Has Joel Embiid already clinched a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame?

On Saturday, Amar’e Stoudemire, Doc Rivers and Mike D’Antoni will be among the latest inductees to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

LeBron James is an absolute lock to join them in the next few years. Players now have to be only two years removed from their retirement to become eligible for enshrinement, and James will undoubtedly be a first-ballot Hall of Famer as soon as he’s eligible.

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He might not be the only member of the 2026-27 Sixers who finds himself in the Hall of Fame one day, either. Joel Embiid is already putting together a convincing resume, although he still may have work to do before he becomes a lock.

Basketball Reference’s Hall of Fame probability model—which is based on height, NBA championships, peak win shares, All-Star selections and appearances on statistical leaderboards—currently gives Embiid roughly a 66 percent chance of becoming a Hall of Famer one day. LeBron, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Nikola Jokić, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are all viewed as locks, while Karl-Anthony Towns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson are among the active players ahead of Embiid in the model.

So, would Embiid already be a Hall of Famer if he retired tomorrow? If not, what else does he need to accomplish to become a lock?  

Is Embiid already a Hall of Famer?

Every eligible NBA player who won at least one Most Valuable Player award is already in the Hall of Fame. Derrick Rose may eventually put that to the test, but based on that alone, Embiid should be in.

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Rose got off to a meteoric start in the NBA. He won Rookie of the Year, was named an All-Star in his second season and became the youngest MVP in NBA history in his third year. But an ACL tear during the 2012 playoffs upended the trajectory of his career. He never received another All-Star nod upon his return, although he did emerge as a Sixth Man of the Year contender late in his career.

Injuries have also plagued Embiid throughout his career, but he’s sustained his greatness far longer than Rose did. He finished as the MVP…

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Publish date : 2026-08-14 16:00:00

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