With the Hall of Fame selections set to air later today, it’s time to talk about whether or not Marc Gasol is Hall of Fame bound.
The 2020 Hall of Fame class is set to be announced at noon eastern time today on ESPN, and it’s at a time like this that most fan bases start to wonder about some of their favorite player and what their destination is. For the Memphis Grizzlies, that player is Marc Gasol.
While at first it might seem obvious that Gasol should make the Hall of Fame, his stats don’t necessarily hold up against some of the big men going into the Hall of Fame this year.
Over his career, Gasol has averaged 14.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from 3-point range, and 77.7 percent from the free throw line.
This year, the two big men that are up for Hall of Fame selections are Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. While Gasol has never averaged a double-double, Garnett did it eight times in a row and is averaging a double-double over his career. Duncan averaged a double-double for 13 straight years, and again, averages a double-double over his career.
Gasol is a stellar defensive player, he was on the 2012-13 All Defensive team, but he wasn’t the defensive player that Garnett and Duncan were. Comparing block and steal numbers, Garnett averaged 1.4 blocks and 1.3 steals per game and Duncan averaged 2.2 blocks and 0.7 steals per game. Along with that, Garnett is also a 12 time All-Defensive player and was Defensive Player of the Year in 2007-08. Duncan was a 15 time All-Defensive player and a two-time MVP.
Still, Garnett and Duncan are two top-tier players, and just because Gasol doesn’t measure up to them doesn’t mean that he isn’t going to end up in the Hall of Fame. Gasol’s 2019 NBA championship ring does help his case, and being a three-time All-Star doesn’t hurt either.
In the end, it’s likely that Gasol will end up going to Hall of Fame. A player who is nearly averaging 20/10 almost never goes overlooked by the Hall of Fame committee, and his resume is almost impossible to overlook.