Run TMC confident four current Warriors will be Hall of Famers

• Programming note: The Warriors’ Hall of Fame trio of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin will broadcast Monday’s 7 p.m. game against the Spurs in a “Run TMC Takeover” on NBC Sports Bay Area, with ex-teammate Tom Tolbert serving as a reporter during the broadcast. Authenticated subscribers can stream live coverage on the MyTeams app and NBCSportsBayArea.com, starting at 6 p.m. with “Warriors Pregame Live.”

With the Warriors joining several NBA franchises that have experienced at least one dynastic period, any discussion of their legacy is bound to lead to debate regarding the Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls placed four players in the Naismith Memorial Hall, as have the Boston Celtics of the Larry Bird era. That puts them ahead of Magic Johnson’s Showtime Los Angeles Lakers, who have three and are campaigning for a fourth in Michael Cooper, who likely will get in one day.

The San Antonio Spurs of relatively recent vintage have three in the Hall, but a fourth, Tony Parker, is a lock to make it.

What, then, can the Stephen Curry-led Warriors expect?

That was the question posed to a panel consisting of three former Warriors teammates whose credibility on the subject is boosted by the fact they’ve all been inducted in the Hall: Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin -- Run TMC to Warriors fans.

“The core that you have there,” Richmond says. “Definitely Stephen. Stephen Curry. No question Klay [Thompson] is going to be a Hall of Famer. And then [Draymond] Green. Winning how many championships now? Four with that team?”

The Bulls of Scottie Pippen and MJ -- with Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc receiving some of the action -- won six titles in eight years. The Celtics won three in six seasons behind Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Bird. The Lakers, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Magic, won five in nine seasons.

The Spurs won four titles over nine seasons before adding a fifth after a six-year dry spell. Parker will join Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and David Robinson in the Hall.

The Curry-Green-Thompson Warriors have won four championships in eight seasons, putting them among that exalted company.

“Everybody is skeptical about Draymond Green being in the Hall of Fame,” Hardaway says. “I think he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame.

“You’ve got Dennis Rodman. That’s a Hall of Famer. Then you’ve got Ben Wallace. That’s a Hall of Famer. So, basically, Draymond Green is doing the same things that they did -- and won four championships.”

Here is where the debate heats up.

Basketball-Reference.com computes Hall of Fame probability based a variety of metrics, including appearances on leaderboards, peak dominance, championships and All-Star Game selections. Here is where the Warriors stood at the beginning of the season:

Curry: 100 percent. Green: 76.8 percent, Thompson: 70.2 percent. Andre Iguodala: 12.7 percent.

“They needed all three of them to win championships, and the core around them, the other players,” Hardaway says, referring to Curry, Green and Thompson. “But you have to have a core. Those three are the core.

“Oh -- Iguodala. I think he’s going to be a Hall of Famer, too.”

Iguodala is a member of the four-ring quartet, along with Curry, Green and Thompson. Kevon Looney has three rings. No one else has more than two.

“I’m glad Tim did mention Andre Iguodala,” Mullin says. “He was the first piece that came over, making it a championship-type culture. I think he’ll be a Hall of Famer as well.”

Any argument for Iguodala must begin with his influence as the team’s first veteran leader – Curry was 25, Green and Thompson each 23, when Iguodala signed with Golden State. There also was his impact on defensive intellect. The Curry Warriors mostly are famous for their 3-point shooting, but their defensive rating during the six seasons that ended with trips to the Finals was, on average, among the top six.

Curry already is a certified lock and has been for about five years.

The case for Thompson is strong insofar as he's a five-time All-Star who was an elite two-way player for much of his career. He ranks 17th on the list for career 3-pointers, with a good chance of moving into the top 12 this season.

Green is a two-time All-NBA selection and a four-time All-Star, with seven All-Defensive team selections -- and one NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

“I think they all go in together,” Mullin says. “They all have such unique careers, individual accomplishments – All-Star games, MVPs, first-team All-league, all the different individual honors. And then the success they’ve had together.

“I think when their careers are over, they’ll all get their just due, like we have, in the Hall of Fame.”

RELATED: Hardaway says Run TMC was "ahead of our time" during HOF speech

Four seems to be the typical number of Hall of Famers on dynastic teams. There is no debate over which four Warriors have the most compelling case.

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