15 Current Players Guaranteed to One Day Make the Hall of Fame

The MLB Hall of Fame inductions just passed us by, and that is something that always gets people arguing.  Who deserves it and who doesn't?

Well with Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven getting inducted into Cooperstown it got me thinking about today's basketball players and their chances of being enshrined in Springfield.

There are some out there who are no-doubters, but there are others who take a lot of consideration before you can really come to a conclusion with them.

Some teams out there have multiple hall of famers on their roster, and their success reflects it, and some teams have multiple hall of fame hopefuls that you wouldn't expect.

I've boiled down the list to 15 players and put them in order of the best chance of getting into The Hall, and for those players who are no-doubters, I broke the tie with the percentage of first-place votes they are likely to get.

Too Early to Guarantee

There are some players out there who are playing at a very high productivity level, but haven't played long enough to make their Hall of Fame status guaranteed.  Here I have the best of them.

Kevin Durant-All the Durantula has to do is continue to play like he is playing and he will end up in the Hall of Fame.  He is the best young player in the game.

Derrick Rose-Derrick Rose won his first MVP Award at the age 22, becoming the youngest player to ever win the award.  Rose has a very bright future and should be in the Hall at some point, so long as he doesn't suffer a career-threatening injury.

Kevin Love-Love is doing things that no other player in the league has done for decades.  He rebounds like a machine and puts up good offensive numbers.  If he can continue to rebound like Dennis Rodman crossed with Moses Malone then he should start to get some love down the line.

Deron Williams-Williams is one of the top point guards in the game, and he has put up some amazing numbers in the first handful of seasons that he has been in the league, he just needs to do it over a longer period of time before I guarantee anything.

Chris Paul-Same as Deron Williams.

Players on the Fringe

There are some players out there who are either specialists, players with an extremely high peak and not that long a period of stellar play and others who were good for a long period of time, but never really great who are living on the fringe.

Pau Gasol-Gasol is one of the best low-post players in the league, and he is an amazing offensive player, but he hasn't quite done enough yet to guarantee him a Hall spot.

Ron Artest-Basketball Reference's Hall of Fame Probability rater is a useful tool, but it doesn't do players like Ron Artest justice.  It doesn't take into account steals or blocks (it tries to put all players on an even playing field and they didn't record either until 1973), so trying to judge a player who made his living on blocks and steals is impossible with it.  I say he's a Hall of Famer, but I can't guarantee it.

Jermaine O'Neal-For about six years, Jermaine O'Neal was one of the five best big men in the game, which could be enough for him to get some looks.

Zach Randolph-Randolph has been a good player for nearly a decade and has averaged a near double-double in that time.  If he keeps it up he could be an HOF candidate.

Amar'e Stoudemire-Amar'e is quickly becoming more of a guarantee with his increase in defensive impact, but for now he is still on the fringe.

Chauncey Billups-His reputation as a big time clutch player gives him bonus points, and he had a great peak, but I still think he's on the outside looking in.

Grant Hill-Hill could get in on his ability to reinvent himself later in his career after playing as a borderline superstar for six years with the Pistons.

Manu Ginobili-He has been one of the most unique players in the history of the league, and he has been very effective for most of his career.

15. Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony has yet to get to the NBA Finals in his eight years in the league, but he has done enough to be able to make it to The Hall at this point.

First of all, the Basketball Hall of Fame takes into account all organized basketball, and Anthony was the Most Outstanding player in the 2003 Final Four when he led Syracuse to a National Championship.

In the NBA he has made the All-NBA Third team three times and the second team once and four All-Star teams.

14. Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard is the best big man in the game today, and that alone should be enough to get him into the Hall of Fame one day down the road.

He has led the league in rebounding three times, averaging nearly 13 a game for his career, plus he has won Defensive Player of the Year three years running.

