Jul.28 at 5:13 pm

chiqo says:
kj was definitely nice. also amusing that he did 10ks and marathons to stay in shape when not hooping.

Jul.28 at 6:03 pm

Vyse says:
Remember, he was on Oprah with the education crisis in America. Kevin Johnson rules.

Jul.28 at 6:06 pm

Joe says:
Never really liked his game and I don’t know why. But always respected him.

Jul.28 at 8:00 pm

Michael NZ says:
I happened to check out an old dvd of Bulls Vs Suns ‘93 a while back. Game 3 no less, KJ bounces back! What a game.

Jul.28 at 8:16 pm

PBeck says:
Yeah, that dunk on Hakeem is one of my all-time favorites! But I also remember that one time when KJ tried to dunk it with both hands on the break and Hakeem blocked him from behind and sent him crashing to the floor. I guess you guys know which one I’m talking about. Also, I can’t forget how one of the announcers over here in Germany always called him KeeJay. That annoyed the hell out of me. And it still does. What an asshole.

Jul.28 at 11:49 pm

epoyz says:
growing up i also tried to emulate KJ’s play. bought his run n’ slam line of shoes, worked on my handle and range.. was never able to dunk on big guys (or smaller dudes for that matter), though. one thing that i got from his game (that still helps me to this day playing ball at an ancient age of 30) is his in-between game. kids today don’t have any mid-range game, and i don’t mean just shooting a jumper in the perimeter. KJ is so dangerous from three-range-and-in with that fake-and-a-few-steps-dribble penetration that he throws defenses off-balance on the rotation to be able to find his boys with laser beam passes. there was a string of games back in the day when he went over 20 dimes per game a lot and was just straight dominatin’. he was the first (and most effective) combo guard that i saw play the game. and remember when he body-slammed the living crap out of doc rivers?

Jul.29 at 2:22 pm

Pic says:
yeah i remember he used to rock those cons reacts

Jul.29 at 4:57 pm

spartdog says:
KJ was my favorite player back in the day. Ever since I saw him take the whole Lakers team to the cup and finish I knew he was nice. When I copped his Olympic jersey I became official.

Jul.29 at 5:49 pm

Emily says:
I loved Kevin! When I first started watching NBA games, I remember seeing the Phoenix Suns play against my Timberwolves. Kevin Johnson was the player that stood out to me. He was smaller than everyone else but so much quicker. He was a team player. I remember how fascinated I was just watching him play. I think that’s when my passion for the game began. He was definitely my first favorite NBA player.

Jul.31 at 12:03 am

Lang Whitaker says:
As for KJ in the Hall…I love the guy but I don’t think so. His career numbers are good (13,000+ points, 6,700+ assists for 6th all time, 3 time all star, went to the Finals, ) but he was never in that elite echelon of point guards, or pgs you would build a franchise around.

Jul.31 at 8:33 am

thunderdan says:
My favorite thing about KJ was that he had two moves… if he was going right he gave the in-n-out dribble and went right. If he was going left he crossed through his legs and did his thing. If you dont believe me watch the Jordan DVD set that has the PHX vs. CHI game from the finals on it. He only does two things but thats all he needs. If the AND 1 guys watched this they would go out of business. Only two moves? NO WAY!!! Sorry I’m jaded.

Jul.31 at 1:16 pm

mike buie says:
Hey Lang, I hear alot of talk of Dwayne Wade being like Mike Jordan but I always felt like his game was alot like KJ’s. D-wade a little bit taller but the both had nice outside games, could penetrate, defend, and jump out of the gym. KJ was unreal, I remember when he first got to Phoenix in the late ’80s and dunked on Mark Eaton. Mark was about 7′4 and KJ is about 6′2. KJ goes baseline to the basket a starts to elevate. Mark comes to contest the shot. KJ goes up another notch and BOOM!!! What so ill was after he dunked he had to slide down the side of Mark to get back on the floor…lol. He also caught Hakeem out there in 94. Classic.

