Out of any player in the NBA today, Paul George has the 11th-best odds to make the Hall of Fame when it's all said and done. According to Basketball Reference, George has a 97.86% chance of making it to Springfield once he retires, putting him ahead of Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving and numerous other all-time greats in the making.
But longtime NBA veteran Chandler Parsons doesn't necessarily see it that way. On Thursday, the former Florida Gator appeared on FanDuel TV's Run It Back to claim that George will not be a first ballot Hall of Famer.
"First ballot, I don't know," Parsons said. "I think he ends up getting in. I love Paul George. He's one of my favorite players, he's one of my favorite people, I love him. But I think a guy like Blake Griffin should get in before him."
Griffin, who has a 54.81% chance to make it to the Hall of Fame per Basketball Reference, was a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA honoree in his 13-year career. In comparison, George is a nine-time All-Star and has tallied six All-NBA nods through his 15 years in the league.
Postseason success could also be another factor in George making it in before Griffin. Despite never making it to an NBA Finals, George has led his respective squads to three separate Conference Finals appearances, while Griffin never made it out of the second round.
Parsons did go on to acknowledge how the Hall of Fame has admitted weaker candidates than George before, also noting that his opinion may change if the 34-year-old wins a championship before he retires.
"Paul George is a generational talent, he's unbelievable, [but] I think that championships matter a lot," Parsons said. "If he's one of those guys that Philly wins a championship next year, I think that's like a stamp of approval."
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This story was originally published March 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM.