What are the requirements for the NBA Hall of Fame? NBA players must have been retired for at least five years. The player must be nominated by another person and a form and supporting documentation must be with the President of the Hall of fame, by 1st November.

Becoming a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is the highest honor anyone that has been involved in the game of basketball can get.

Being a Hall of Famer makes the difference between a great player and a true legend.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the place where Professor James Naismith invented our favorite game in 1891. Besides being a hall of fame it serves as basketball’s most complete library promoting and preserving the history of basketball.

The Basketball Hall of Fame is designed to immortalize the brightest basketball stars from all around the globe.

Who can nominate a person for the Hall of Fame?

In order for a person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, first needs to be nominated. Absolutely anyone can submit a Hall of Fame nomination.

A completed nomination form procured from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame shall be submitted to the President and CEO no later than October 31 each year. All nominees with completed nomination forms are added to the official ballot and presented to the appropriate Committee for review.

Nominees can be players, coaches, referees, basketball contributors, and teams who have to meet certain criteria in order for their nomination to be taken into consideration.

What are the requirements for the NBA Hall of Fame?

The Hall of Fame was opened and inducted its first class in 1959 and opened to the public in 1968.

By today, more than 400 players, coaches, referees, basketball contributors, and teams have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

What are the requirements for the NBA Hall of Fame? A player must be fully retired for four full seasons before being eligible for Enshrinement. He/she may then be considered for Enshrinement in the fifth year of retirement. Should a player come out of retirement for a short period of time, as defined by the Basketball Hall of Fame, his/her case and eligibility for Enshrinement shall be reviewed on an individual basis.

There have been many cases when a player has come out of retirement and the Committee has made different decisions. For example, when Michael Jordan retired the second time from the Bulls in 1998 his four full seasons until the Hall of Fame eligibility started to be counted. But when he returned to the Washington Wizards in 2001 it was considered a significant move and he wasn’t eligible until 2009 when he was inducted.

On the other hand his fellow Chicago Bulls, Scottie Pippen retired from the NBA in 2004 and was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2010 despite his return to the game in 2007 and 2008 when he played in Finland and Sweden.

When it comes to coaches, a coach must be either fully retired for four full seasons or, if still an active coach, have coached as either a full-time assistant or head coach on the high school and/or college and/or professional level for a minimum of 25 years. That person will then be considered for Enshrinement in the sixth year of retirement or the 26th year of active coaching.

The same criteria stand for the referees as well.

Regarding the contributors, a person is eligible for Enshrinement as a contributor at any time for significant contributions to the game of basketball. What constitutes a “significant contribution” shall be determined by the Hall of Fame, its Election Process Committee, and the Contributor Direct-Elect Committee.

What are these criteria?

Induction into the Hall of Fame can be in two or more categories at once.

John Wooden, Bill Sharman, and Lenny Wilkens were inducted into the Hall of Fame both as a player and as a coach. Wilkens, by the way, was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a part of the “Dream Team” because he served as Chuck Daily’s assistant at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

The decisions on Enshrinement are up to two Screening Committees: North American and Women’s.

These Committees review and select individual nominees to be reviewed and voted upon for Enshrinement by the Honors Committee. The North American Committee consists of nine voting members while the Women’s Committee consists of seven voting members.

In order to advance to the Honors Committee, a nominee must receive a minimum number of affirmative votes from the respective Screening Committee (North American: 7 of 9; Women’s: 5 of 7).

If a nominee receives zero affirmative votes for three consecutive years, that nominee’s candidacy is suspended for five years after which time he/she may again be reviewed by the appropriate Screening Committee.

There is no limitation on the number of years a nominee may be considered for Enshrinement by a Screening Committee provided that the nominee receives at least one affirmative vote in any given three-year period.

The Screening Committees may put forth a maximum number of Finalists to the Honors Committee (North American: 10; Women’s: 4).

After the vote of the Screening Committees, the Finalists will first be reviewed by the Hall of Fame Board of Trustees. At this time, should it be determined by the Board of Trustees that a Finalist has damaged the integrity of the game of basketball, he/she shall be deemed not worthy of Enshrinement and removed from consideration.

The purpose of the Honors Committee is to review carefully the selected Finalist’s basketball record before casting a vote in favor of or against Enshrining the Finalist in the Hall of Fame.

There are 24 voting members on each of the two Honors Committees (North American and Women’s).

The Honors Committees consists of Hall of Famers, basketball executives and administrators, members of the media, and other experts in the game of basketball.

A Finalist must garner a minimum of 18 votes from the respective Honors Committee to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

If the Honors Committee does not elect a Finalist for five consecutive years, the Finalist’s nomination will be suspended for five years.

In addition to accepting new members, the Hall of Fame also gives awards annually such as for the best members of the press or Basketball’s Human Spirit Award.