In America, there are four sports raised above the others: Hockey, football, baseball, and basketball. In each sport, there are players that stand out above the rest, and are remembered more than other players. All of the sports have hall of fames that honor the greatest players in the history of the game, but they hold players to different standards. The Hockey Hall of Fame, located in Toronto, Canada, has 263 players, 102 builders (those who helped build the game of hockey), and 16 on-ice officials (referees). The Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Canton, Ohio, has 269 players, along with 18 total owners, general managers, and rules advisers. The Baseball Hall of Fame has 240 players, 23 managers, 10 umpires, and 33 pioneers and executives. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has 325 members overall, with 164 players.

These hall of fames all contain roughly the same number of members, but these numbers are not all equal. The baseball Hall of Fame has been open since 1936, and the Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1943. The Naismith Hall of Fame (basketball) opened in 1959, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in 1963. There are also vast discrepancies in the number of players who have played in these pro sports leagues. There have been 17,291 players in the history of the Major League Baseball (MLB), and likely about the same in the history of the NFL, while the NHL has had about 7,500. The NBA has the least, with about 4,000 players in its history. There are about twenty players in NBA history for every hall of fame player, and 29 NHL players for every Hockey Hall of Fame player, but the other Hall of Fames are much more exclusive. The MLB has 72 players for every one Hall of Famer and the NFL has 63 for every Hall of Famer.

Playing a game in the NBA puts your odds at about 1 in 20 that you will make it to the Hall of Fame, assuming that the trend continues. This is much greater than that in other sports, but it has much to do with the roster size, and fewer players on the court. The NBA draft is two rounds, with 60 picks. All of the other leagues have at least 7 rounds, and there are at least 210 picks. Roster size also plays a role. The NBA roster can hold up to 15 players, and is not always filled. The MLB roster expands up to 40 players late in the season after being 25 the first four months, the NFL roster holds 53 players, and the NHL roster holds 20 to 23 players. Basketball may also have the least roster shuffling. It does not cause injuries like the NFL, and the MLB has a very large minor league system. The NBA has the fewest players in the four major sports on the court, with five per team. The MLB has nine, the NFL has eleven, and the NHL has six (to go with a fairly even distribution of minutes among at least 16 players).

The chances of becoming a Hall of Famer are very slim, but playing professionally in a sport increases your chances greatly (as it obviously would), taking them from 1 in 300,000 (as an ordinary person) to 1 in less than 100 (by playing in one of the four major sports). Playing in the NBA gives you the best shot of making it to a Hall of Fame as a player, but the largest Hall of Fame (by players) is the football hall.