UCLA's Marques Johnson Named Basketball Hall of Fame Finalist Yet Again
More than 30 years after he called it quits, Marques Johnson is still waiting to get the final call from Springfield.
And once again, the former Bruin is right on the doorstep.
The former UCLA men's basketball forward is one of 11 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2022, as was announced at the NBA's All-Star Weekend on Friday. Johnson is joined by former San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, former WNBA All-Star Lindsay Whalen, five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection Michael Cooper, West Virginia men's basketball coach Bob Huggins, historic NBA coach George Karl and several other potential immortalized figures of the sport.
This is the third time Johnson has been named a finalist to make the hall of fame, first earning the distinction in 2019 and achieving it again in 2021. He did not make the final cut either time, though.
Johnson got his career started by winning the Los Angeles City Section 4-A Division Player of the Year in 1973 while at Crenshaw High School (CA). After enrolling at UCLA, Johnson broke onto the scene as a sophomore, playing the part of the Bruins' third-leading scorer in their 1975 NCAA championship season.
That's when coach John Wooden said goodbye to his position as coach, but Johnson stuck around and continued to blossom in Westwood. Johnson was a second-team All-American in 1976, then became a consensus first-team All-American in 1977 while also winning national player of the year.
Johnson averaged 21.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game as a senior, leading to him becoming the No. 3 overall selection in the 1977 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. After making the All-Rookie First Team in his debut season, Johnson became an All-Star by year two.
Across his first six years in the NBA, Johnson was a four-time All-Star, but he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1984. Johnson earned another All-Star nod in 1986, the year he was also named the NBA's Comeback Player of the Year.
Johnson suffered a neck injury towards the start of the next season, and after missing the next two years, he returned for a 10-game stint with the Golden State Warriors before retiring in 1990.
For his career, Johnson averaged 20.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 51.8% from the field and 73.9% from the free throw line. While he never won an NBA championship, Johnson averaged 21.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game in the playoffs.
Johnson was a five-time All-Star, made one All-NBA First Team and made two All-NBA Second Teams. Johnson has also been credited with pioneering the point forward position, as well as coining the phrase during the 1984 playoffs.
The UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame opened its doors to Johnson in 1988, and he made the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. UCLA retired his No. 54 jersey in 1996, while the Bucks retired No. 8 in his honor in 2019.
Johnson ranks sixth among non-hall of fame NBA players in career win shares per 48 minutes since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976. The players above him are Ginobili, Kevin Johnson, Chauncey Billups, Larry Nance and Amar'e Stoudemire.
Johnson is one of five NBA players to average over 20 points per game for their career and not be in the hall of fame, with the others being John Drew, Gilbert Arenas, World B. Free and Lou Hudson. Johnson is the only eligible player to average 20 points and seven rebounds per game for his career without being inducted into the hall of fame.
Of all of those players listed above, none of them have an NCAA championship or Wooden Award to their name. None of those players had their poster hanging in Michael Jordan's dorm room at North Carolina, either.
In order to make the hall of fame, a finalist must receive 18 out of 24 votes from the Honors Committee.
The official hall of fame class of 2022 will be announced at the men's Final Four in New Orleans on April 2 and 9 a.m., a venue UCLA hopes to be at for the second year in a row. The Bruins lost to Gonzaga in the 2021 Final Four after Johnson was not named to the 2021 class, but perhaps both parties' fortunes could change this spring.
The class of 2022 will be inducted on Sept. 10 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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