Where Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and the 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame class rank among the all-time best groups

The 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class was officially announced on Saturday, with Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Tamika Catchings headlining a deep group of players, coaches and contributors. This is undoubtedly one of the best basketball Hall of Fame classes we’ve seen, which made us wonder about the last time we’ve seen a group of players this impressive all inducted in the same year.

It actually doesn’t happen very often, as the all-time great players tend to be scattered in terms of induction years due to players retiring at different times. For example, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, inextricably linked from their college days, were inducted four years apart. Other classes have tremendous players as headliners, but lack the depth — 1995 featured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Cheryl Miller, arguably the best men’s and women’s basketball players of all time, but didn’t make the top five.

Here’s where we say that any person who makes the Hall of Fame is a legend in their own right, so this is not meant to take away from anyone’s accomplishments. There were tough cuts, to be sure, but when in doubt we leaned on Basketball Reference’s list of all-time win shares as a tiebreaker. Here are the five best basketball Hall of Fame classes.

5. Class of 2008

Adrian Dantley, Player
Patrick Ewing, Player
Hakeem Olajuwon, Player
Pat Riley, Coach
Catchy Rush, Coach
Bill Davidson, Contributor
Dick Vitale, Contributor

There was a lot of competition for the fifth spot, but the star power and championship pedigree of Olajuwon and Riley helped push them over the top. Olajuwon (19), Dantley (33) and Ewing (39) are all in the top 40 of NBA win shares, and no matter how you feel about Vitale, he certainly helped promote the game of college basketball to new heights.

4. Class of 2018

Ray Allen, Player
Maurice Cheeks, Player
Grant Hill, Player
Jason Kidd, Player
Steve Nash, Player
Dino Radja, Player
Charlie Scott, Player
Katie Smith, Player
Tina Thompson, Player
Ora Mae Washington, Player
Charles “Lefty” Driesell, Coach
Rod Thorn, Contributor
Rick Welts, Contributor

While it may not carry the weight of a top-10 all-time player, this is arguably the deepest class in basketball Hall of Fame history. It has three players in the top 40 in NBA win shares (Allen, Kidd and Nash), along with two of the most accomplished women’s basketball players in Thompson and Smith. Cheeks, Hill and Scott add to the NBA depth, while Radja was an incredible international player. Driesell, Washington, Thorn and Welts round out an incredible class with their various contributions.

3. Class of 1980

Oscar Robertson, Player
Jerry Lucas, Player
Jerry West, Player
Les Harrison, Contributor
Everett Shelton, Coach
Dallas Shirley, Referee

Led by Robertson, West and Lucas, this class definitely gives 2020 a run for its money. Perhaps there’s bias toward modern players in the win shares stat, but Robertson (10th), West (20th) and Lucas (89th) didn’t quite match up to Duncan, Garnett and Bryant in that department, and it also lacks the depth. You’ll hear no complaints if you rank this class ahead of 2020, as it contains some of the best players in NBA history.

2. Class of 2020

Kobe Bryant, Player
Tamika Catchings, Player
Tim Duncan, Player
Kevin Garnett, Player
Kim Mulkey, Coach
Rudy Tomjanovich, Coach
Barbara Stevens, Coach
Eddie Sutton, Coach
Patrick Baumann, Contributor

This year’s class comes in just a hair behind the first-place group with Duncan and Garnett both in the top 10 in NBA win shares and Bryant coming in 16th. Those three players combined to win 11 NBA titles, with Catchings adding a WNBA championship to the mix. Mulkey has won three national titles as the Baylor head coach and Tomjanovich won two as coach of the Houston Rockets, so this group is extremely well-decorated when it comes to winning.

1. Class of 2009

Michael Jordan, Player
David Robinson, Player
John Stockton, Player
Jerry Sloan, Coach
C. Vivian Stringer, Coach

It’s hard to argue that this isn’t the best Hall of Fame class of all time. Led by Jordan, the greatest basketball player who ever lived by most judgments, the 2009 class also features Stockton and Robinson — sixth and 13th, respectively, in all-time NBA win shares. Add in Sloan and Stringer, two legendary coaches, and it rounds out the class perfectly.