There are a few things that you could hold against him.  His highest scoring average in a season was this year when he put up 22 points a game.  At this point in his career Shaquille O'Neal, the last generation of basketball's most dominant big man, hadn't averaged under 23.4 points a game in his career.

Dwight Howard should be much better offensively, and should be able to completely take over games, but he is still good enough on the defensive end for me to be able to guarantee a spot in The Hall with his name on it.

13. Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady was one of the most exciting players in the NBA for the better part of a decade, and the impact he had on the game should do wonders for his Hall of Fame hopes.

The seven-time all-star led the league in scoring twice and had seven straight years of averaging at least 24 points and during those seven years he averaged fewer than six rebounds just once and less than five assists twice.

He is remembered positively for his amazing offensive game and his thunderous dunks that brought down the house and negatively for his inability to get out of the first round in the playoffs.

Nonetheless, for the high-flying mentality that he and his cousin Vince Carter brought to the NBA, he should end up in The Hall.

12. Vince Carter

Tracy McGrady's cousin Vince Carter was only half a man, but thankfully he was also half amazing.

As the 1999 Rookie of the Year and an eight time all-star, Carter was consistently the most exciting player on the floor and put up numbers to match his exciting play.

He wasn't as good a rebounder or passer as McGrady, but he was a better scorer for a longer amount of time, plus he made it out of the first round of the playoffs four times.

Once as the leader of the Raptors and twice as a part of a great Nets team he was eliminated in the second round, and once with the Orlando Magic he made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

11. Steve Nash

Steve Nash never made it to the NBA Finals, and he was never a good defensive player, but he is one of the most special point guards in the history of the game.

He won back-to-back MVP Awards (deserving or not), and was able to lead the Phoenix Suns to the Western Conference Finals back in 2006.

Nash led the league in assists five times, including the past two seasons plus he shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from the three-point line and 90 percent from the free throw line four times in his career.

He is one of the best shooting point guards in the history of the game and he is one of the best passers since John Stockton.

10. Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace never averaged more than 10 points a game and averaged just six a game for his career, which is a full 1.3 points fewer than Dennis Rodman who was inducted this season.

The fact that Rodman was inducted this season sets a good precedent for Wallace to get in at some point in the future.

Ben Wallace is a four time all-star, a four time Defensive Player of the Year and was elected to the All-Defensive First Team five times and the Second Team once along with being elected to the All-NBA Second Team three times and the Third Team twice.

Wallace as an amazing shot blocker and rebounder should be able to get into the Hall of Fame quite easily, especially considering the fact that he won a title with the 2004 Pistons.

9. Ray Allen

Ray Allen was one of the best three-point shooters of all-time before this season, and now that he has eclipsed Reggie Miller and hit the most threes in league history you can argue that he is the best ever.

Allen was far from one-dimensional, however, as he is a ten-time all-star and was a good defender for most of his career.

The icing on the cake came in 2008 when he finally won a championship with the Boston Celtics, a reward for his years of hard work.

8. Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd gets in for being such a good player for such a long time.  Over the past decade or so you can argue that Steve Nash was a better scorer, but Jason Kidd was a better all-around player than Nash.

Kidd, despite being a point guard is third in NBA history with 107 triple-doubles and first with 4,202 games where he grabbed 12 rebounds had 13 assists but only ended up with four points.

One of the smartest players of this generation of basketball players, Kidd always knew where to be when a shot went up, which allowed him to grab so many rebounds standing just 6'4".

He was the 1995 Rookie of the Year, a ten time all-star, elected six times to an All-NBA team (First five times and second once) and an All-Defensive team nine times (First four times and second five times).

Kidd is in without a doubt.

7. Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade may be the most likely to get hurt bad enough to hurt his Hall of Fame chances, but I think he may have already done enough to get some looks at The Hall.

He was the leader of a 2006 Miami Heat team that won a title and won the Finals MVP in that series.

Aside from his championship, Wade is a seven-time all-star, has been elected to the NBA All-Defensive second team three times and an All-NBA team six times (first twice, second three times and third once).

