The former NBA players going into the Hall of Fame this weekend include two members of the league's 75th anniversary team, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade, plus European stars Pau Gasol and Tony Parker. The four players combined for 19 All-NBA appearances and 37 All-Star picks, with ceremonial appearances for Nowitzki and Wade during their final season bringing the quartet into a tie for fourth-most of any Hall class.
As testament to the role this year's Hall of Famers played in recent NBA history, it's worth noting that between 2003 and 2014, one of them won a championship in every year but 2004 (Detroit) and 2008 (Boston): Four for Parker, three for Wade, two for Gasol and one for Nowitzki. So, how does this group stack up compared to other Hall classes of NBA players?
Let's take a look using my championships added career metric.
Additionally, even though the Naismith Hall of Fame factors in the entirety of a player's career, we're solely considering their NBA (and ABA) contributions here. With that noted, let's start with the GOAT Hall of Fame class -- featuring perhaps the greatest player in league history.
1. 2009 (7.1 championships added)
Michael Jordan (4.1), David Robinson (1.6), John Stockton (1.3)
Jordan's famous speech at his Hall induction -- yes, the one that gave rise to the "Crying Jordan" meme -- casts such a long shadow, it's easy to forget that two other members of the 1992 USA Olympic "Dream Team" went into the Hall of Fame with him. Add Robinson's two championships and one MVP to Jordan's six and five, respectively, and it's easy to see why this Hall class leads the rankings.
Although he didn't reach the same heights either individually or with the Utah Jazz as Jordan and Robinson, Stockton -- the league's all-time leader in both assists and steals -- was an outstanding player in his own right. Jordan alone had more championships added than all but six Hall of Fame classes. Jordan going in with Robinson and Stockton easily pushed this class over the top.
2. 2020 (6.4 championships added)
Tim Duncan (2.6), Kobe Bryant (2.2), Kevin Garnett (1.6)
The 2020 class was as top-heavy as any on record. This is the only time three MVPs have gone into the Hall together, including two of the top 11 players in NBA history by championships added in Duncan and Bryant and a third top-20 player in Garnett. Just twice before had a pair of top-20 players been part of the same class ever. So it's unlikely we'll see a Hall of Fame induction as strong at the top as 2020 any time soon.
3. 1980 (4.34 championships added)
Jerry West (2.1), Oscar Robertson (1.8), Jerry Lucas (0.5)
Few players have been as inextricably linked as Robertson and West, who entered the NBA as the No. 1 and No. 2 picks, respectively, of the 1960 draft and retired after the 1973-74 season second and third all-time in career scoring at the time. (West's last game came against Robertson's Milwaukee Bucks, who ultimately lost in the Finals).
In between, they were together on the All-NBA First Team at guard every season from 1961-62 through 1966-67. West and Robertson were both top-20 players by championships added, and got a slight boost from Lucas, a seven-time All-Star and member of the New York Knicks' 1973 title team.
4. 2023 (4.31 championships added)
Dirk Nowitzki (1.8), Dwyane Wade (1.2), Pau Gasol (0.8), Tony Parker (0.5)
This year's class checks in fourth, largely on the strength of its depth. No previous Hall of Fame year has had four NBA players as accomplished in terms of championships added, while 2009 and 2020 were the two with better third-best inductees.
That compensates for 2023 not quite having the top-end talent of some of the other highest-rated classes. Nowitzki, the lone regular-season MVP in the group (Parker and Wade both won Finals MVP, as did Nowitzki), is the one player from this year's class to crack the top 30 all-time (No. 17). Wade ranks No. 33, with Gasol just outside the top 50 and Parker barely missing the top 100.
5. 2016 (4.26 championships added)
Shaquille O'Neal (2.5), Allen Iverson (0.8), Zelmo Beaty (0.6), Yao Ming (0.4)
Some 15 years after they battled in the 2001 NBA Finals, O'Neal and Iverson went into the Hall of Fame together. They won back-to-back MVPs, though O'Neal's career rates far better by championships added because of his longevity (he entered the league four years before Iverson) and superior win share totals in his prime. The 2016 class also featured Beaty (a two-time NBA All-Star who made three All-Star appearances and won a championship after jumping to the ABA's Utah Stars) and Yao, whose groundbreaking career was cut short by injury.
6. 1995 (4.1 championships added)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (3.6), Vern Mikkelsen (0.5)
This Hall class was all about Abdul-Jabbar, who ranked second in championships added at the time of his induction. Mikkelsen was a supporting player alongside George Mikan on the Minneapolis Lakers' four championship teams from 1949-50 through 1953-54, making six All-Star teams.
7. 1993 (4.0 championships added)
Julius Erving (2.2), Dan Issel (0.8), Walt Bellamy (0.5), Dick McGuire (0.2), Bill Walton (0.2), Calvin Murphy (0.1)
Still as large as any class inducted based primarily on their NBA (and ABA) production, this group is probably underrated by championships added. Walton, in particular, suffers by this method, which doesn't give him sufficient credit for his dominant play in the first 58 games of his injury-shortened MVP campaign. Add in Erving's NBA MVP (plus three more in the ABA) and this was one of the most decorated classes ever.
8. 1979 (3.9 championships added)
Wilt Chamberlain (3.9)
While the 1995 class was mostly about Kareem, the 1979 class was exclusively about the Big Dipper, the only player inducted that year. (He was joined by four coaches, including Ray Meyer, Pete Newell and pioneering John McLendon, as well as referee James Enright.) Until Jordan surpassed him in the 1990s, Chamberlain led all players in championships added, and his total alone made 1979 a top-10 Hall class.
9. 2010 (3.8 championships added)
Karl Malone (2.2), Scottie Pippen (1.1), Dennis Johnson (0.4), Gus Johnson (0.2)
The year after their Dream Team teammates Jordan and Stockton went into the Hall, 2010 saw Malone and Pippen take center stage for a pair of top-35 players all-time by championships added. The 2010 class also featured the posthumous induction of both Johnsons, a pair of champions (Gus in the ABA, Johnson with the NBA's Sonics and Celtics) known primarily for their defense.
10. 2018 (3.8 championships added)
Jason Kidd (1.0), Steve Nash (0.9), Ray Allen (0.8), Grant Hill (0.5), Maurice Cheeks (0.4), Charlie Scott (0.2), Dino Radja (0.0)
The 2018 Hall class was artificially strong because of a rule change that reduced the waiting period after retirement from five seasons to four, putting Nash and Allen (who retired after the 2013-14 season) in the same class with Hill and Kidd (who retired after 2012-13). The result was an atypically deep group that featured three players in the top-60 by championships added and the second (Kidd) and third (Nash) players all-time in assists as well as the all-time leader in 3-pointers (Allen).