Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen, superstar forwards of NBA in the 1990s, headed the list of candidates for the 2010 Basketball Hall of Fame.

Nominations closed Monday with Malone and Pippen as the only locks for induction next summer amid a list that includes Dennis Rodman and Mark Jackson as possibilities sure to spark strong debate.

The original Dream Team, the 1992 U.S. Olympic squad that was the first to incorporate NBA players, would also seem to have a good chance for enshrinement because of the way the group influenced the development of basketball around the world.

Malone and Pippen, meanwhile, are the definition of first-ballot inductees, with the bonus of good timing as a reminder of their special places in league history.

Power forward Malone and point guard John Stockton performed duets in a way few, if any, teammates have in the NBA to lead the Jazz and coach Jerry Sloan to a pair of West titles and three other trips to the conference finals in the 1990s, and now Malone is headed for Springfield a year after Sloan and Stockton got in.

Small forward Pippen was a superb complementary part to Michael Jordan as the Bulls won six championships in the decade, and now Pippen will get his chance to stand alone in Chicago glory a year after Jordan was famed.

Individually, Malone was a dominating physical presence during a 19-year career. The Mailman retired after 2003-04 as a Laker, the only season spent away from the Jazz.

He finished as the league's second-leading scorer, a two-time MVP, a 14-time All-Star and a two-time Olympian who averaged 25 points and 10.1 rebounds in the NBA.

Pippen was a versatile wing who could win games on both ends ofthe court, a relative unknown when he left Central Arkansas in 1987 bound for seven All-Star appearances, eight first-team All-Defense selections, two Olympic gold medals and averages of 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 17 seasons with the Bulls, Rockets and Trail Blazers.

Among the other candidates, Warriors coach Don Nelson and former players Chris Mullin, Jamaal Wilkes and Bernard King should receive serious consideration along with Rodman and Jackson.

The Nelson outcome will be particularly interesting. Nelson may pass Lenny Wilkens for No. 1 on the career coaching win list this season.

Dennis Johnson, Rudy Tomjanovich, Rick Pitino, Jerry Reinsdorf, Terry Cummings, Jerry Buss, Sarunas Marciulionis, Al Attles, Muggsy Bogues, Ralph Sampson and former referee Darell Garretson are among the other nominees with strong NBA ties.

Nominees for the Hall must first pass through one of four screening committees, depending on their background -- North American, international, women's game and veteran's.

Anyone receiving five of a possible seven votes in the secret balloting will be announced as a finalist during All-Star weekend in February.

Those candidates will then be judged by a 24-member honors committee of league executives, players who have already been in Hall and media representatives, with 18 votes needed for enshrinement.