Jul.31 at 1:38 pm

brianrob says:
Don’t forget his piggy back ride dunk over the cavs big man brad daugherty.

Jul.31 at 1:52 pm

Joey Lee says:
Think you can stop me? You’ve got 24 seconds…

Jul.31 at 2:19 pm

SteveSmith#8 fan says:
KJ was a good player and one the point guards during that time that flew under the radar along with Mark Price and to some extent Rod Strickland. If you think about it he was the blueprint for point guards who wanted to score 20 points a game and dish out 10 assist per game. Some of his stats before Barkley took over the scoring and the injuries were amazing. I remember during an interview back in the day Magic Johnson mentioned that KJ was the one point guard who gave him the most trouble trying to guard while on defense.

Jul.31 at 3:00 pm

ungerly says:
One more KJ moment to add. Suns vs Magic, tom tolbert pissed KJ off. KJ took one to the hole in his face. Now everytime I see tom on tv (he does games commentary)…….this word never fails to pop up…….LOSER

Jul.31 at 3:00 pm

kjfansince7years says:
KJ should be a hall of fame! no doubt!!

Jul.31 at 9:58 pm

ronnied says:
I too belive that KJ should be in the hall of fame, after all the hall of fame is for great players who made an impact in the NBA, and KJ made one hell of an impact.

Aug.1 at 12:51 pm

Aaron says:
Good to hear about KJ. To this day if anyone asks I say that KJ is my favorite player of all time..dude had a crazy game. I remember begging my moms for the KJ converse when they came out..I think those were the only cons I ever had…

Aug.1 at 9:48 pm

SP says:
He was also one of my favorite players, KJ was ill no doubt. That Hakeem facial is legendary. SOMEBODY PLEASE PUT KJ ON A NBA TV CREW!!!

Aug.2 at 3:07 am

jon says:
Another KJ fan from Norway here. He was my first favorite player. I remember seeing him with Hornacek and Tom Chambers and the guys before Barkley came to Phoenix. Majerle and Horny have alot to thank KJ for getting to the allstar game. I think he definetly should be in the hall of fame. He had 20 & 10 three times, close to five, heck he almost averaged those numbers and the Suns were a 50+ club all his years.

Aug.2 at 12:35 pm

LBJ says:
KJ was amazing. He didn’t get the pub that some of the guys at that time did. But he was as good as anyone else in the league when healthy. And he was one of the few “small” players who would dunk in a game in a half court situation. He always put his body on the line. And to get 20pts 10ast and shoot a high percentage from the line and field. Man he was sick!!!

Aug.2 at 9:48 pm

rob c. says:
I will take it a step farther! I think health was the key,when healthy I dont think there was anybody better when you judged all around game! He was,is,and always will be my favorite player! but the most important thing about kj is he has his priorities strait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aug.2 at 10:16 pm

Numba 7 says:
I have been a KJ fan for as long as I’ve followed B-ball. I wore number 7 all through my playing days. Everytime a little guy dunks on a center, I always have to tell everyone in the room about that one time KJ dunked on Hakeem! KJ was not just a baller…he was a baller that you could look up to… He was my role model when Barkley said he couldn’t be!
Go Suns! and Long live Numba 7!

Aug.9 at 11:49 pm

Lean says:
and all these years thinking i was the only fan of Kevin Johnson!!! what should make a Hall of Famer i think are two things: a) attitude and b) balling skillz. a) talent always breeds confidence supersized into arrogance. the beauty of KJ was the fact that he knew basketball was a game… a game he played well, but a game nonetheless… he knew there were more important things, such as the way he conducted himself on and off the court, and service on and most especially off the court…. b) dudes he was the fastest point guard of his time and a true testament against all cliche’s that height is might… fast and smart like most PHX PG’s are…

Aug.13 at 4:30 am

Dominic says:
KJ was just plain sick. He had my vote when the Suns played the Pistons in a Christmas or around Christmas nationally televised game the season after the Pistons won their second of back-to-back championships. The Suns dominated the Pistons and KJ showed Isaiah Thomas who the new young gun in town was. If KJ would have ever been healthy when Charles was in town, they would have won a few championships. He suffered so many injuries because he was a small guy not afraid to take it to the big guys (not to mention Charles hurting him in a celebration after a last-second win over Portland in ‘93). He was also one of the best people to ever put on a sports uniform. By the way, he actually dunked over John “Hot Rod” Williams (6′10″), then of the Cavs, and not Brad Daugherty.

