NBA Hall of Fame Eligibility: How Long Do Players Have to Wait After Retirement to Be Eligible

One of the greatest accomplishments an NBA player can experience is receiving the call that they will be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Championships aren’t the sole measure of success to earn a nomination for basketball immortality. There are plenty of players who have earned All-Star selections and even championships, yet are not in the Hall-of-Fame.

However, the esteemed club isn’t exclusive to players. People who are coaches, referees or contributors to the game are all eligible to potentially earn a selection into the Hall-of-Fame. Regardless of their different methods of impacting the game, their influence is the same.

In terms of the selection process, there are key differences each individual faces through unique selection criteria.

Basketball Hall-of-Fame selection criteria for players

There are certain players that the masses can agree are deserving of being a Hall-of-Famer. For example, a player like LeBron James will undoubtedly be enshrined in Springfield. However, he won’t be eligible immediately after he retires. Despite his status as arguably the greatest player of all time, he has to follow the same selection process as everyone else.

The process requires a player to be in retirement for at least four full seasons. During that fifth year away from the sport, they can receive consideration for enshrinement. Before a player is eligible for consideration for enshrinement, they have to go through the nomination process. Nominees are the ones responsible for submitting a nomination form, which then goes through review by the President and CEO of the BHOF.

The next stage of the process requires each nomination to face the screening committee. There are two screening committees which are the North American and Women’s. Nominees must receive a minimum number of votes from both screening committees to progress to the next stage. That number is 7 out of 9 votes from the North Americans and 5 out of 7 votes from the Women’s Committee.

Once they pass that stage, the finalists’ fates are in the hands of the Honors Committee, with a board that comprises 24 members. Each finalist must receive at least 18 votes to receive enshrinement in the BHOF.

Throughout this process, there may be instances where a player is rejected. Many times this is due to the maximum amount of finalists that are allowed to move on to face judgment from the Honors Committee. North American Committee is only allowed to submit 10 finalists while the Women’s Committee can submit just 4.

Regardless, they can submit another nomination form in the following year in hopes of moving forward.

2025’s nominations for the Hall-of-Fame

The BHOF is still going through the process of finalizing the nominations for the Class of 2025. As things currently stand, 12 candidates are hoping to wear the Naismith orange jacket. Those candidates include Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Dwight Howard, Doc Rivers, Billy Donovan, Sylvia Fowles, Chamique Holdsclaw, Mark Few, Lisa Bluder, Marc Gasol, and Micky Arison.

In total, hundreds of people have received a nomination. That number will be reduced in the following days and months. There will be an announcement on February, February 14, as a part of NBA All-Star Weekend to reveal the finalists. However, the official revelation of the entire Class of 2025 won’t be until Saturday, April 5. This will take place during a nationally televised broadcast at the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.

The figures who receive the illustrious honor will hear their names during the first weekend of September. Festivities begin on September 5 and conclude on the following day with the Enshrinement Ceremony at the famous Symphony Hall in Springfield.

Basketball Hall-of-Fame selection criteria for coaches, executives, and sportswriters

Similar to players, coaches and executives need to be fully retired for an extensive period. It is the same amount of time as players, which is four full seasons. However, there is room for an active coach to receive consideration.

The only condition is that they must have coached as a full-time assistant or head coach on either the high school, college, or professional level for at least 25 years. Executives don’t receive the same privilege.

Fortunately for sportswriters, there isn’t a contingent time away from their career field which they must meet to earn consideration. They are all eligible for enshrinement at any time. However, they will only receive an enshrinement for a “significant contribution” to the game of basketball.

Whatever constitutes a “significant contribution” is determined by the committees involved in the election process and the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Finally, the last eligible members of the sport to earn a nomination into the BHOF are referees. Officials follow the same guidelines as coaches. There isn’t any rule that prohibits a certain level of officiating from receiving an enshrinement into the Hall-of-Fame.