Basketball Hall of Fame: 5 Players who could get inducted to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019

The Hall of Fame is where the best basketball players in the world are timelessly enshrined. These players are mostly NBA players because the lights of Los Angeles and New York are unrivaled anywhere else in the world.

However, certain players of a shining international resume can also become first-ballot Hall of Famers while other players have to deal with being a borderline HOF caliber for extended amounts of time.

There are various ways of making one's case, and team success or individual awards don't make up the entirety of reasons. In today's current crop of stars, does one exclude Klay Thompson from the HOF list because he doesn't have individual awards even though he has a trio of rings already?

Does one exclude Westbrook because he hasn't won a ring even though he has a MVP and two straight averaging a monster triple-double line statistic?

Be that as it may, here are the top five candidates who could get inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019, the first of which is no surprise at all.

#1 Tim Duncan

Dallas Mavericks v San Antonio Spurs - Game One

Widely regarded as the greatest Power Forward of all time as well as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he is a five-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and an NBA All-Star Game MVP. He is also a 15-time NBA All-Star and the only player to be selected to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams for 13 consecutive seasons.

The above list is extraordinary, but his true standout feature was being a very coachable player. His teammates frequently commented on how inspiring it was to see a MVP winner compete in training like he was fighting for playing time in the NBA.

Alongside Parker and Ginobili, Tim Duncan formed the league's most durable and long lasting Big 3 all the way from 2001 to his retirement in 2016. He was a silent leader, capable of leading from the front but never having the need to do so, since he had very good teammates and he prioritized letting his actions do the talking for himself.

A 5-1 Finals record, 2 MVPs, 3 Finals MVPs and a career average of a double-double guarantees the "Big Fundamental" a spot in the Hall of Fame.

#2 Kobe Bryant

Los Angeles Lakers v Denver Nuggets, Game 6

Here is a player that needs no introduction. The Black Mamba currently ranks third both on the league's all-time post-season scoring and all-time regular season scoring lists. He has been selected to 15 All-NBA Team(eleven times to the All-NBA First Team) and 12 All-Defensive Team (nine times to the All-Defensive First Team).

He was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game on 18 occasions, winning All-Star MVP Awards in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011 (he shared the 2009 award with Shaquille O'Neal). He also won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1997. Fans regularly rage about how such an important player won only one MVP, in '07-'08. He won an Olympic gold in 2008.

This is just a laundry list of his achievements. Kids today see LeBron's brute drives to the rim and they admire his strength (to be honest he does have a lot of it) but Kobe's forays to the rim were wild and carefree.

In the 2000s decade, only Nash, Ginobili, Iverson and Rip Hamilton even came close to Kobe in terms of joyous unpredictability. He established the Mamba Mentality way of playing, and burned with a competitive drive unlike almost anyone else in the NBA at the time.

He was the closest thing - playing style and attitude wise - to Michael Jordan in a league yearning for an alpha dog player. His 81 point game against the Raptors and 60 points last game against the Jazz are legendary.

He has five championships, the first three being a 1999-2001 treble and the last two being '09 and '10, the last of which he won by beating the rival Celtics. He also won two Finals MVPs during his last two wins. His alpha dog playing style and relentless approach was second to none.

#3 Kevin Garnett

New York Knicks v Boston Celtics - Game Four

One of the most polarizing figures in the NBA, Garnett continues to divide opinions even after retirement. Mind you, he is a surefire Hall of Famer, being in a select group of players that have won a title, an MVP and a DPOY. But he may also be the biggest non-injury related "what if" ever.

The thought of Garnett leaving Minnesota in his absolute prime is as tantalizing a thought as it is terrifying. Kobe and Duncan had MVPs for teammates, but the Timberwolves were horribly mismanaged and Garnett was a high school recruit who had to learn on the fly.

The man was incredibly futuristic, with today's crop of 7 foot tall unicorns molded on his frame - a big man who could spread the floor, defend all positions and shoot threes and nail winning shots outside of the paint (see: Durant, Porzingis, Jokic, Markannen, Karl Anthony Towns for relevance) One title in '08 (beating Kobe, no less) is a bit of a letdown for a player who gave so much to the game. Regardless, Garnett made sure that "Anything is possible" is remembered as the best celebratory quote, ever. (with humble apologies to "Cleveland, this is for you!")

The "Big Ticket" also made contract negotiations a great deal peskier for GMs and team owners and signed the first big contract of that time. An adversary to Duncan almost his entire career, he as the opposite of the Big Fundamental in almost every way: fiery, passionate, reveling in trash talk and just pure intensity. He also mentored the Greek Freak and Karl Anthony Towns.

For benchmarking: this guy was the only player who matched Kobe's passion on the court and dedication to the game off it.

#4 Chauncey Billups

He deserves to be in the HOF for multiple reasons, but none so relevant as this: he made the Bad Boy Pistons Part 2 come alive. In Rasheed and Ben Wallace, the Pistons had a terrifying defense, and in Prince and Rip Hamilton they had a wonderful offense, but Billups made everything click.

He was the underlying reason why Detroit beat the Shaq - Kobe Lakers in 2004 to clinch the title, and he was also part of the reason Detroit took San Antonio to seven games in 2005.

The man just... clicked. He brought Denver to relevance again and had 5 All-Star appearances. He just failed to make it this year and that bespeaks more about how good Nash, Kidd and Allen were than it speaks about his marginal deficiencies.

#5 Chris Webber

Chris Webber is defended by Scott Padgett

He belongs to that class of players caught between a schism of before vs after. A wonderful power forward with traditional HOF stats in a HOF career, Webber brought Sacramento to relevance. His name is never exactly mentioned in that PF list, but that's because he had Oakley and Barkley before him and Dirk, Tim, and Garnett after him.

Excluding him from any HOF is just not possible.