Sep.2 at 4:17 pm

bryan weinstein says:
KJ was the man, he could drive past anyone, dunk on anyone, step back nail a jumper or a 3 from anywhere, he always passed first mentality and he is one of the few professional atheletes that actually tries to use his clout in positive ways, i’ve met him a few times, bugged him for autograph, and besides steve nash, will always be my all time fav. point guard. I’ll never forget seeing him live, straight up dunk on 6′10″ hot rod williams of the cavs way back in ‘91…. much love KJ7!!!!!

Sep.10 at 1:52 am

GMATCallahan says:
Some comments: … Just for the record, K.J. was 6′1″, not 6′2″. … Just for the record, K.J. dunked on “Hot Rod” Williams on February 26, 1992. Here’s a link to the game’s box score: http://www.basketballreference.com/teams/boxscore.htm?yr=1991&b=19920226&tm=phx K.J. had 23 points and 17 assists in the 103-100 Phoenix victory. … K.J. struggled with injuries in the regular season while Barkley was in Phoenix, but in the playoffs, he was almost always healthy. In fact, K.J. might have been the second-best player in the entire NBA in the 1994 and 1995 playoffs, behind only Hakeem Olajuwon. Check out Olajuwon’s autobiography, “Living the Dream,” where he praises K.J. more than once. Discussing Game Seven of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals, Olajuwon writes the following on page 282: “Game seven was Kevin Johnson’s. … Every time I looked K.J. was driving. When he wasn’t penetrating he was pulling up and hitting his jump shots. He was just incredible. It’s a trial just being on the same court as someone who is playing so well.” That’s just part of Olajuwon’s comments. The bottom line is that if Barkley had been more motivated, especially in ‘94 and ‘95, K.J. would have won two rings (like Isiah Thomas) and there would be no debate about the Hall of Fame. … In 1998, [i]The Sporting News[/i] names K.J. to its “1990s All-Playoff Second Team.” http://www.highbeam.com/library/docFree.asp?docid=1G1:20632837&key=0C177A56741D156E120E021B076706087D07770F717B73067109 … In the entire history of the NBA, there have been four seasons in which a player averaged at least 20.0 points, 10.0 assists, and a .500 field goal percentage. Two of those seasons were by Magic Johnson (’86-’87 and ‘88-’89), and the other two were by Kevin Johnson (’88-’89 and ‘90-’91). K.J. missed a third such season in ‘89-’90 by .001 on his field goal percentage. In NBA history, the only player better than K.J. in combining all three categories (points per game, assists per game, and field goal percentage) was Magic Johnson. In K.J.’s nine-year prime (1989-1997), he averaged 19.8 points/10.0 assists/.497 fg. From 1983-1991, Magic averaged 20.0 points/12.2 assists/.518 fg. The only other player in the same ballpark in terms of approaching the 20.0/10.0/.500 “gold standard” over a significant stretch was Oscar Robertson, who from 1962-1970 averaged 29.1 points/10.3 assists/.490 fg. … As I already noted, K.J. is one of two players (along with Magic Johnson) to have averaged 20.0 points/10.0 assists/.500 fg. in the same season. K.J. is also one of four players in NBA history to have averaged 15.0 points/10.0 assists/.500 fg. in the same season (the others are Magic Johnson, John Stockton, and Steve Nash). … K.J. is one of seven players in NBA history to have averaged 20.0 points/10.0 assists in the same season (the others are Oscar Robertston, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Tim Hardaway, Tiny Archibald, and Michael Adams). … K.J. is one of four players in NBA history to have averaged 20.0 points/10.0 assists in three different seasons (the others are Oscar Robertson, Isiah Thomas, and Magic Johnson). … K.J. is one of three players in NBA history to have averaged 20.0 points/10.0 assists for three years in a row (the others are Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas). … As you can see, K.J. accomplished some