Dennis Johnson: The Wrong is Righted

Peter Vecsey

UPON discovering Sunday afternoon that Dennis Johnson wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame as part of this year's exceptionally qualified inductee harvest - Pat Riley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Adrian Dantley , Bill Davidson, Kathy Rush and Dick Vitale (be nice) - I sent the following e-mail to roughly 300 Hoop du Jour (most directly connected to the NBA) subscribers:

"D.J. got stiffed again."

Thirty-seven responded.

"How can there be a basketball Hall of Fame and exclude D. J.?"

"Unfreaking believable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"TERRIBLE!!!!!!!"

"I have no respect for the HOF!"

"That news is so discouraging. What does it take to get him to Springfield?"

"Sorry to hear that, I worked with him, great player, terrific guy, never big timed anyone."

"That defies explanation."

"Amazing D. J. keeps getting slighted!"

"Are these [24] committee members out of their minds? What did D.J. do to earn such non-respect?"

"If D.J. were alive I'd suggest he consult with Susan Lucci to get guidance through this trauma."

Chicago-based agent Mark Bartlestein said it best and speaks for us non-HOF-voters.

"Coaches, organizations and those handing out the honors love to talk about sacrificing personal statistics for the sake of success yet rarely reward it," he said. "Dennis Johnson epitomizes that. He did so many things that effected winning. Many were intangibles. Much of what he did gave his team's superstars the freedom to focus on what they did best.

"No, Dennis Johnson's stats aren't Hall of Fame. But his game was Hall of Fame. You actually have to understand the game to understand that."