Back in early May, I conducted a poll asking readers t0 vote on who should be inducted into the inaugural Fantasy Basketball Hall of Fame class, and you responded very well, registering almost 1,000 votes. According to the rules of the HoF (based on the Baseball Hall of Fame process), a player had to be named on 75% of ballots to be inducted, which left us with two players (2 point guards, actually): Kevin Johnson, and Tim Hardaway. Tim Bug will get his ceremony later in the summer, but today I think we'll give KJ the love he deserves as a charter member of the FBHoF...

Kevin Maurice "K.J." Johnson
Position: Point Guard
Height: 6-1 Weight: 180 lbs.
Born: March 4, 1966 in Sacramento, California
High School: Sacramento in Sacramento, California
College: University of California
Draft: Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1st round (7th pick, 7th overall) of the 1987 NBA draft.

FBHOF Resume: Outstanding fantasy seasons in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, & 1997. Third-best fantasy PG in the NBA in 1992, 4th-best in '91. Strongest categories were FG% (top 12 among PG 8 times), assists (top 12 6x), and points (top 12 5x). Frequently averaged 20+ PPG and 10+ APG in a season early in his career. 5th among PG in steals in 1991. Good shot-blocking totals for a PG as well; finished top-12 in blocks four times. Generally the PG you drafted when Hardaway, John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Mookie Blaylock, and some combination of Rod Strickland/Terrell Brandon/Mark Jackson/Kenny Anderson were off the board. Devastatingly quick penetrator helped drive-n-dish the Suns to just one Finals appearance ('93), although a tremendous 1995 playoff performance does hurt his FBHoF case. Member of USA's Dream Team II at '94 FIBA Worlds, but did not make US Olympic team in '92 or '96. Hugely turnover-prone early in career, but improved in that area with age. Had no 3-point range to speak of; his best total by far (89, 19th among PG in 1997) came with shortened arc. Seriously lacked durability, playing only 11 full seasons and missing 167 games in that span, or 15 games per season (which isn't even counting his semi-retired 2000 campaign). 4.9 PER in final postseason comeback may have cemented his FBHoF legacy.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 9:00 am and is filed under Fantasy Basketball, Hall of Fame, Just For Fun. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.