MIAMI – The wait continues for Marques Johnson, as one of the greatest players in Milwaukee Bucks history was not inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.
The Class of 2025 was announced Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.
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It has been a winding road to the Hall of Fame for Johnson, who was a finalist again following a two-year stretch where he did not reach that stage. He was a finalist from 2018-22, also.
“I’m blown away by it,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said of Johnson’s continued exclusion. “I know a Hall of Famer when I see it, and when I play against one. I played against him and Sidney Moncrief, and those two guys are Hall of Fame players. They just are. Marques was a monster player. It’s interesting, with what he did, the amount that he won when he was in Milwaukee. They were never the champion, but clearly that’s not what you have to do to get in the Hall of Fame as a player. So I’m surprised by it. I was on the committee one year, years ago, and I thought he was a shoo-in and obviously he’s not. I don’t know the answer.”
Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Johnson, 69, is currently one of the Bucks’ television analysts. The organization retired his No. 8 jersey in 2019.
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A three-time all-NBA selection and five-time all-star who played seven seasons with the Bucks, Johnson finished in the top-10 of MVP voting two times. Over his 11-year career, Johnson averaged 20.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He also was one of the first “point forwards” in the NBA under former Bucks head coach Don Nelson.
Johnson was traded, along with Junior Bridgeman and Harvey Catchings, to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1984 for Terry Cummings, Craig Hodges and Ricky Pierce. Johnson turned in an all-star season for Los Angeles in 1985-86, but his career was nearly ended when he ruptured a disc in his neck colliding with a teammate just 10 games into the 1986-87 season.
He did make a comeback in 1989-90 season, finishing his career with a 10-game stint for the Golden State Warriors — who were coached by Nelson.
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Johnson is already part of the college basketball hall of fame for his exploits at UCLA.
Former NBA players Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard were elected, as were women’s basketball legends Sylvia Fowles, Sue Bird and Maya Moore, coach Billy Donovan (University of Florida, Oklahoma City, Chicago Bulls) and referee Danny Crawford.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Bucks legend Marques Johnson not inducted into Hall of Fame