There's a great regular feature going on at the basketball-reference blog: "Inner Circle" HOF. Its a way to zero in on the indisputable HOF players based on media recognition and individual statistics. Introduction to it is here (he decided to drop the championship criterion): http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=4245 For the 50s/60s (with commentary, stats, and video clips): http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=4272 For the 70s: http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=4293 Who's selected thus far: George Mikan Bob Pettit Bill Russell Dolph Schayes Elgin Baylor Wilt Chamberlain Oscar Robertson Jerry West Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving John Havlicek Elvin Hayes On the outside looking in: Bob Cousy Hal Greer Rick Barry Artis Gilmore George Gervin