The recent retirement announcements of Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson from the National Basketball Association were not really met with much surprise. Iverson hasn’t played in the league since 2010 and McGrady didn’t see the court during his brief run with the San Antonio Spurs last year.

Of course these recent announcements were preceded by the retirements of Jason Kidd and Grant Hill and while Kidd and Hill’s places in the Naismith Hall of Fame are all but guaranteed; those of McGrady and Iverson may not be such a sure thing.

Seeing four players hang up their sneakers who I grew up watching is a somber sight and it gave me pause as I wondered who from that generation would be the next to walk away from the Association. It also got me thinking, were these guys fully appreciated in their time as great players? And who from today’s class of NBA talent will one day have their name enshrined in the Hall.

While my Hall of Fame definitely includes Hill, Kidd and Iverson; I’m going to exclude McGrady from the Hall. Now as we assess today’s Hall candidates the choices become even tougher. Here’s who made the grade and who will have their name called one day.

The Brooklyn Nets have two future Hall of Famers in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett; nothing will keep these two from getting the call. I’m also going to include Derrick Rose in my Hall as winning an MVP Award pretty much punches your ticket to Springfield.

The Dallas Mavericks have a sure-fire selection in Dirk Nowitzki and they probably have themselves another one in Vince Carter.  Staying in Texas, the Houston Rockets now boast of having a current player bound for the Hall as Dwight Howard will get his call.

Moving over to Los Angeles, the Clippers Chris Paul is a future Hall of famer, while the Lakers boast two of their own in Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. not to be outdone in terms of greatness on the roster. I’m also going to go ahead and include two prolific scorers currently playing; I see both Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant making the Hall one day.

Two teams currently boast three future Hall of Famers apiece. The Miami Heat have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen who have all earned their spot already. Over in the Western Conference the San Antonio Spurs have their own trio of future Hall members in Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan.

So there you have it, by my count 17 current players will ultimately be enshrined in Springfield once their playing days are done. Surely there will be more as the new generation of players like Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook continue their stellar play.

So appreciate the greatness we have before us as their time is limited. There will always be guys to take their place; however, there will only ever be one Lebron James, one Grant Hill and one Russell Westbrook to play this wonderful game. The Naismith Hall of Fame will certainly be opening it’s doors for many of today’s greats, so sit back and enjoy the show as greatness plays out before us on nightly basis in NBA cities across the Country.