Greatest unsung hero in every NBA team’s history

Boston Celtics: Dennis Johnson

When you think of those great Boston Celtics teams from the 1980s, you probably remember their hall of fame “Big 3” of Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish and Larry Bird. However, there was another hall of fame player on those teams that often gets overlooked in the form of point guard Dennis Johnson.

Johnson joined the Celtics prior to the 1983-84 season via a trade with the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Rick Roby and two second-round picks. Boston also received a future first-round pick, which they used to select Greg Kite. Johnson quickly acclimated himself to his new team.

A perennial All-Star with the Suns and the then-Seattle SuperSonics before moving east, Johnson took on a lesser role with the Celtics. He made his impact as a playmaker and a defender, rather than as a scorer. This was an easy decision for him, considering he was on the same team as arguably the greatest frontcourt in NBA history.

Still, the analytics aren’t as rosy on Johnson’s career, particularly with the Celtics, as his Hall of Fame status would suggest. His .110 win shares per 48 minutes (WS/48) is respectable, but he only averaged .092 WS/48 during his time in Boston. Keep in mind that .100 is league average.

Additionally, defensive box plus/minus (DBPM) only graded him positively twice in seven seasons with the Celtics. Although, 42.7 of his 82.6 career win shares came on the defensive end. A 13.4 PER with the team was less than impressive, but he had a slightly better 13.8 PER in the playoffs.

Of course, even advanced metrics have blind spots. Even if they painted Johnson in an unspectacular light, they don’t fully illustrate how important Johnson was to the Celtics in the 1980s.

As a tough-minded, defense-first playmaker, Johnson was the perfect point guard for those stacked Boston teams. Even though the numbers were underwhelming, he had the respect of the Boston fans and his peers.