The times and the job titles may have changed, but Kevin Johnson's me-against-the-world wiring has not.
He is the same as he ever was — fiercely competitive, determined to fell whichever giants dare stand in his path. As Hakeem Olajuwon and so many others can attest, that was the case during the playing days that finally have him on the ballot for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. And that remains true now, when there's still the occasional need to dunk on a big man's head in his post-playing life as Sacramento mayor and resident savior of the Sacramento Kings.
Just ask Phil Jackson, who was involved with the group that tried to move the Kings to Seattle last year and who recently questioned the notion that Johnson would be able to get the arena built that is a prerequisite for the team staying put in his native city.
"I read your (recent interview with Jackson), and the only thing I remember were (Jackson's comments about Sacramento)," Johnson told USA TODAY Sports about the interview that was more than 5,000 words long. "When people doubt what you as a person or a community in this case or a city can do, it fuels you. And as an athlete, it motivated me back then and it motivates me as much or more today.
"I would say to Phil that, yes, he has 11 NBA championship rings, and no one can dispute that. But his ability to prognosticate on what we can do in Sacramento? He's going to come up a little short on that one."
This is what Johnson has been doing since he exploded on the Phoenix Suns scene back in 1988, and this is why there's such a strong sentiment from fellow NBA greats that he belongs in the Hall. As a player then and a politician now, he is a force to be reckoned with, a pint-sized point guard who packed serious punch and whose days of running the underdog team have only continued in his current role.
In a way, this Sacramento saga that began when former owners Joe and Gavin Maloof were talking to Anaheim officials about a possible move back in early 2011 has been his version of a championship. He helped keep the Maloofs from skipping town on several occasions, then played middle man for the new ownership group led by Vivek Ranadive that paid a league-record valuation of $535 million for the team in May. All the while, he became an even bigger fan favorite of David Stern's as the then-NBA Commissioner championed the value of remaining in small markets like Sacramento.
Johnson never won it all as a player, of course, falling to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the 1993 NBA Finals and twice falling in the Conference Finals. Yet these days — and especially in light of the fact that his efforts to build a new arena that must be in place by 2017 in order for Sacramento to keep the Kings continue to progress — it seems he's winning almost every time out. None of which surprises his former rival, longtime friend and Hall of Fame inductee Isiah Thomas.
"He was always civic minded, going back to when we first started talking during his rookie year in the league," Thomas said of Johnson, who became Sacramento's first African-American mayor in 2008 and will be taking over as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in April. "We would talk about how you have to go about winning championships as a small man in this league, fighting against the giants, fighting against the 6-(foot)-9 point guard in Magic Johnson or the 6-7 and 6-8 point guards that everyone had back then. And then you've got to deal with Olajuwon — those kinds of players.
"But then we also talked about his responsibility off the court, making sure that he became that role model in the community…If all they can say about Kevin Johnson is that he had a great jumpshot and a great first step, then he wasted his opportunity. And Kevin Johnson did not waste his opportunity because he went far beyond the playing field…He's absolutely a Hall of Fame player."
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"Here we stay" became the unofficial motto of Sacramento's push to keep the Kings. The NBA rejected a deal to move the team to Seattle, leading the Maloof family to come to terms on one with a Sacramento group. Flip through this gallery for more shots of fans. Kelley L Cox, USA TODAY SportsFullscreenNext Slide
Johnson's Hall of Fame case is a strong one even without his off-court accomplishments, as he remains one of the most underrated players in league history in large part because of who he battled with on a nightly basis.
"Think about the era in terms of guards," Johnson said. "I played against Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, Gary Payton, Maurice Cheeks."
To pick one fitting comparison, his production during his 12 seasons with the Suns (18.7 points, 9.5 assists per game, 49.4% shooting) is on par with Thomas' storied 13-year career with the Detroit Pistons (19.2 points, 9.3 assists per game, 45.2% shooting).
Johnson is fifth all time in career assists per game among former players (9.1), with only Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Oscar Robertson and Thomas ahead of him. He is one of four players all time with at least three 20 point, 10 assist seasons (Thomas, Robertson and Johnson are the others). Only Robertson and Johnson had more seasons averaging at least 18 points and nine assists per game (nine and eight, respectively, while Thomas had five).
Thomas, of course, won two titles with the Pistons and thus faced less of an uphill battle on his path to the Hall. Yet as he pointed out, plenty of players have been given the honor of entering Springfiield, Mass. with nary a ring to call their own, among them Johnnson's longtime Suns teammate Charles Barkley.
"If winning the championship was the only criteria that you were judged by, there would be a lot of guys — I mean a lot of guys — who wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame," Thomas said. "If you can string together 10 solid, good years of play in the NBA at a very high level, then that automatically should put you in the debate for Hall of Fame induction. But in Kevin's case, to me there's really no debate if he's a Hall of Famer or not."
Johnson is one of 10 Hall of Fame finalists, with the inductees set to be announced in conjunction with the NCAA men's basketball championship game on April 7. As he sees it, he's ecstatic to be considered and even more thrilled that his exploits from the last century haven't been forgotten.
Future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson put Johnson and his playing talents back in the spotlight recently when reflecting on his own career, telling 2013 Hall of Fame inductee Gary Payton in an interview on Fox Sports Live that Johnson once made him cry early on in his NBA career.
"I was always the one…destroying somebody else," Iverson said. "I can remember he had gave me 36 (points), nine (assists) and nine (rebounds). It was the first time somebody tore me up like that. I was in the locker room and I was actually crying."
Then, of course, there's the YouTube clip (535,582 views and counting) of Johnson's timeless dunk over Olajuwon in the 1993 Western Conference Semifinals that makes him cool with all the kids he interacts with as Sacramento's mayor. The Suns, who went from 28-54 during the season in which Johnson was traded there from the Cleveland Cavaliers as a rookie in Feb. 1988 to 55-27 and a Conference Finals appearance the following season, recently celebrated the 20-year anniversary of the dunk with "KJ Dunk Night."
"That was kind of one moment in time that got captured and allows me to still be cool and hip with the next generation," Johnson said.
But Johnson is quick to point out that his current efforts are what matter most now. With so many former players often struggling to find their way, he has been lauded as an example of what players can accomplish when their playing days are done. As Thomas noted, the spirit of this plan was in the works all along.
"I had a grandfather who was a sheet metal worker, and he raised me because my father passed away (in a drowning accident in Sacramento) when I was three," Johnson said. "I remember right when I got drafted, he came and sat me down, and he said, 'You need to have an exit strategy. So before you start playing in the NBA, you need to think about what you're going to be doing when you come out of it.
"He said, 'If you're lucky, you can play in the league for four years. If you're really lucky, you can play in the league four to eight (years). And if you're super lucky, you can play more than 10. But you can not go into the league thinking that's the end-all, because it's only such a short timespan of your life, a very short timespan."
Johnson, make no mistake, considers himself a lucky man whether he gets into the Hall or not.
"I'm giddy about the possibility," he said. "This is a powerful moment. If I get in, I think it's incredible…If it doesn't happen, it's still an unbelievable honor and it's not going to impact what I do day in and day out. But you're competitive, and you have an opportunity and you want to make the most of it."
Then and now, the same as he ever was.
