The Bucks legend on the floor and behind the mic is yet again closer to a deserved honor.
As part of All-Star weekend, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the finalists for its 2025 class, and I’m very pleased to report that former Bucks All-Star forward and current TV analyst Marques Johnson is once again among them! You can read the full announcement from the NBA here. Johnson is one of 17 finalists across multiple categories that include players and coaches on both the men’s and women’s sides, international leagues, referees, and off-court contributors. Here is how the Hall described him as a finalist:
A five-time NBA All-Star (1979–81, ’83, ’86) and three-time All-NBA selection, including first-team accolades in 1978–79, Johnson averaged 20.1 points and 7.0 rebounds during his 11-year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks (1977–84), Los Angeles Clippers (1984–87), and Golden State Warriors (1989–90). Selected third overall in the 1977 NBA Draft, Johnson played a key role in leading UCLA to the 1975 NCAA national championship under Hall of Fame coach John Wooden. Credited with pioneering the “point forward” role, Johnson helped the Bruins to a 98-10 record during his collegiate career and won the inaugural John Wooden Award in 1977. The Bucks retired his No. 8 jersey in 2019.
As I wrote yesterday, this is a long-overdue honor for not only a Bucks legend but a very important figure in basketball history. Johnson was a finalist from 2018–2022 but had to compete with the likes of all-timers like Ray Allen, Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Manu Ginobili, and even teammate Sidney Moncrief. This year, former NBA players he’s up against include shoo-in Carmelo Anthony, likely inductee (at some point) Dwight Howard, and fellow longtime holdover Buck Williams.
Johnson is part of the North American category and is thus a finalist alongside men’s players, coaches, referees, and teams. That means he’s competing not only alongside Melo, Howard, and Williams but also current Bulls head coach Billy Donovan (winner of two national titles at Florida before coming to the NBA), longtime Gonzaga coach Mark Few (the winningest NCAA coach ever with at least 600 wins), accomplished Division III coach Jerry Welsh, 32-year NBA referee Danny Crawford, and the gold-winning 2008 US Olympic basketball team, aka “The Redeem Team.” The candidacies of these eight nominees will join that of MJ’s before the North American Honors Committee, where they need to secure from 18 of its 24 members for enshrinement in Springfield. Per the Hall, that committee consists of “Hall of Famers, basketball executives and administrators, members of the media, and other experts in the game of basketball.”
Somewhat surprisingly, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers wasn’t named a finalist this year, his first on the ballot. However, at eighth all-time in wins, just 12 and 32 behind Hall-of-Famers Phil Jackson and former Milwaukee head coach George Karl for seventh and sixth, respectively, it’s clear Doc will make it at some point. Another notable omission was former Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Star Marc Gasol, though he was part of the international category, passed over by former Yugoslavian/Serbian national team coach Dusan Ivkovic. A variety of women and contributors also got nods, but they have their own committees separate from Johnson’s.
The 2025 class will be announced on Saturday, April 5 at the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio. A hearty congratulations from all of us on staff here at Brew Hoop to Marques and the entire Johnson family. We’ve got all digits and limbs crossed for April 5th, hoping that 2025 is FINALLY the year!