These guys don’t stand a chance.
Making the Hall of Fame is one of the most prestigious awards in a player’s career. Not everybody gets the nod to be enshrined and it remains an exclusive club that highlights the accolades gathered by an NBA player throughout his playing days.
However, there are quite a number of players in the league who gathered accolades to position themselves to be enshrined when their career is over but still fell short due to the lack of credentials under their name.
Today, we will list every NBA team’s best active player that won’t make the Hall of Fame. We will also discuss why their bid to become Hall of Famers may fall short by the time they decide to hang up their basketball shoes.
Atlanta Hawks – Dejounte Murray
Murray looked like Atlanta’s best player for a handful of games last season. He’s a good complementary player for the team’s superstar, Trae Young. He’s a great player, but not HOF material.
Boston Celtics – Jaylen Brown
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Brown is a great player, but there are still lots of things missing in his game. His game tends to fade when his team needs him the most and he continues to struggle with his handles. Brown’s left hand is a liability and teams often exploit that weakness in his game.
Brooklyn Nets – Mikal Bridges
Bridges has been a revelation for Brooklyn after acquiring him via the trade deadline last season. While he’s projected to be leading the Nets within the next few years, it’s quite premature to bestow him as a bonafide superstar.
Charlotte Hornets – Miles Bridges
Before Bridges sat out last season, he was a rising star for Charlotte. But his off-court problems possibly hindered his growth as a player and it might also hurt his chances for plausible accolades in the future.
Chicago Bulls – Zach Lavine
Lavine is undoubtedly Chicago’s franchise player. The former Slam Dunk champion is good, but not great enough to be a Hall of Famer. Sadly, there’s this feeling that Lavine’s game has already peaked.
Cleveland Cavaliers – Darius Garland
While the addition of Donovan Mitchell might make this team a contender, it will also be an obstacle to Garland’s growth as a player. Plus, he’s been hit with several injuries last season which could possibly linger for the rest of his career.
Dallas Mavericks – Tim Hardaway, Jr.
Luka will make it and so will Kyrie Irving. Hardaway Jr. will take the hit here as possibly the Mavs’ third-best player. He’s been consistent for Dallas since he donned the jersey but unlike his famous pops, Tim’s career is far from being hall-of-fame worthy.
Denver Nuggets – Aaron Gordon
Gordon has been a terrific player for Denver during their championship run last season. He is part of their core moving forward. The problem is, Gordon hasn’t gathered any individual accolades so far in his career.
Detroit Pistons – Bojan Bogdanovic
Even though Bogdanovic was already 25 years old when he first played in the league, he has already surpassed the 10,000-point career mark with Detroit last season. Now at 33, his game isn’t slowing down soon but still too late to be considered a star in the league.
Golden State Warriors – Andrew Wiggins
The former first-overall pick in 2014 has carved out a nice role for the Warriors for the past couple of years. But it’s still quite disappointing that he didn’t become a star in the league as everyone projected him to be.
Houston Rockets – Fred VanVleet
The newly signed VanVleet has become one of the best-undrafted players to ever play in the league. He has won a championship with Toronto in 2019 and is now poised to steer the young Rockets to the playoffs next season.
Indiana Pacers – Myles Turner
Turner has been one of Indiana’s best players since he was drafted in 2015. The 6’11” big man has been a pest defensively and has developed an offensive repertoire over the years. But even with his vast improvement, he has never made any all-star or All-NBA defensive teams.
Los Angeles Clippers – Nicolas Batum
The do-it-all French forward has carved out a nice career in the association but hasn’t been named an all-star even once. And for a guy known for being a versatile defender, it’s baffling that he hasn’t made any All-NBA defensive teams either.
Los Angeles Lakers – Austin Reaves
The unheralded Reaves has become a pleasant surprise for the Lakers due to his hard work and play-making capabilities. While he won’t be making any All-NBA teams soon, Reaves is slowly becoming a fan favorite for the Lakers.
Memphis Grizzlies – Desmond Bane
Bane has developed into one of the best shooting guards in the game but his ascent will always be overshadowed by teammate Ja Morant. He is still a great asset for the young and rising Grizzlies.
Miami Heat – Bam Adebayo
Bam has been magnificent for the Heat and is becoming one of the best big men in the game. Although he has a realistic shot to be named a Hall of Famer, it seems like he will come up short due to his inconsistencies on the offensive end.
Milwaukee Bucks – Brook Lopez
After a stellar career in Brooklyn, nobody expected Lopez to stick around the league due to his traditional back-to-the-basket style of play. The former Stanford standout reinvented his game and has since found a home in Milwaukee.
Minnesota Timberwolves – Karl-Anthony Towns
This might be controversial, but even though Towns has gathered numerous accolades in his career, he still has not made Minnesota a contender after all these years. The lack of success will truly hurt his credentials as a player someday.
New Orleans Pelicans – Zion Williamson
Zion has all the right tools to make the Hall of Fame when it’s all said and done. However, he isn’t healthy enough to be considered for the prestigious list. If he stays healthy, he’ll make it but that’s looking bleak right now.
New York Knicks – Jalen Brunson
Brunson is slowly becoming one of the league’s best point guards but often gets overlooked in the stacked Eastern Conference. He will definitely make an All-Star team or two in the future, but still not enough to be a Hall of Famer.
Oklahoma City Thunder – Josh Giddey
It might be unfair for Giddey to be included in this list, but Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise could seriously hamper his ability to be enshrined someday. While both guards complement each other well, Shai is clearly the better player of the two.
Orlando Magic – Wendell Carter, Jr.
Carter has been a consistent force in the middle for this young Magic team and will continue to do so for years. Even though he’s good, Carter still feels like a lesser version of Al Horford.
Philadelphia 76ers – Tobias Harris
Tobias never made an All-Star team even once in his career. Harris is a good player but has always been the third option for most of the teams he’s played with.
Phoenix Suns – Jusuf Nurkic
Nurkic has been a stable presence in the middle for Portland for many years. He is a good player but the hall of fame will never be on the horizon for the Bosnian big man.
Portland Trail Blazers – DeAndre Ayton
Let’s be clear: Ayton is not a bust. But his career has been underwhelming when compared to Luka and Trae (all three are from the 2018 class), who have been torching the league since 2018.
Sacramento Kings – De'Aaron Fox
While Fox was considered one of the best point guards in the league last season, he might have a tough time making the Hall of Fame due to the plethora of great guards in the Western Conference like Luka, Steph, Shai and Kyrie.
San Antonio Spurs – Keldon Johnson
Johnson has been a pleasant surprise for San Antonio in their current rebuilding phase but in all honesty, he’s just a role player at best. He was forced to score due to the lack of talent for this Spurs team.
Toronto Raptors – Pascal Siakam (TRADED)
We know, Spicy P was traded. But we’re keeping him here anyways.
Siakam has been Toronto’s best player ever since the departure of Kawhi Leonard in 2019. The Cameroonian is great at his craft but lacks the credentials to be considered for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
Utah Jazz – Jordan Clarkson
The 2021 Sixth Man of the Year has been balling out with the Jazz since 2019. He’s a pure scorer and the team’s go-to guy when things get rough. But no matter how he’s improved over the years, Clarkson’s career isn’t hall-of-fame worthy.
Washington Wizards – Kyle Kuzma
Kuzma has had a decent career so far in the league. He had a starting role with the Lakers in their championship run in 2020 and continued his rise as a player with his current team, the Wizards. But the Hall of Fame remains a pipe dream as Kuzma hasn’t made any all-star teams to boost his credentials.
