Three Legendary Players Heading to the Basketball Hall of Fame

This year's NBA Hall of Fame class is superb. There are many big time names, both in the men's and women's game, and some all time great coaches and player personnel people. But I want to focus on three guys going in that made a humongous impact on the game, and on me, as I was really getting into the game.

This year we will see Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett inducted. That is some otherworldly basketball talent going in. All three are champions. All three have won MVP awards. All three were always in the all star game. All three were leaders of their teams. All three were lottery picks. Two of them even stayed on the same team their entire career, which is unheard of nowadays. And I bet KG would have stayed in Minnesota, if they were a better run franchise. These three also left an indelible mark on me as a fan. I love KG. He is one of my all time favorite players. Tim Duncan was a quiet super star, who was all about team and fundamentals. And Kobe, he was the guy I loved to hate. The one I rooted against. They all had pivotal roles to me, as I was growing up as a player and a fan.

What else is there that can be said about Kobe Bryant. We lost him much too soon. His death is a true tragedy. He seemed like he was finally happy. And then in a flash, and I still sometimes cannot believe it, he was gone. But as a player, man did I dislike him. There is no denying his skill, his will to win, his killer mentality, his ability to make scrubs important, but I rooted like hell against him. And you need that villain as a fan. And Kobe was more than up to the that task. He embraced his villainy on the court. It drove him. It made him the great, Hall of Fame player he was. He was a scoring machine. He would put up tons and tons of shots, and he would score tons and tons of points. Sure, he excelled when he played with guys like Shaq and Paul Gasol, but he also had teammates like Tyronn Lue, Smush Parker and Kwame Brown, and he pushed those guys with him to conference finals. He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest offensive players to ever play in the NBA. He is imitated and loved by so many modern super star, and non super star, players. He is some younger kids version of Jordan, or Magic or Bird or Russell. He is that dude. He is so polarizing as a player, but one thing you cannot fight, he is a well deserved first ballot Hall of Fame player. He would've been inducted no matter what happened. It is just so tragic that he lost his life before he could see this come to fruition.

As with Duncan, I cannot think of a player that was so, so, so great, yet so unmentioned and barely talked about when greatest players conversations start. Duncan was a modern day Bill Russell. The only thing he didn't do that Russell did was block shots, but he made up for that by being a 20 plus point per game guy his whole career. Duncan also did what was best for the team. When they needed him to score, he scored at will. When they needed him to rebound, he would go grab 20. When they needed him to shut down the other team's big man, he was more than up to the task. I cannot think of a better player-coach duo than Duncan and Greg Poppovich. Those two were meant for each other, and it worked out to perfection. I personally think that Duncan is the best big man of all time. The way he could manipulate with moves reminded me of Olajuwon. The way he could back guys down, it was like if Shaq had a finesse game. The way he hit the mod range jumper, always using the backboard, a shot I have tried to perfect for years, it was like watching a taller Jerry West or Larry Bird. Duncan kind of did it all, and did it at an extremely high level. He was the reason why David Robinson won a title. He helped nurture guys like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Kwahi Leonard. He was the leader of these players, all of which I expect to be in the Hall of Fame. I feel like he gets unfairly compared to a player like Karl Malone because of position. Tim Duncan was so much better as a player, and there is no question that he was a much better clutch player. Duncan walked away with five rings, multiple MVP's, both regular season and playoffs, and I personally think he is the greatest power forward to ever play in the NBA. He was a wonder to watch. He played basketball the right way, and the kids I train now, the big men, I implore them to watch Tim Duncan highlights because he was so fundamentally sound and so incredible.

And then we have my dude, Kevin Garnett. There are only two NBA players I like more than KG, and they are Shawn Kemp, I had never seen an athlete like him before, and Charles Barkley, an under sized big that rebounded and dunked and could shoot. But KG holds a very special place in my heart. He was the first high school to pro player that I wanted to achieve. He was this scrawny kid coming out of South Carolina I believe, and I rooted hard for him. Maybe it was because he had said he was considering Michigan as a college, or maybe it was his story coming out of high school, but I wanted him to succeed. I think taking that year to go to Chicago to play at the legendary Farragaut Academy was one of the best things he had ever done, to prepare for the pros. Then when he came in the league, like I said, he was scrawny, but he had this energy that was so intoxicating as a fan, and I bet his teammates loved it. I bet they fed on it. He needed to hone his game, and during his time in Minnesota, he became this chiseled go getter who never stopped hustling. He out rebounded, out ran, out hustled, out trash talked and just flat out beat dudes that were supposed to be guarding him, or trying to at least. Then when he developed that jumper, it was over for opponents. He was a nearly perfect player. He took the Timberwolves further than they have ever been in the playoffs. When he realized that they wouldn't do much to help him, he knew it was time to get out, and he headed to Boston to play with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, forming the first "super team", and they won the Finals that year, KG's only ring. And he was the unquestioned leader. I'm sure Boston fans will say Pierce was, but that team went as KG went. It was also pretty neat to see the Celtics beat the Lakers in that Finals. KG also did the impossible for me as a fan, making me root for a team from Boston. I didn't like the Celtics, but I LOVED KG. So I rooted for them in that particular NBA Finals. He went on to play for Brooklyn for a few seasons, then helped out big men in Minnesota for awhile, and now has his own TV show, which is awesome. But it was his time in Minnesota and his title in Boston that really solidified his Hall of Fame resume. KG is one of the most intense, fierce competitors that the NBA has ever seen. He could have played in any era and he would have been equally successful.

Kobe, Duncan, and KG, these are three of the greatest players to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This is what real Hall of Fame talent looks like. This may be the best class, and these three in particular, three of the best players ever inducted. This is an insane amount of talent, and it is very, very well deserved. Kudos to these three on a much deserved nod to the Hall of Fame.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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