The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is the greatest recognition of a player's contribution to basketball – or at least it's supposed to be. According to Gilbert Arenas, however, it's not quite serving its purpose.

Speaking on the Gilbert Arena Show, the eponymous star made his thoughts about the Hall of Fame very clear, suggesting in no uncertain terms that the bar for who is let in is far too low.

“Team success shouldn't have nothing to do with that door. You got five championships, congratulations to you. [But] you can't be in that door where there's Michael Jordan, Larry Bird – you can't be in there with mediocre stats. Some of these people shouldn't even be in it. Hall of Fame supposed to be a number one option, or a great ass number two.”

For reference, the NBA players who were inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2023 were Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Dwyane Wade. Most likely, those are not the kinds of players to whom Arenas is referring, with each of them having enjoyed incredible careers and a lot of success.

Looking back over the past few years, however, there are certainly names less deserving than the aforementioned who have made their way through the door. Toni Kukoc would likely be an example Arenas was talking about – an inductee in 2021, he was a valuable member of the Chicago Bulls' second team but in terms of importance, came in a long way behind a guy called Michael Jordan and his trustee sidekick in Scottie Pippen.

Hall of Fame inductees will always be a topic which stirs up debate. But according to Arenas, what is unequivocal is that the threshold for who gets let in needs to be raised.