The 2023 Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony is less than a month away now, as it will take place on the 12th of August. Getting into the Hall of Fame is just about the greatest honor for anyone associated with the NBA and goes down as one of the proudest moments of their life.
Rules state though that players can only get in once four seasons have passed since their retirement and Paul Pierce doesn’t think that should be the case for everyone. He believes players such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant should already be in there even before they retire, as Gregg Popovich will go in this year while he’s still coaching.
“They should start doing that with players,” Pierce said on Sho Basketball when talking about Popovich making it in. “You can put LeBron in the Hall of Fame right now.”
“If you can do it with coaches… why is Pop in the Hall of Fame? He’s still coaching for five more years for 80 more million,” Pierce continued. “He might win more championships. You gotta put that on his stone. I mean, you gonna engrave his thing at the Hall of Fame, but it’s not complete.”
“They can add to it,” Pierce added when co-host Rachel Nichols suggested they can get a new one. “So, you can throw Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and all them guys in the Hall of Fame right now.”
(starts at 1:52:14 mark):
LeBron and Durant are surefire first-ballot Hall of Famers, so you get what Pierce is saying about putting them in there already.
For those wondering how Popovich got in, the rules are different for coaches. They must either be retired for four full seasons to get in or should have been a head coach or assistant for 25 years in high school and/or college and/or the professional level.
Popovich has been the head coach for the San Antonio Spurs for 27 seasons and recently signed a five-year extension. He has actually been eligible for the Hall of Fame for quite a while, having previously been an assistant coach at the college level and with the Spurs from 1988 to 1992.
Potential Changes That Can Be Made To The Eligibility Criterion
Considering things have been done this way for so long, it is unlikely they’ll make such a drastic move. If they do ever make a change though, it could perhaps be adding the alternative option of players having played basketball at those three levels for 15 or so years.
Durant and LeBron would then get in, as would the likes of Stephen Curry and Chris Paul. One other change that probably needs to be made is to reduce the waiting period. Four seasons is quite a long period of time and perhaps could be cut down to two.
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