The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame o The Basketball Hall of Fame is one of the most relevant and recognized institutions in this sport. The biggest names in the history of the game have their space for recognition in this place. A summit he could attend in the future Pau Gasol.
After announcing his retirement as a professional player in 2021, after returning to Barcelona months ago and hanging up his boots with the Spanish National Team, time is running out for the Spaniard, who in the future will have the opportunity to be part of the Hall of Fame.
But how does the process work? When could he be considered for election? Below are all the details.
How does the Hall of Fame process work?
Each year or Class a number of former players are announced and nominated for induction into the Hall of Fame. These are proposed by the various committees: North American Committee (9 members), Women’s Committee (7 members), International Committee (7 members) and Veterans Committee (7 members).
From there, each committee selects its finalists for that year by voting after considering each individual case. After each division’s finalists are announced, the Honors Committee (24 members) decides whether or not that player will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The members of said Committee are anonymous, but include; leaders, others hall of the farmersleague managers and journalists.
Out of the 24 votes of the Honors Committee, one player must receive at least 18 in favor to get the green light and be named after him in Springfield, Massachusetts.
When could Pau Gasol enter the Hall of Fame?
Under Hall of Fame rules, players are not eligible until three years after their final retirement. This means until the Class of 2025 Pau Gasol was out of the question for the entry process.
That way, the Spaniard would be considered along with other retirees that year, such as Luis Scola or JJ Redick. As well as others who left in 2020 but did not enter 2024, such as the cases of Vince Carter or Andrew Bogut.
Why isn’t Pau Gasol in the Hall of Fame?
To begin with, Pau Gasol could have been a part of it class of 2023 along with other like Dirk Nowitzki or Dwyane Wade, but when he makes the decision to return to the courts in the season 2020-2021 with Barcelona and the Spanish National Team the process will be delayed.
Pau Gasol has great options to end up being a part of the Hall of Fame, either for NBA or international merits. According to Basketball Reference’s statistical formula, the Spaniard has a 93.5% chance.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the NBA or its organizations.
