Pre-2019-20 Rank: #42, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #31, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #13, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #8, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #6

*Peak Period: 2017-18 to 2023-24.

What does it say about the quality of active players in the NBA when we have a three-time MVP and one-time NBA Champion who we have at only #6 among active players for HOF contention?

Nikola Jokic goes into the 2024-25 season as a three-time MVP and the favorite to win it again.  His Nuggets are also top contenders, and he is also a four-time All-NBA First Team Selection.  The only question for the “Joker” is not when he is a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee but when that will occur. 

Jokic gives us Tim Duncan vibes, as he is unassuming, does not seek the spotlight, and is the consummate team player.  He is now in the conversation as the greatest European player of all time, and he has the goods in him to be a top ten all-time player. 

We are blessed to be able to watch him play basketball.

Somehow, we might have convinced ourselves to place him at #2, but that could quickly happen with a fourth MVP, and notably, he is still in his peak.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #49, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #39, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #32, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #21, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #10.

*Peak Period: 2017-24

Joel Embiid has yet to play 500 Games in the NBA. Like most big men, he often misses time due to injury, but the Center has proven to be a top-five player over the last few years, including his 2022-23 MVP. 

The now-American enters this season with a seven-season All-Star streak and has averaged well over 30 Points per Game over the last three seasons.  This is all fantastic and displays a Hall of Fame career, but Embiid has yet to will his hard-luck Sixers into even an Eastern Conference Final. 

The Hall will call his name, but he has to bring Philadelphia deeper into meaningful soring basketball than before. 

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #36, Pre-2020-21 Rank #33, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #19, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #16, Pre-2023-24 Season Rank #18.

*Peak Period: 2017-18 to 2023-24.

Rudy Gobert’s Hall of Fame case needed last season’s success badly.

The Center was traded from Utah to Minnesota for a ransom of First-Round Picks, and his first season with the Timberwolves was not successful. This changed last season when he added his sixth First Team All-Defensive Selection and fourth Defensive Player of the Year Award, and when you log that many defensive accolades, the Hall will take notice.

More importantly, Minnesota reached the Western Conference Final last year.  If the team, now unquestionably led by Anthony Edwards, wins it all with a strong showing by Gobert, it won’t matter what they gave up to get Gobert.  That should make him the second Frenchman behind Tony Parker to enter the Hall, that is, unless a specific player named Victor Wembanyama overtakes him and Gobert stalls.

Viva la France!

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #23.  Pre-2020-21 Rank: #25, Pre-2021-21 Rank #27, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #28, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #26

*Peak Period:  From 2009-10 to 2015-16

Last year, we said, “Al Horford's best years are behind him, but he is still a starter on an excellent Boston Celtics team that could win it all in 2024.”

That is what happened.

Horford has five All-Star Games on his resume, an NBA Champion, but the Hall looks at it all, including two NCAA Championships at Florida.  This is a better candidate than you might think, and he is still a favored championship contender.

Pre-2022-23 Rank: #45, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #34

*Positional Notes:  Sabonis also spends time at Power Forward.

*Peak Period:  From 2017-17 to 2023-24.  Sabonis is likely to remain in his Peak Period after this season.

Sabonis is on a two-year streak of Third Team All-NBA Selections and top-ten MVP finishes.  If Sacramento goes on a deep run in 2025 with Sabonis as the catalyst, look for his Hall of Fame chances to rise significantly. 

Pre-2023-24 Rank: #42.

Peak Period:  2017-18 to 2023-24.  Adebayo has only played seven seasons, the maximum for a Peak Period.

Bam Adebayo has played all his career with the Miami Heat where he has made three All-Star, an NBA Final, and earned five All-Defensive Selections, with the Center finishing in the top five in Defensive Player of the Year in all of those campaigns.  Last year, he was third in DPOY voting and was a First Team All-Defensive Player for the first time.   His best could still be coming.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #41, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #36. Pre-2021-22 Rank: #34, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #26, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #27.

Positional Notes: Towns has played more at Power Forward in the last two seasons.

Peak Period: From 2016-17 to 2022-23.

The Karl-Anthony Towns era in Minnesota is over, and it gave us four All-Stars, a pair of Third-Team All-NBAs, and lots of double-doubles.  Last season, Minnesota put the pieces together, but KAT’s playoff was disappointing, and the Timberwolves traded him for Julius Randle.  This move could be a boom or bust move regarding the HOF for Towns, which is still under 30. 

If he brings New York a title alongside Jalen Brunson, would KAT feel more like a Hall of Famer?

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #29, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #30, Pre-2021-22 Season Rank: #30, Pre-2022-23 Season Rank: #31, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #31.

Peak Period:  From 2012-13 to 2018-19.

The Peak Period of Jordan's career is long over; nevertheless, his advanced stats are much better than his lone All-Star Game Selection reflects.  Still, Jordan will need a lot of help for Springfield enshrinement, and it would have to come in the form of multiple titles, which was bolstered by winning his first title in 2022.  

There won’t be a lot more opportunities for Jordan going forward.

Pre-2020-21 Rank: #45, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #45, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #46, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #47.

Peak Period: From 2009-10 to 2016-17. Lopez’s peak Period is eight years, as he only played five Games in 2011-12.

If there was a Hall of "Pretty Good," Brook Lopez might be the poster child.  That is the career that he has had thus far, and while he is worthy of being on the fringes of this list, we know he is unlikely to get in.  He is, however, an NBA Champion, and a second Title in 2025 could create a whisper.   

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #37, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #38, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #39, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #40, Pre-2023-24 Rank #41.

Peak Period: From 2015-16 to 2021-22.

Drummond has peaked, but despite being a four-time Rebounding Champion and two-time All-Star, Drummond has never been considered an upper-echelon player, and if his Elite Period is genuinely over, his Hall of Fame path relies on titles and stat-padding.  He has a lot better chance to do that in Philadelphia than he did in Chicago.

Pre-2023-24 Rank: #45.

Peak Period:  From 2014-15 to 2020-21

The union with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine did not generate a playoff series win in Chicago, but Nikola Vucevic remains in the Windy City, and DeRozan has now departed.  A two-time All-Star is closing in on 35 and the frustration has to be setting in as he has only played in 16 Playoff Games in 13 NBA Seasons. 

The Hall of Fame is looking further and further away, and it will be a shame how forgotten his career might become.

Peak Period: From 2017-19 to 2023-24.  Allen has played seven seasons, which is the maximum for the Peak Period.

When Jarrett Allen was traded from Brooklyn to Cleveland, it appeared that it would be an unfortunate move for the Center, but Brooklyn imploded, and Cleveland exploded, and Allen is now a former All-Star on a rising team.