Another year, another Kevin Johnson-less class for the Hall of Fame.
The former Suns point guard and Ring of Honor Member was one of 10 finalists eligible to be on the podium in Springfield, Mass., this summer, but was ultimately left out in favor of former NBA-ers Spencer Haywood, Jo Jo White and Dikembe Mutumbo.
Mark West, a former teammate and current member of the Suns’ coaching staff, has been frequently adamant that Johnson’s name be enshrined at the Hall. The former All-Star's second consecutive omission left West shaking his head. To make his case, he compared Johnson’s success to that of recent Hall-of-Fame inductees Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond.
“They’ve got two guys in that era from another team, that played against Kevin and didn’t have as much success with their teams as Kevin did,” West said. “What are they saying?”
“A lot of deserving guys get in there, and he’s definitely one of them. To me, he was one of the toughest guys that you’d ever have to guard. I saw him, night in and night out, burn guys. He’ll be there.”
— Jeff Hornacek
The point is a valid one. Johnson’s pre-Barkley Suns teams made the postseason all four years and advanced to the Western Conference Finals twice, compared to three playoff appearances and no trips to the conference finals for those late eighties/early nineties Golden State teams.
“When we were playing – and we’re playing in the same era – how many times did we go further in the playoffs, win more games, whatever, with our guys than they did?” West said. “I’m not saying their guys don’t deserve it, but to me Kevin and Tom [Chambers] deserve it just as much. I don’t know what criteria they look at.”
Individual criteria also comes into play, and at least one year of bad luck might have factored into Johnson’s omission. His 1988-89 season is one of just four in league history in which a player averaged at least 20 points and 12 assists per game. The other three are accounted for by two Hall-of-Fame players: Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas. While Johnson was named the league’s Most Improved Player that year, he did not earn a spot on the Western Conference All-Star team. That was despite Magic Johnson missing the midseason classic due to injury. Instead of tabbing another point guard (Johnson) to replace him, the league chose the soon-to-retire Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest that season.
Like West, Suns Head Coach Jeff Hornacek is confident Johnson’s credentials merit a call to Springfield.
“I’m sure it will just be a matter of time,” Hornacek said. “A lot of deserving guys get in there, and he’s definitely one of them. To me, he was one of the toughest guys that you’d ever have to guard. I saw him, night in and night out, burn guys. He’ll be there.”