Kevin Johnson Discusses Hall of Fame, Compares Devin Booker to Jerry West
Kevin Johnson will always be remembered for his career with the Phoenix Suns.
The 6-foot-1 point guard emerged as one of the top players in the NBA during the late 80s and early 90s, leading the Suns to their most successful era in franchise history. Not only did Johnson lead the Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993, but they also won the most games in the league from 1989 until 1995, averaging 56 wins per season and never winning fewer than 53 games in a season during that time frame.
Johnson won the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year award in 1989 after averaging 20.4 points and 12.2 assists per game, becoming just the third player in NBA history to accomplish that feat after Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas. Johnson went to three All-Star games and was a five-time All-NBA selection during his career.
The 60-year-old Johnson will be a Hall of Fame finalist this year. The last time he was a finalist was between 2014 and 2016 when he was the mayor of Sacramento.
“It’s funny, I never thought as a player about getting into the Hall of Fame after I retired at year five, six or seven, and I retired in 2000,” said Johnson in a one-on-one interview with R.org. “Whatever the timeline is after that I was a finalist two other times. At that point I’m like, ‘Well, I want to get in. Who wants to be a finalist that fails to get in?’ My mom was a big basketball fan. I was hoping that would happen while she was still living. Unfortunately, that will not be the case, but it would be a tremendous honor.
“I had a great career, I played with great teammates,” Johnson continued to say. “I played for a great organization for the Phoenix Suns. I was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lenny Wilkins, and Wayne Embry, a great organization. I’ve accomplished everything that I wanted to do on the basketball court, and more with the exception of winning an NBA championship. I feel really bad for Charles Barkley that we did not get an NBA championship. I feel like he deserved it, as well as the city of Phoenix. And then number two, it would just be great individually that if my stats and what I did over my career on the court and off the court made me worthy enough to get inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. It would be an unbelievable honor.”
Johnson said he’s still close to the Suns organization, saying that he’s close to owner Mat Ishbia and that he has a condo in Phoenix. He also said he only roots for two NBA teams — the Suns and his hometown Sacramento Kings. The former All-Star point guard prevented the Kings from moving to nearby Anaheim and later to Seattle, Washington.
“I still have a condo in Phoenix. I’m close to Matt Ishbia,” said Johnson. “Being near the team I go to probably a handful of games each year. I’m a huge Phoenix Suns fan. I only have two teams that I root for. First, the Phoenix Suns. I played for them for 11-and-a-half years, and then I was mayor of Sacramento, my hometown. My second favorite team is the Sacramento Kings.”
Johnson Praises Devin Booker as “Ultimate Competitor”
The Suns are surprisingly playoff contenders this season after moving on from All-Stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in the offseason. They missed the playoffs last year, but Devin Booker remains the face of the franchise, and he has led them to being in position to make it to the playoffs.
As of this writing, Phoenix is in seventh place in the Western Conference with Booker coming off his fifth All-Star selection. The 29-year-old shooting guard is averaging 24.8 points per game. Johnson said he has a “very good relationship” with Booker.
“Very good relationship with Devin,” said Johnson. “I would first say he’s a great person. I’ll get to your basketball side in a second. He’s a great person. He went to high school in Moss Point, Mississippi, for all for crying out loud. His mom is a huge supporter. He was raised very well. Obviously, his dad played a role in his life. First of all, he’s just got a very good foundation, a good human being. That’s why he’s so popular in Phoenix and throughout the NBA and around the globe. It just because he’s a great person.”
Booker has been a member of the Suns since 2015, when he was 18 years old. He has led Phoenix to an NBA Finals appearance in 2021, and they’ve made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.
He is regarded as one of the top players in the league and has been the Suns’ leading scorer each season since 2016-17 with the exception of last year when Durant was in the fold.
Johnson calls him the “ultimate competitor” who thrives on the “mid-range jumper.”
“And then on the basketball court, what you mentioned is he does a lot of things really well, but he is an unbelievable competitor,” Johnson said. “He also is an unbelievable shooter, and when I say shooter, he can score at the basket very effectively. He is a person that thrives on the mid-range jumper, which oftentimes is a lost art in this league, he does that very well offensively. Thirdly, he can open it up far beyond the three-point line. A person that can score in all three of those ways is a tremendous threat in the NBA, and has a lot of weapons that aren’t normal.
“And then the third thing again, he’s a great offensive player, great shooter, he’s a competitor, which I mentioned earlier,” Johnson continued.
“What I would say about him is the great players — LeBron, Kevin Durant today, Steph, obviously — and then you go back in the era with Kobe and back further to Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, my era with Isiah Thomas. These guys weren’t just great competitors, they had the ability to concentrate and block out everything around them and play the mental game and have a high basketball IQ. I think Devin also has that. He doesn’t get enough credit for it.”
Booker Comparisons to Jerry West
When asked for a player comparison for Booker — especially considering he doesn’t rely on the three-point shot like many others — Johnson initially mentions Los Angeles Lakers great Jerry West.
“Let me throw this out at you first, and then you tell me if it doesn’t work. I’m gonna flip the script for you on this one — Jerry West.”
Johnson then thinks about it for a minute and then mentions New York Knicks great Allan Houston and former Detroit Pistons sharpshooter Rip Hamilton.
“I got another name, he’s better than this person, so don’t quote me on it, but he reminds me a little bit of Allan Houston, a little bit of Rip Hamilton. But Devin’s more elite than those guys. But I’m going with Jerry West. That’s where I’ll leave it.”