Kevin Garnett's retirement would make it official.
The most decorated Hall of Fame class in NBA history is five years away.
Garnett appears to have clinched that Friday with the video he released confirming what we reported Wednesday night: The Big Ticket said farewell at last, at age 40, after 21 seasons in the NBA.
It means that, in the space of one heartbreaking offseason for basketball romantics, we've said goodbye to KG and Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan.
That's a trio with 48 -- forty-eight -- combined All-Star appearances between them.
According to research commissioned by ESPN Stats & Info workhorse Micah Adams, that's a whopping 14 more All-Star appearances than the next-best Hall of Fame class.
Michael Jordan, David Robinson and John Stockton, all of whom retired after the 2002-03 season, combined for 34 ‎All-Star appearances.
Ditto for Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and Dave DeBusschere, who all retired after the 1973-74 campaign.
KG, Kobe and Timmy all stood as unquestioned titans of this league for two decades. They were all champions. And they were all, in their own way, pioneers.
Having started on this beat in February 1994, just more than a year before Garnett brought the drafting of high schoolers straight into the pros back into vogue, I can't imagine covering an NBA ‎without them.
But I know this much: I'm booking my flights to Springfield, Massachusetts, for the Hall's 2021 induction ceremonies as soon as I'm able.
The thought of those three striding up to the Hall dais, one by one, ‎five Septembers from now should be as good as it gets.
