Who's next for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 and beyond?
On Saturday, the Hall will welcome 13 inductees, including two former NBA players chosen through the typical finalist process: Manu Ginobili and Tim Hardaway. (Lou Hudson, the third NBA player who is part of this year's class, was chosen by the direct-elect veterans committee).
As we look ahead to next year and beyond, let's consider which new NBA players will be on the ballot in 2023, 2024 and 2025. As well, given the majority of recent Hall of Fame inductees -- like Hardaway -- have not been in their first year of eligibility, let's look at the holdovers on the ballot who might have a chance to make it in future years. (The class for 2023 will be announced in early April during NCAA Final Four weekend in Houston.)
Projecting Naismith Hall of Fame inductees isn't always easy because of the lack of transparency in the process conducted by committees with unknown members behind closed doors, explained recently by ESPN's Baxter Holmes. Still, we'll do our best to consider which NBA legends might soon be getting a Hall call of their own.