Another Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony has just come and gone. While that means we’re still several months away from when next year’s class will be announced, we are a few steps closer to it, when several Nets could have a shot being immortalized forever in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Newbies
Neither Mike D’Antoni nor Amar’e Stoudemire will be remembered for their brief stints as Nets assistant coaches, but they did contribute to some of the most exciting basketball we’ve seen from the organization in recent years.
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D’Antoni operated as an assistant coach under Steve Nash during the 2020-21 season, where Brooklyn was a toenail away from the Eastern Conference finals, and likely more. Stoudemire also served under Nash that season and for the 2021-22 campaign. Congrats to the both of them.
Guys with Fair Cases
With the aforementioned inductions now completed, there are 247 players currently eligible to go into the hall next summer. Of that group, there are 11 former Nets ranking in the top 50 for total win shares. There’s no bonafide, correct metric to judge a player’s Hall of Fame candidacy on, but we’re going to roll with that to narrow things down.
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Second in win shares is Buck Williams (1981-1998), who has as good of a case as anyone, and his jersey hanging in the rafters at the Barclays Center. He played for the Nets from 1981-1989, making three All-Star teams, four All-Defensive teams, and one All-NBA team. He also won rookie of the year in 1981.
Before LaMarcus Aldridge (2007-2022) played the last two years of his career in Brooklyn, he made seven All-Star and five All-NBA teams. He’s fourth in win shares among the aforementioned 247-man crowd of candidates. Jason Terry (2000-2018) is 15th, and another player who spent the latter years of his career in the borough. He’s got an NBA title and the 2008-09 Sixth Man of the Year award to his name.
Further down the list we have Paul Milsap (2006-2022), who appeared in just 24 games for the Nets during his final NBA season. He also made one All-Defensive and four All-NBA teams. P.J. Brown (1994-2008) ranks 26th in win shares. He played his first three years in the NBA with the Nets before moving on to make three All-Defensive teams and win a title with the 2007-08 Boston Celtics. The late Clifford Robinson (1990-2007) is only two slots behind him. He played the last two years of his career in New Jersey, but snatched a Sixth Man of the Year award, one All-Star, and two All-Defensive team nods before that.
Things round out with Anthony Mason (1988-2003), who played his rookie season with the Nets before later making an All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive team, along with the 1994-95 Sixth Man of the Year award. Sam Cassell (1993-2008) made an All-Star, an All-NBA team and won three rings, all after the Nets traded him in 1999 following one and half seasons with the franchise.
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You all know Richard Jefferson (2001-2018), who has the 42nd most win shares on this list after spending the first seven years of his career with the Nets. He made an All-Rookie team and was a valued role player when the Cleveland Cavaliers won it all in 2016. Joe Johnson (2002-2022) is right behind him, having made seven All-Star teams and an All-NBA one. He was a Net from 2012-2016. Then, we have Blake Griffin (2011-2023), who’s a six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA player, and the 2010-11 Rookie of the Year. He played two seasons in Brooklyn from 2021-2022.
Newer and Noteworthy, but Weaker Cases
There are also a few other notable players who’ve recently attained eligibility and at one point or another donned Brooklyn’s black and white. Neither of these two players broke the top-50 in win shares, but they do have cases to be argued if you position them right.
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Goran Dragic (2008-2023) is widely regarded as one of the greatest Slovenian basketball players of all-time. He also made one All-Star and one All-NBA team. He earned the 2013-14 Most Improved Player of the Year award, nine years before he’d join Brooklyn for 16 games to close out their 2021-22 season. Jamal Crawford (2001-2020) has as interesting of a case as you’ll find. He never made an All-Star or All-NBA team, but did win three Sixth Man of the Year awards, tied for the most with Lou Williams.
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame candidates are often announced in stages starting in December. Final inductees are typically unveiled in early April.
An interesting long shot
Kyle Hines works for the Nets organization as assistant player development coach in Brooklyn and assistant GM in Long Island. He never played in the NBA, but the Naismith Hall of Fame honors not just those with league credentials, but those who are among the best to ever play the game. Hines, who turns 40 next week, played 16 seasons in Europe, dominating the continent until he retired in 2024.
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Here’s a compendium of his accomplishments while playing in Italy, Germany, Greece and Russia: four-time Euroleague champion, six-time Russian League (VTB) champion, three-time Italian League champion as well as rings in the Greece and German leagues. Individually, he was named to the Euroleague All-Decade team and the Euroleague 25th Anniversary team as well as the Russian League Hall of Fame. Three times, he was named the best defender in Europe, etc. etc.
A native of Sicklerville, N.J., outside Camden where he founded the Team Hines 42 Foundation, he played college ball at UNC-Greensboro. In other words, he checks all the boxes.