NBA: 50 greatest players who aren’t in the Basketball Hall of Fame

AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Piston celebrates with the fans after the Pistons defeated the Lakers 100-87 to win the 2004 NBA championship final, in Auburn Hills, MI, 15 June 2004. The Pistons won the best-of-seven NBA championship series 5-1 and Billups was the series MVP. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) /

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Larry Johnson, Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images /

50 greatest players who aren’t in the Basketball Hall of Fame: 41. Larry Johnson

For a generation of basketball fans, Larry Johnson was amongst the most important figures in the sport. He was the face of college basketball, leading the genuinely iconic UNLV Runnin’ Rebels to the NCAA Championship in 1990, and winning the Naismith College Player of the Year and John R. Wooden Awards in 1991.

His No. 4 jersey was inevitably retired by UNLV.

Johnson’s career got off to a hot start at the next level, as he won NBA Rookie of the Year in 1991-92 and earned All-NBA Second Team honors in just his second season. The players who joined him: Joe Dumars, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, and Dominique Wilkins.

Every one of those players are in the Hall of Fame.

Injuries would take their toll shortly thereafter, with Johnson only able to play 10 NBA seasons before having to retire. Nevertheless, Grandmama was the complete package with the Charlotte Hornets and, for a brief time, with the New York Knicks.

Over five seasons with the Hornets, Johnson averaged 19.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on 49.6 percent shooting from the field. As for team success, he and Alonzo Mourning co-starred as Charlotte won a postseason series for the first time in franchise history in 1992-93.

Despite the chronic back problems, Johnson was able to extend his career and play significant playoff basketball in New York. He famously hit one of the greatest shots in NBA history—the legendary four-point play—as the Knicks became the only No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals.
Johnson would go on to post a pair of 25-point games in the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, as well, offering a last hurrah from a talent who was ahead of his time.