Former Sacramento King eligible for Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024
Aug 14, 2023, 1:01 PM | Updated: Oct 13, 2023, 3:49 pm
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Last weekend, the Basketball Hall of Fame welcomed its newest members.
Welcome Home #23HoopClass 🏆 pic.twitter.com/7BPuhTRLVF
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) August 13, 2023
With this year’s ceremony officially behind us, let’s look ahead to who’s eligible for the 2024 Naismith Hall of Fame class. To be eligible, a player must be retired for four full seasons.
Vince Carter
The 1999 Rookie of the Year may be best known for his time with the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets, but he hopped around the league in his later years, settling in Sacramento for the 2017-18 season.
In his lone year with the Kings, Carter played just under 60 games, averaging 5.4 points (his second-lowest in his career) and 2.6 rebounds in just under 18 minutes a game.
Carter would go on to play two more seasons after his stop in Sacramento. He currently holds the record for the longest NBA career with 22 total seasons played. Over that time, he accrued 25,728 points (20th all-time in NBA points history).
Centers
Two defensive-minded big men are up for Hall of Fame nods in 2024. Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah, winners of the Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2012 and 2014 respectively, could get the nods next year.
Noah spent 13 years in the NBA, nine of which were in Chicago, where he sits in the Top 5 in total rebounds (4th) and blocks (3rd). He made the NBA All-Defensive team three years in a row and was First Team All-NBA following the 2013-14 season.
Chandler gives Carter a run for his money with time spent in the NBA. Drafted in 2001 by the Chicago Bulls, Chandler also played for the Houston Rockets, Los Angles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks, and Dallas Mavericks, among others.
His time in New York and Dallas is when Chander hit his stride, winning an NBA championship with the Mavericks and the Defensive Player of the Year award with the Knicks.
Guards
Jamal Crawford, Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith, among others, are eligible for first-year Hall of Fame nods. Korver could have the toughest argument of the three. Crawford and Smith are both multi-time Sixth Man of the Year award winners, with Crawford winning the award three times. Smith is also a two-time NBA champion, having a pivotal role in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2016 title win.
Inductees into the 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame class won’t be announced until next year.
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