feats that almost no one else has ever done. He was definitely one of the greatest point guards of his time and of all-time, and he was certainly the kind of point guard that you built a franchise around. In K.J.’s first full season in Phoenix, ‘88-’89, the Suns went from 28-54 and missing the playoffs for four straight years to 55-27 and making the Western Conference Finals. With K.J. at the point, they would proceed to win at least 53 games for seven years in a row. Tom Chambers became Second Team All-NBA playing with K.J., Eddie Johnson became the Sixth Man of the Year by playing with K.J., and Jeff Hornacek and Dan Majerle became All-Stars by playing with K.J. Said Chambers, “And last but certainly not least, the guy who made me the player I am. I couldn’t have done it without him - Kevin Johnson.” http://www.nba.com/suns/news/column_042299.html?nav=ArticleList Injuries aside, K.J. was the perfect point guard to build a franchise around, because he would set everyone else up and raise the games of his teammates, but he could also take over a game by himself when his teammates weren’t up to the task. He handled the ball well, played defense, he shot terrific percentages from the field and the free throw line, and he often inspired his teammates. … After the Suns whipped the 63-win Lakers in five games in the 1990 Western Conference Semifinals (marking the Lakers’ earliest playoff exit since 1981), Pat Riley said, “Kevin Johnson is a unique player. We tried to do everything we could with him. He just rose to the occasion.” Riley also said the following about K.J., who’d gone for 30 points and 16 assists in Game Four and 37 points and 8 assists in Game Five: “KJ went by us a lot. But I watched 100 videos of him in the last week, and you know what? He went by Seattle, Detroit, Chicago and everybody else too.” http://www.nba.com/suns/history/00670303.html In the wake of that K.J.-led defeat, Riley resigned as the Lakers’ coach and instead took a TV job with NBC. One journalist wrote, “The only point guard in the NBA who’s better than Kevin Johnson is Magic Johnson,” and another wrote, “Kevin Johnson is the real Pocket Magic, the player that Isiah Thomas is supposed to be.” … In reflecting on his career, K.J. was the first player mentioned by John Stockton when recalling his battles. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stockton … In 1996, Rod Strickland said of K.J., “He’s definitely my toughest match-up.” … Gary Payton recently stated that K.J., along with Stockton and Tim Hardaway, represented the elite level that he aspired to early in his career. http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_seasonticket/2006/02/paytons_trio_.html So there’s no doubt that K.J. was an elite point guard, even if he didn’t always receive the recognition. … I agree with the earlier comment about the simplicity of K.J.’s game. He was the opposite of Street Ball fanciness: everything about his game was precise and efficient. He would cross-over so quickly and simply (one dribble) that he didn’t receive recognition for having a wicked cross-over. Indeed, it was usually too quick for people to realize what he was doing. Tim Hardaway, the supposed “King of the Cross-over,” needed two big dribbles to make his move, whereas K.J. just needed one little dribble. Advantage: K.J. … “Laser-beams” is indeed an accurate description of K.J.’s passes. The guy could hit mosquitoes with his dart-like dimes.

Feb.22 at 2:57 am

CHEESE says:
First of all I didn’t realize that there are so many K.J. admirers. DEFINITLY one of my all time favorites. As a matter of fact the only basketball jersey’s I own are K.J. Is border line H.O.F material, injuries is the only setback I think…the Mark Eaton and Olajuwon dunk’s should’ve been posters…is in the top THREE in assists-to-turnover ratio ALL TIME…we’ll see what happens..

Feb.22 at 3:38 am

CHEESE says:
Also was a very good defensive player…