Pre-2019-20 Rank: #11, Pre-2020-21 Rank #8, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #9, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #9, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #9.

*Positional Notes:  Davis has played more at Center in recent years, and when his career ends, it is possible that this will be his primary slot over his career.  Nevertheless, he lined up more at Power Forward over his peak and, for now, is listed as a PF.

*Peak Period: 2013-14 to 2019-20. 

As a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis proved his stardom as a three-time First-Team All-NBA Selection and three-time Blocks per Game leader.  The Pelicans were not contenders, and in 2019, he joined LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won the NBA Title in the bubble season of 2019/20. 

“The Brow” has struggled with injuries since, appearing in only 132 Games from 2020-21 to 2022-23, but he is coming off his healthiest season in L.A (76 Games) and was an All-NBA Selection for the first time since 2019-20.  Throw in his 75^th Anniversary Selection (should he have gotten that over Dwight Howard?), and the resume is there for immediate induction once eligible.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #6. Pre-2020-21 Rank: #6, Pre-2021-22 Season Rank: #6, Pre-2022-23 Season Rank: #7, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #8.

*Peak Period: 2013-14 to 2019-20.

At one time, Russell Westbrook was the master of the Triple-Double, a perennial MVP candidate (he won it in 2016-17), and proved he could lead a team deep into the playoffs.  A member of the NBA 75^th Anniversary Team, Westbrook was a nine-time All-NBA Selection, nine-time All-Star, two-time Scoring Champion, and three-time Assists Champion.  All of that equates to the Point Guard entering the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on his first shot, and it should erase any narrative that the last three years have given.

Bluntly, when Westbrook joined the Lakers in 2021, his shot-making skills did not follow, and his overall playmaking skills have eroded.  He begins this year in Denver as a reserve player on a contending team chasing the only accolade that has eluded him: an NBA Championship. 

Regardless of what happens in Los Angeles and Denver in the future, the legacy he laid out in Oklahoma City was legendary.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #5, Pre-2020-21 Rank #5, Pre-2021-22 Rank #5, Pre-2022-23 Rank #3.  Pre-2023-24 Rank #3.

*Peak Period: 2013-14 to 2020-21.  We are giving Curry eight seasons, as he only played five Games in 2019-20.

Steph Curry moves in at #2, and the master of the three-point shot reinvented the game.  It was Curry’s style of play that taught teams that you could win NBA Championships from behind the arc, a style thought inconceivable only years before.  The all-time leader in three-pointers has four titles, ten All-Stars, and two MVPs, the perfect elixir for a first-ballot entry. 

If this were based on influence, Curry would be number one.  How fortunate are we that we still have him for years to come?