T-Mac deserves to be there. When he was on his peak, there weren't many better players than him. His 2002-2003 season is one of the best individual season since I watch basketball.
A shame that he was plagued from injuries. He was every bit as good as Bryant, but unfortunately he was one of the unluckiest players in the NBA.
Yep, T-Mac was a beast offensively (Kobe mentioned before that he was the toughest player he had to defend due to his length, height, and athleticism). For a couple of years, he and Kobe were 1A and 1B as to who was the best player in the league. Just one on a long list of potential greats whose careers were destroyed by injuries: Penny, Grant Hill, Yao, Rose, Roy...
Though the big knocks on T-Mac were that he never led a team past the first round of the playoffs (contrary to what he thought in the '03 playoffs against the Pistons) and he didn't play defense. As for the HOF, I don't think T-Mac should have been first ballot, but if he got in, C-Webb should have gotten in and vice versa. Both were borderline HOFer's, but based on past inductees, they should be in. I do wish the Basketball HOF was more stringent when inducting players as it currently feels a bit watered down.
I wonder who the next face of the NBA will be once LeBron retires. There are a couple of guys like Leonard, Davis & co who are still young and already household names but not on the same level as previous great players. Everyone in Europe knew who Jordan, Kobe and LeBron were, even if you aren't into basketball. That's not gonna be the case with Leonard or Davis imo.
I can't speak for those outside of the US, but I'd say Steph is 2nd to Lebron in being the "face of the NBA." Lebron's still the most recognized NBA player, but he's been around for more than a decade, and people are always eager to crown the next superstar. Since Steph and the Warriors took the league by storm, many of Golden State's games have been nationally televised, with him being seen as the face of the Warriors (one of the most explosive and unique teams in NBA history, who are at the forefront of the league's current three-point obsession). But this had to translate into wins, and it has, with the Warriors being one of the favorites to win the championship and having been to the finals the past two years matching up against the "face of the NBA" in Lebron, increasing Steph's exposure. He has an entertaining style of play that which the NBA has never seen before, and like charlton66 said, any kid can aspire to be like Steph, but not like Lebron. He's also seemingly a nice guy with a charming personality and is engaging to the fans and the media.
The other candidates: KD, Westbrook, Harden, Kawhi, et al. are all top players (some I could argue better than Curry) but as of this moment, for various reasons, I would consider Steph to be slightly ahead of them in terms of recognition. Apart from KD and Kawhi, none of the others have led their teams to the championship or even the finals. However, Kawhi and KD are fairly uncharismatic with both being relatively quiet and soft-spoken. KD's image also took a big hit when he went to Steph's team. Add to that, aside from Harden (and KD this year), the others all play for small-market teams with less media exposure. Westbrook and Harden have been in the spotlight due to their individual exploits, but their teams aren't seen as true contenders (maybe Harden, but Houston are acknowledged to be a level below GS, Spurs, and the Cavs). Until they do damage in the playoffs, it'd be hard to put them alongside Lebron, Steph, et al. These things can change very quickly though, and if one of them can lead their team deep into May or June with some memorable performances, their brands will only grow.
