Well, let's borrow the Keltner List:
1 Was he ever regarded as the best player in the NBA? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in the NBA?
Richmond: no
Mourning: no
Hardaway: no
Johnson: no
2 Was he the best player on his team?
Richmond: yes
Mourning: yes
Hardaway: no
Johnson: Eh... Some people might say he was the best player on that Suns team, until Barkley got there. I would say it was Chambers; YMMV
3 Was he the best player in the NBA at his position? Was he the best player in the conference at his position?
Richmond: no/yes
Mourning: no/yes (for a couple of seasons, at least, after Shaq went West, and Ewing fell off)
Hardaway: no/no
Johnson: no/no
4 Did he have an impact on a number of postseasons?
Richmond: no
Mourning: yes
Hardaway: no
Johnson: ... I'm going to go with a "soft" yes. Yes-ish...
5 Was he a good enough player that he could continue to play regularly after passing his prime?
Richmond: played 225 of a possible 296 games after age 33. I'll go with yes.
Mourning: played 216 of a possible 410 games after age 33. I'm going to say no.
Hardaway: played 207 of a possible 328 games after age 33. I'll say no.
Johnson: retired at age 32. Attempted a comeback at 34, only lasted 6 games. So, no.
6 Was he selected to any All NBA teams?
Richmond: 5 (2nd x3, 3rd x2)
Mourning: 2 (1st x1, 2nd x1)
Hardaway: 5 (1st x1, 2nd x3, 3rd x1)
Johnson: 5 (2nd x4, 3rd x1)
7 Do the players numbers meet Hall of Fame standards?
Richmond: yes. No eligible player has as many points as Richmond who is not in the Hall of Fame.
Mourning: no
Hardaway: no
Johnson: no
8 Is there any evidence to suggest that the player is significantly better or worse than his statistics?
Richmond: 2x Olympian, probably not better or worse.
Mourning: 2x DPOY, 2x Blocks leader, 1x Olympian. Overall, better than the numbers.
Hardaway: 1x Olympian, mostly non-factor in the playoffs. Probably not any worse than the numbers.
Johnson: Eh... probably neither better nor worse.
9 How many MVP-type seasons did the player have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?
Richmond: None/No/None
Mourning: Two/No/Two
Hardaway: Three-ish?/No/None
Johnson: Two-ish?/No/None
10 How many All Star type seasons did he have? How many All Star games did he play in? Are most of the other players who played this many likely to make the Hall of Fame?
Richmond: 10/6/Eh... if there's a "magic number" for All-Star selections, it appears to be 9.
Mourning: 9/7/See above
Hardaway: 6/5/no
Johnson: 7/3/no
11 If he was the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could make the playoffs?
Richmond: no
Mourning: yes
Hardaway: no
Johnson: no
12 What impact did the player have on NBA history? Did he help establish the league? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he change the game in any way?
Richmond: Eh (Run TMC?)/no/no/no
Mourning: none/no/no/no
Hardaway: Eh (Run TMC?)/no/no/no
Johnson: none/no/no/no
13 Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and community service?
Richmond: yes
Mourning: yes
Hardaway: Eh...
Johnson: yes
Based on the criteria prescribed for the Keltner List, Richmond and Mourning probably get in, but are unlikely to be first ballot. I don't see Hardaway or Johnson getting in.
