Pre-2019-20 Rank: #13, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #11, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #10, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #11, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #11.

*Peak Period: 2013-14 to 2020-21.  Leonard only played 9 Games in 2017-18.  Thus, we are giving him eight seasons.

Leonard won two NBA Championships with two different teams (San Antonio & Toronto) and was the MVP in both Finals.  That fact alone makes him a Hall of Famer in many eyes.  Following his one-and-done in Toronto, Leonard has given the Clippers three All-Star years, but the moody Forward has also missed an entire season (2021-22 due to an ACL injury), and begins this year on the shelf. 

Leonard, who has the 75^th Anniversary Selection should get in easily, but we openly wonder how much his legacy will take a tumble (if at all) over the next few years. 

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #12, Pre-2020-21: Rank #15, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #15, Pre-2022-23 Rank #15., Pre-2023-24 Rank: #16.

*Positional Notes:  George has been playing more at Power Forward recently, but his peak was mostly at Small Forward.

*Peak Period: 2015-16 to 2021-22

The Paul George run with the Los Angeles Clippers has ended, and his union with his good friend, Kawhi Leonard, yielded very little post-season success. However, it was not all bad for George, who added three All-Stars, giving him nine overall, and he had his healthiest season in L.A. last year. 

Despite this, George is not a top-ten player anymore and is now in a new environment, Philadelphia, where he has his most potent teammate ever, Joel Embiid.  Can this tandem (along with Tyrese Maxey) fulfill “the Process?”

If so, that should vault PG to a first-ballot entry.

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.