Former Suns guard Kevin Johnson is a finalist for NBA Hall of Fame
Feb 14, 2015, 3:34 PM | Updated: 11:28 pm
Kevin “KJ” Johnson spent 12 seasons with the Phoenix Suns, but now he may get to spend eternity in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The former point guard was listed among the finalists for the 2015 inductee class Saturday morning.
Johnson, a three-time All-Star who played professionally from 1987-2000 (with a year off in 1998-99), averaged over 12 points per game in all but his final two seasons with the Suns. He also played for Team USA in 1994 and brought a gold medal back from Toronto as a member of “Dream Team 2”.
The Suns Ring of Honor member (2001) is Phoenix’s all-time leader in assists (6,518), free throws made (3,851) and free throws attempted (4,479) and was the first player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 assists, a .500 field goal percentage and two steals per game for an entire season.
His career average of 9.13 assists per game is the sixth-highest in the history of the league. Johnson also holds the NBA Finals single-game record for most minutes played with 62.
He shot almost 50 percent from the field and scored 13,127 points in his career — over 1,000 per year on average.
Johnson is now the mayor of Sacramento and has been a major factor in keeping the team in the city.