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Bleacher Report Media

The NBA is easily the most consistent and predictable league from year to year, but it is hardly immune to dramatic change over longer periods of time.

Just think about what the league looked like five years ago. LeBron James and Kevin Durant were at the top of their games, but so were Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose. Bryant was coming off back-to-back titles, Howard was a year removed from a Finals appearance in Orlando, and Rose was a season shy of becoming the youngest MVP in NBA history.

What's more, stars such as Steve Nash, Brandon Roy, Amar'e Stoudemire and Deron Williams were still featured prominently on the NBA's second and third teams.

Where are those latter names now? Not among the league's elite, that's for sure.

The same will probably be said for many of today's top players in five years' time. Come 2020, those who kept the Association afloat after Michael Jordan called it quits (e.g. Bryant, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett) will all be enjoying retirement. Those who ruled the roost after them (e.g. James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony) will be into their mid-30s, the end of their playing days on the horizon.

That doesn't mean the league will be in dire straights a half-decade from now. On the contrary, there's more young, superstar-caliber talent currently plying its trade in the NBA than at any point in recent memory. In five years, that next generation will be busy winning championships, hoisting MVP trophies and hogging All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive honors.

The question is, who, exactly, will be collecting those accolades when the year 2020 rolls around? To get a glimpse into the NBA's future, Bleacher Report consulted a handful of scouts and front-office personnel before predicting who the top 20 players in the league will be in 2020, based on present ability, the sustainability of their current exploits and their potential for future improvement. Read on to find out who made—or, rather, will make—the cut.

Note: All ages listed represent how old the player will be on Jan. 1, 2020.