Pre-2019-20 Rank: #5, Pre-2020-21 Rank #5, Pre-2021-22 Rank #5, Pre-2022-23 Rank #3.  Pre-2023-24 Rank #3.

*Peak Period: 2013-14 to 2020-21.  We are giving Curry eight seasons, as he only played five Games in 2019-20.

Steph Curry moves in at #2, and the master of the three-point shot reinvented the game.  It was Curry’s style of play that taught teams that you could win NBA Championships from behind the arc, a style thought inconceivable only years before.  The all-time leader in three-pointers has four titles, ten All-Stars, and two MVPs, the perfect elixir for a first-ballot entry. 

If this were based on influence, Curry would be number one.  How fortunate are we that we still have him for years to come?

Pre-2019-20 Rank #4, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #3, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #4, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #4, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #7.

*Positional Note:  Harden plays more at Point Guard these days, but at his peak, he was more of a Shooting Guard.

*Peak Period: 2013-14 to 2019-20.

Hmmm…

James Harden has a very intriguing Hall of Fame case, though based on the bar that Springfield had set, you could argue that he has already met the requirements.

“The Beard” is a former NBA MVP and a three-time scoring champion, but he never won an NBA Title. His best years were in Houston, but he could not lead them to the Finals while he was a Rocket.  Willing his way out of Texas, he went to Brooklyn, but his reunion with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn netted nothing for either party.  Harden then joined Philadelphia, but it was the same result, as it was another super team that could not make the Finals.

Harden is currently with the Los Angeles Clippers, and with all due respect to the star, his best years are behind him.  We have seen his body of work, which is explosive scoring and lackadaisical defense, but he is a player who should quickly enter the Hall.  Harden would love to do it as an NBA Champion, but it won’t happen as a Clipper, and this won’t be his last NBA team.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #3, Pre-2020-21 Rank #4, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #3, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #4, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #4.

*Peak Period: 2007-08 to 2013-14.

There is no doubt that Chris Paul will enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on his first try, and he should.  With a resume of 12 All-Stars, 11 All-NBA Selections, five Assists Titles and six Steals titles, and the statistical landmark as the first player to compile 20,000 Points and 11,000 Assists, Springfield will roll out the red carpet for the legendary Guard.

Saying all of that, what would he have given up for a Title?  It is not that he has not been close, as he was on an excellent Clippers team and a Suns team that made the 2021 Finals, but he is now in a journeyman phase where he adds a veteran presence.  This year, he joined the San Antonio Spurs, his seventh team, and is still looking for that elusive NBA Championship.

Paul might challenge Charles Barkley and Karl Malone for the unofficial title of the best player never to win a ring.