Dennis Johnson is recognized by his peers as one of the great players of his era. Why then is the same recognition not given to him by Hall of Fame voters?
It is a privilege to be voted into the basketball Hall of Fame; and one should earn one's own way based on merit. But I continue to scratch my head over why Dennis Johnson is excluded.
Excuse me while I get on my soap box here and ask what in the name of James Naismith is the Hall of Fame Induction Committee thinking? They got it right by granting admission to Michael Jordan, David Robinson, John Stockton and Jerry Sloan. I'm fine with C. Vivian Stringer being welcomed into the hallowed hall because of her accomplishments.
But to me, it's about accomplishments of players. It's about the people on the court getting the job done, because even a coach gets no credit if the team is not successful. They old adage holds true: "What makes a good coach? Good players."
So tell me which rocket scientists denied Dennis Johnson? Did they not see his name on the ballot? Are you kidding me? Twenty-four people vote on this matter and you need 18 votes to gain induction.
For those of you too young to remember "DJ" as he was known, just look at his accomplishments and tell me if they are Hall of Fame worthy:
But it's the testimonials that hold more weight than anything else. When Larry Bird calls him the best teammate and player he ever played with in his career and Magic Johnson who regularly had DJ in his face defending him during the legendary Celtics-Lakers matchups called him the 'greatest backcourt defender of all time', that folks is high praise from two of the all-time greats.
Many who watched him play said that he couldn't shoot but when the game was on the line, it seemed like Johnson always made big shots. In that respect, there are a couple that come to mind.
The Celtics were on the ropes in 1987 at home in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The series was tied at two games apiece and all the Detroit Pistons had to do was inbound the ball with a one-point lead and make a couple of free throws as they had just made a key defensive stop. But instead of taking his time, Isiah Thomas, standing in the back court some 80 feet from the basket where they were trying to score seemed to be in a rush to throw the ball in when he received it from referee Jess Kersey. Thomas didn't look up court, call a timeout to make sure in some way that the ball was the inbounded safely, inexplicably, he passed it back, toward the Boston basket and Larry Bird made the steal. As he was falling out of bounds on the baseline, 'Larry Legend' turned and fired the ball to a cutting Johnson who laid the ball in the bucket. I can still hear the call from legendary Celtics play-by-play man Johnny Most after the steal and the pass. The gravel-voiced Most crooning crescendo of, "Now there's a steal by Bird. Underneath to .DJ who lays it in! What a play by Bird!" (Yes, where are you Dan Gladman) Detroit won Game 6 at home but Boston went home to win the series in seven games.
The second Bird-to-DJ connection is one that Lakers fans will remember vividly only a few weeks later. It was Game 4 in Los Angeles during the 1985 Finals. And the Lakers were leading 2-1 in games and looking to finish it off at home (it was the first year of the 2-3-2 format). With the score tied late in the game, Boston had the ball and a chance to play for the last shot and win the game. Johnson gave the ball to Bird on the right wing and after a probing left-handed dribble into the middle that landed him near the elbow, Bird was cut off by a help defender. He zipped a pass to Johnson, just above the elbow on the opposite side of the floor and Johnson promptly buried the game winning shot. The Lakers eventually won the title but DJ's bucket tied the series at two and gave Boston new, albeit brief, life as they dropped the next two games.
His No. 3 hangs from the rafters in Boston as it was retired in 1991.
Johnson was not perfect as he had his issues off the court particularly early in his career. But unless he was betting on games and fixing them, I see no reason for withholding his admission to the basketball Hall of Fame.
With all due respect to international players, head coaches at any level, and broadcasters who have been voted into the hall, if the NBA is widely recognized as best league in the world then Johnson's accomplishments make him more than worthy for acceptance.
\Memo to the two dozen voters: Get it right next year. Dennis Johnson is a Hall of Famer.
