The NBA has just announced the five players who are eligible to be inducted into the 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. The 2023 class was exceptional considering that it featured NBA greats such as Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. In 2024, we’ll be getting to know who’s going in between Vince Carter, Joakim Noah, Kyle Korver, Tyson Chandler, and Jamal Crawford. With all of them being known as great players at one point in their careers, which of these five NBA legends has the highest chance of being picked to join a long list of the most elite players in NBA history?
Who here should make the HOF? pic.twitter.com/V2UFu5svSJ
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 15, 2023
Among them, only one player has the absolute ticket to be inducted into the 2024 Naismith Hall of Fame
It’s clear as day on who’s going to be selected as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer among the five mentioned players. That is no other than Vince Carter. According to basketball-reference.com, Carter has a 94.55% of HoF probability. Throughout his career, Carter has been called many names. Vincanity, Half Man Half Amazing, and Air Canada are just among the few notable monickers for the Toronto Raptors icon. Carter played 22 seasons in the league and gave his everything on the court for every team he’s been on. From 1999 until 2005, Carter was a household name in Toronto and even brought them to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in 2001.
He later moved on and played for different teams like the New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and Atlanta Hawks. Unfortunately, the Florida native never won a championship despite being one of the most talented and exciting players we’ve seen.
vince carter highlights
pic.twitter.com/ebUJtIB3cH https://t.co/9Q1tGjUTIg
— Anya ♡ (@braveorbored) December 8, 2023
Vince has always been famous for his emphatic in-game dunks, but what casual fans don’t know is that he was an absolute killer on offense. Aside from his out-of-this-world leaping ability, Vince was also a deadly shooter and a perfect all-around player. There was even a time when he was the second-best shooting guard in the league, just behind the late Kobe Bryant. Although his time in Toronto did not end well, he will always be the best to ever wear the Raptors uniform even though he did not bring them the Larry O’Brien trophy in that franchise. After retiring in 2022, Vince Carter is already an 8-time All-Star and was selected twice to All-NBA teams.
But, a shifty off-the-bench scorer could sneak into that prestigious group
Aside from Vince Carter, who is already obviously going in the HoF, there is another iconic player who could join him next year – Jamal Crawford. Unbelievably enough, unlike the other first-year eligibles in 2024 (I.e. Noah, Chandler, and Korver), who were selected as an All-Star at least once, J-Crossover never got close to being voted in that prestigious game. However, Crawford will be remembered for winning the NBA 6th Man of the Year award three times.
For most of his career, Crawford came off the bench but did it effectively. It may sound like an overstatement, but JC was a player with pure skill and talent and the perfect example of a guy who was “way ahead of his time”. Put him in any era and he will still definitely thrive. The former Los Angeles Clipper was a matchup nightmare because he’ll easily drop 50 if he wants. Oh, did we mention he did score more than 50 points while playing for four different teams? Indeed he was unstoppable if he gets going.
"3-time 6th Man of the Year… Your best ball handler [ever], he's sitting right here. One of the top 3 to ever do it."
Vince Carter says Jamal Crawford should be in the Hall of Fame 🗣️
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/cGDVH6f34w
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 13, 2023
Unfortunately, this doesn’t guarantee a spot for Crawford yet. He is somewhat short in accolades, but his basketball prowess will never be forgotten. If the NBA Hall of Fame allowed a player who is known for being a scoring specialist, then chances are that Crawford will definitely get in. Meanwhile, Joakim Noah and Tyson Chandler, two pretty good centers during the late 2000s and early 2010s, had some great runs in their careers. Even though they had a great two or three years of their peak, it’s not enough to slip them into the Hall of Fame category.
