Pre-2019-20 Rank: #1, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #1, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #1, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #1, 2023-24 Pre-Season Rank: #1.

*Positional Notes: James has started in all five positions and usually has more of a PF role now, but he logged more minutes as a Small Forward.

*Peak Period: 2007-08 to 2013-14.

When you enter the NBA Draft as the most hyped sure thing of all time, the level of expectations could topple any man, but it can’t top a King.

LeBron James met every expectation, and the four-time NBA Champion is still an All-Star caliber player.  Now the all-time leader in Points, James orchestrated one more feather in his cap for 2024-25, playing with his son Bronny.

James, who also holds the record for All-Star Games (20), should add a 21^st this year. Despite his age (40), he is holding off Father Time better than any athlete not named Tom Brady. The megastar was already a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee ten years ago, and at this stage, he is cementing his place on the Mount Rushmore of basketball. 

Pre-2020-21 Rank: #2, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #2, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #2, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #2, Pre-2023-24 Season Rank: #2

When we started this project in 2020, Kevin Durant was ranked #2 behind only LeBron James.

It felt right (and it still might be where KD should be). Establishing himself as a superstar with Oklahoma City, where he took them to the Finals in 2012, Durant grew frustrated as the small market team looked to miss their window to win it all.  He joined Steph Curry and Golden State, where he won two championships.

Following a devastating injury, Durant was expected to lead a new big three (with James Harden & Kyrie Irving) in Brooklyn, but that resulted in a documentary-level implosion, with all three forcing trades out.  KD’s landing spot was Phoenix, but Durant’s team crumbled around him like in Brooklyn. 

Durant, who made history Internationally as the highest scorer ever in Olympic history, is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and nothing will change that.  However, his legacy has taken a beating and is more complex by the year, and as such, he drops to #3 behind his former teammate, Steph Curry.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #13, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #11, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #10, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #11, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #11.

*Peak Period: 2013-14 to 2020-21.  Leonard only played 9 Games in 2017-18.  Thus, we are giving him eight seasons.

Leonard won two NBA Championships with two different teams (San Antonio & Toronto) and was the MVP in both Finals.  That fact alone makes him a Hall of Famer in many eyes.  Following his one-and-done in Toronto, Leonard has given the Clippers three All-Star years, but the moody Forward has also missed an entire season (2021-22 due to an ACL injury), and begins this year on the shelf. 

Leonard, who has the 75^th Anniversary Selection should get in easily, but we openly wonder how much his legacy will take a tumble (if at all) over the next few years. 

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #12, Pre-2020-21: Rank #15, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #15, Pre-2022-23 Rank #15., Pre-2023-24 Rank: #16.

*Positional Notes:  George has been playing more at Power Forward recently, but his peak was mostly at Small Forward.

*Peak Period: 2015-16 to 2021-22

The Paul George run with the Los Angeles Clippers has ended, and his union with his good friend, Kawhi Leonard, yielded very little post-season success. However, it was not all bad for George, who added three All-Stars, giving him nine overall, and he had his healthiest season in L.A. last year. 

Despite this, George is not a top-ten player anymore and is now in a new environment, Philadelphia, where he has his most potent teammate ever, Joel Embiid.  Can this tandem (along with Tyrese Maxey) fulfill “the Process?”

If so, that should vault PG to a first-ballot entry.

Pre-2021-22 Rank: #50, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #33, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #22.

*Positional Notes:  Tatum also plays at Power Forward but has logged more minutes at SF.

*Peak Period:  2017-18 to 2023-24.  Tatum has completed seven seasons, the maximum for our Peak Period metrics.

Last year, he did it.

Jayson Tatum, the newest megastar on the long list of Boston Celtics, was the best player on the NBA Championship team (although Jaylen Brown was the ECF and Finals MVP), and everyone who did that made the Hall of Fame.

Here is the scary part:  Tatum enters this season with the same roster and a chip on his shoulder after feeling disrespected for his lack of playing time in the United States Gold Medal win at the Paris Olympics.  The Celtics could do it again, and he is in line to earn his fourth straight First Team All-NBA and first MVP.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #26, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #19, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #17, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #17, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #13.

*Positional Note:  Butler has played significant time over his career as a Shooting Guard and Power Forward.

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

Jimmy Butler is a fascinating case for the Hall of Fame.  Known for his playoff and big-game performances, Butler has not yet won an NBA Title but has led his teams (especially Miami) closer than they deserved.  Butler is A six-time All-Star, a one-time Second Team, and four-time Third Team All-NBA Selection, but he has only finished in the top ten in MVP voting once.

If you consider Butler a bubble candidate, remember that his strength defensively (he is a five-time Second Team All-Defensive Selection) should increase his chances, but it feels like Butler needs a little more to get into the Hall in his first two years on the ballot.

Pre-2023-24 Rank: #46.

Positional Notes:  Brown has also played considerable time as a Shooting Guard.

Peak Period:  From 2017-18 to 2023-24.  Brown’s continued growth should see him extend his Peak Period.

We said earlier that Jayson Tatum was the best player on the Boston Celtics team that won the 2024 NBA Championship, but Jaylen Brown was named the Eastern Conference Final and NBA Finals MVP. Tatum was named to his third All-Star Game and was arguably snubbed for a Third-Team All-NBA, adding to the increasing chip on his shoulder. 

This season could be explosive for Brown and the Celtics.

Pre-2020-21 Rank #47, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #40, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #37, Pre-2023-24 Rank: 38.

Peak Period: From 2015-16 to 2021-22

Khris Middleton has been to three All-Star Games, but he was the second option on a Milwaukee Bucks team that won the NBA Championship in 2021.  Not only did he get a ring that year, he also won an Olympic Gold Medal for the United States.  Saying that, he is well over 30, Middleton's only path to the Hall is to win a lot more Titles, and number two could come this year with Milwaukee.  It will have to for any serious shot.