THESE will be the next 5 NBA Hall of Famers

Finally, we have a date for the target return of the NBA. So far, we’ve heard the NBA is partnering with Disney to have the NBA resume in July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports venue. All teams and staff will be housed there for the remainder of the season. We don’t yet know what the format for the return will be. It could be picking up where the season left off or it could go straight into the Playoffs. 

We’ll find out soon though.

In the meantime, a fan on the Basketball Banter FaceBook page (cheers mate) came up with the idea of highlighting who I thought should be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021. There are some big names that should be at the top of the list and I’m going to go through who I think should be inducted.

5. Ben Wallace

When it comes to offense, Ben Wallace was extremely poor. He only has a career average of 5.7 PPG. He could never do anything more than catch lobs or putbacks and was a terrible free-throw shooter, only hitting 41.4% of them for his career.

Defensively, there hasn’t been a better defender in the NBA since Big Ben. Wallace was phenomenal at that end of the floor, it was what he lived for. Wallace was the Defensive Player of the Year 4 times. He led the league in block per game in 2002, led the league in rebounding twice and was the centerpiece of the incredible Detroit defense in the early and mid-2000s.

Defense is always underappreciated in the NBA because it doesn’t sell tickets. Having Ben Wallace in the Hall of Fame would provide extra incentive for new players to focus on that end of the floor.

4. Tim Hardaway

Players like Allen Iverson and Chris Paul are known for their killer crossovers, but Tim Hardaway was also a menace to guard out on top. At only 6 feet tall, he had a very low center of gravity. This, and lightning-fast reactions, led to a devastating crossover.

People forget that Hardaway was a 5x All-Star and a 5x All-NBA Team member and the best player in those late 90s Miami Heat teams with Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning. He was able to fight back after a knee injury sidelined him for the entire 1993-94 season and was always entertaining to watch.

3. Chris Bosh

I felt extremely sorry when Chris Bosh wasn’t selected with this year’s inductees. It was the first year he was able to be inducted but given the likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan were chosen, it would’ve been very hard for Bosh to be included.

I have faith that next year he will get the call. People forget how good Bosh was. Before he was the 3rd option for the Miami Heat, Bosh was regularly averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds for the struggling Toronto Raptors. 

When LeBron left Miami in 2014, Bosh immediately started averaging over 20 points a game again. CB had to retire at 31 due to blood clots but he still had at least 3 more All-Star caliber years left in him. He’s an 11x All-Star and a 2x Champion. 

Put some respect on his name.

2. Chris Webber

This one really confuses me.

Are there some dodgy back-alley dealings within the NBA that have meant that Webber has yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame? Could it be that Webber was the best player on that 2002 Sacramento Kings teams that was blatantly robbed in the Playoffs vs the Los Angeles Lakers?

Something is going on because Webber’s career has “Hall of Fame” written all over it. He has career averages of 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. He was the Rookie of the Year in 1994, lead the league in rebounding in 1999 and was a 5x All-Star and 5x All-NBA Team member.

1. Paul Pierce

If the criteria for getting into the Hall of Fame were purely based on basketball commentary, Paul Pierce would never get in. He’s said some terrible things recently like how was a better wing shooter than Klay Thompson. 

Maybe ESPN keeps him on for entertainment value….

However, as a player, Pierce was a pure stud. He is the 2nd leading scoring in Boston Celtics history, even ahead of the great Larry Bird. He averaged 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals a game for his career.

Pierce was a 10x All-Star, a 4x All-NBA member and 2008 Finals MVP on the Celtics team that created the biggest season turnaround in history, going from 24 wins in 2007 to 66 in 2008. If it weren’t for Garnett sustaining a major injury in 09 and Perkins missing game 7 in the 2010 Finals, the Celtics could have won 3 straight.

Pierce may be jealous of a certain Eastern Conference rival…but that does not mean that ‘The Truth’ was not an amazing player and a 1st-ballot Hall of Famer.