year as well — but now that he played great on the way to Canada's first title, all previous playoff heartbreaks are forgiven, and he'll get a closer look from the Hall. Even so, it's not quite enough for Springfield, but if it's any consolation, he'll never have to pay for a drink in Toronto again.

Mind-blowing stat: Rajon Rondo played two games, scored 19 points and logged six assists in the entirety of the Mavericks' first round loss to Houston in 2015.

Rajon Rondo was an important part of the 2008 champion Celtics and the teams that followed, albeit as the fourth-best player on the squad. He exhibited strange behavior even then, often passing up easy layups in favor of padding his assist totals. But once he left Boston, when traded to the Mavericks, he seemed to give up, particularly in his bizarre final game, full of lackadaisical defense, passes to no one and a backcourt violation where he walked too slowly to the halfcourt line. Rick Carlisle benched him, and since then Rondo became a nomad, playing for a different team in each of the next four seasons. Rondo probably wasn't making the Hall anyway with his poor and unwilling shooting, but outright tanking a playoff series blew up any chance he had.

Mind-blowing stat: 100, the number of games Derrick Rose played in the four years following his MVP season.

Every eligible winner of the MVP award is in the Hall of Fame, but Rose is going to break that streak. He tore his ACL in the 2012 playoffs and never regained the athleticism that made him the youngest MVP in league history. (Though let's be honest: he only won because people were mad at LeBron about The Decision.) 

Mind-blowing stat : 12,009 points, Kemba Walker's career total, which is easily the most in Charlotte Hornets history.

Kemba Walker is a former NCAA champion and had Michael Jordan not lowballed him, he would be wrapping up his spot as the greatest Hornet ever (apologies to Hugo). Walker made a well-deserved All-NBA team this year, but he doesn't really score enough to make up for how mediocre his team was. Moving to Boston's strong defensive team might be a boon for Walker, but it's not going to lift him into the Hall.

Mind-blowing stat: 4.75 points per game, which is Paul Millsap's scoring average in four All-Star games.

Paul Millsap is a fine player, an excellent defender and a smart offensive player. But as you can see from his All-Star stats, he's just not in the same class as the superstars who make the Hall of Fame. He's appreciated by smart fans and especially nerds — they loved the one time he led the league in a statistical category, with "Defensive Win Shares" in 2016. Sadly, the Hall probably won't appreciate him as much.

Mind-blowing stat: For his career, Marc Gasol has amassed 0.003 MVP award shares, which means for his career, he's received one fourth-place vote and one fifth-place vote.

Marc Gasol has a Defensive Player of the Year Award and now, a championship ring, which might cause voters to reevaluate his career. He was solid for Memphis and a great-passing big man, but his career got started late by Hall standards, and he didn't get good until age 25. He just doesn't have the spectacular peak or the long-term career value, although if he and the Raptors can repeat, it's a different conversation.