NBA - Main

Apologies for making this it’s own post, it’s a small question but we don’t have a thread for those. I’m curious what people think about this.

What is the minimum amount of All-Star appearances someone needs to have before you’ll consider them a 100% Hall of Fame lock?

Take Yao Ming for instance. He only played nine seasons, so a relatively short career for a Hall of Fame player. He also never took the Rockets past the second round. Yet of his nine seasons, he was an All-Star in eight of them. So I figure if Yao Ming is in despite his short career and lack of postseason success, anyone who has made at least eight All-Star games must also be a Hall of Fame lock.

What would you say is the minimum number? Is it eight or some lower number?

I’m going to use Donovan Mitchell as an example of a young player who has made several All-Star teams but not had much postseason success (I could have also used Jayson Tatum but he’s had more postseason success). He’s been named to four All-Star teams already. Let’s say Donovan Mitchell plays three more years before he hangs them up (I know he’ll play for longer than that, but just hypothetically). He makes the All-Star team two of the three years, but never wins MVP and never goes anywhere in the playoffs.

In this hypothetical scenario, Mitchell would have retired with six All-Star appearances in nine career seasons. So similar resume to Yao Ming. Is Donovan Mitchell a Hall of Fame lock in this scenario?

I overexplained a bit my question boils down to the title: what’s the minimum amount to All-Star appearances before you’ll consider someone a Hall of Fame lock?