The 2025 HOF class projects to be weakest ever

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame welcomed a strong 13-member class on Sunday, including former eight-time All-Star Vince Carter, 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups and five-time NBA champion Michael Cooper.

However, there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the class of male players projected to be enshrined at Springfield next year. 

A report from ESPN's Kevin Pelton notes that Marc Gasol — a former three-time All-Star and 2013 Defensive Player of the Year — is the best player eligible for the 2025 class with the likes of Carmelo Anthony and LaMarcus Aldridge not ineligible for the honor until 2026. 

That said, Pelton does not project Jerry Colangelo and other decision-makers at Springfield to enshrine Gasol until 2028. Typically, players become eligible for the Hall five years after their NBA retirement. 

"The best player who retired from the NBA after 2020-21 was Marc Gasol, although he continued to play in Spain for the club he founded, Basquet Girona, until this January," Pelton explained. "The Hall hasn't been consistent in terms of how it has handled such appearances in terms of the timeline for eligibility, but I don't think Gasol will be on the ballot until 2028. His brother Pau Gasol was inducted in 2023."

The report added that Lakers head coach JJ Redick "is the next-best candidate" for 2025, but the retired sharpshooter is unlikely to get the honor since he never made an All-Star or All-NBA team. His candidacy will come down to his accomplishments as a college star at Duke.

Of course, others became eligible for the Hall in previous years but never made the final ballot. This list includes five-time All-Star Marques Johnson, six-time All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire, four-time All-Star Shawn Marion and four-time champion Horace Grant. Some have also floated the idea of seven-time champion Robert Horry getting the nod for helping three different teams win NBA titles. 

Among the aforementioned list, Johnson has come the closest to getting the nod after being a finalist on the ballot for three of the past six years. Pelton expects him to be a finalist in 2025.

If Johnson and Gasol headline the 2025 class, it will arguably be the weakest since the 2017 class, which saw only two former All-Stars in Tracy McGrady and George McGinnis getting the nod.