Wade is the total package as a shooting guard, as he can put up gaudy scoring numbers, assist numbers or rebounding numbers on any given night, plus he can block shots better than any other shooting guard I've ever seen play and is excellent at stealing the ball.

6. LeBron James

LeBron James is easily the most hated player in the NBA, and as one of those so-called "haters" even I can't deny how good a basketball player LeBron James is.

Sure, he disappeared in the fourth quarter of the finals this season and quit on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals a year ago, but his accomplishments otherwise are impossible to ignore.

LeBron is a two-time MVP, a seven-time all-star, 2004 Rookie of the Year, was elected to an All-NBA team seven times (first five times and second twice) and All-Defensive First team three times.

He's not Michael Jordan, but then again nobody is Michael Jordan but Michael Jordan, so you can't punish him for not having the mentality that we all expected him to have.

5. Paul Pierce

For 12 years all Paul Pierce has done is play basketball as hard as he can.  Sure, he has rubbed countless people the wrong way, has looked like a flopper at times exaggerating a few injuries, but he is a fierce competitor and has been for years.

Pierce is a nine-time all-star, the 2008 NBA Finals MVP and he will likely be the next in line to have his number retired for a Celtics team that is the most storied franchise in NBA history.

4. Dirk Nowitzki

After trading for him at the 1998 NBA Draft, the Dallas Maverick had to wait just a year to know that they had something special in Dirk Nowitzki.

After a season mostly on the bench in 1999, Dirk averaged fewer than 20 points a game just once in 12 years, eclipsing 25 points a game five times.

He is a ten-time all-star, the 2007 MVP, 2011 Finals MVP and has been elected to 11 All-NBA teams in some respect.

Dirk has also admirably redesigned his game, going from a timid perimeter player with an amazing jumper early in his career to a guy who isn't afraid to get dirty with some low-post moves.

3. Kevin Garnett

The debate ended long ago between KG and Tim Duncan over who was the best power forward in the league, but it did take a while for it to end.

Garnett had 13 straight years of averaging at least 15 points a game before his streak ended last year when he put up 14.3 a game, but he nearly got back to it this year with 14.9 a game.

Even at 34, Garnett is one of the five best power forwards in the game and is still contributing in a big way to the Boston Celtics.

He is a 14-time all-star and has won both an MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Award along with nine All-NBA selections and 11 All-Defensive selections.

The Big Ticket is going to need a big plaque to fit all of his achievements on when he gets to Springfield.

2. Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant may be the best player of this generation of basketball payers, but I don't think he is going to be the most automatic Hall of Fame qualifier.

Sure, he's a five-time NBA Champion, two-time Finals MVP, 13-time all-star with 13 All-NBA selections under his belt and 11 All-Defensive selections, but there is a guy who I would vote for over him.

That's not a knock on Bryant, who is easily the closest thing to Michael Jordan since MJ roamed the hardwood, I just think there is another guy out there whose career played out perfectly, while Kobe had to reinvent himself as a good teammate and deal with some ugly personal problems in his career.

1. Tim Duncan

The most boring superstar in the game (according to people who hate bank shots and sexy fundamentals) is the best Hall of Famer of the current players in the NBA.

Duncan started his career with 12 straight seasons of at least 18 points a game, double-digit rebounding numbers, a block-and-a-half a game and 48 percent shooting or better (he only dipped below 49 once).

The Big Fundamental is a 13-time all-star, two-time MVP, three-time Finals MVP, former Rookie of the Year, AP and Naismith College Player of the Year with 13 selections to an All-NBA team (nine were first team, including his rookie year, the only player on this list to do that) and 13 selections to an All-Defensive team.

Tim Duncan is a fan's and coach's dream, and his work in both the NBA and NCAA (where he was a three-time All-American mind you) should be enough for a unanimous nod into The Hall.

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