Former Nets Star Listed Among Best 'Almost' Hall-of-Famers

When Joe Johnson is brought up among NBA fans today, the younger generation may not bat an eye. However, to anyone who watched basketball throughout the 2000s and 2010s, incredible scoring highlights from the man nicknamed 'Iso Joe' start to flurry.

Johnson was a memorable name throughout his NBA career. The 18-year veteran racked up numerous accolades while giving fans some of the greatest scoring highlights each season.

The now-44-year-old wasn't just a scorer on mediocre teams, though. Johnson was consistently a top option on multiple playoff teams, including the 2005 Phoenix Suns, 2011 Atlanta Hawks and 2014 Brooklyn Nets.

Bleacher Report's Dan Favale recently ranked the best players not yet in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and Johnson, a former All-Star with the Nets, ranked fourth on the list. The 6-foot-7 wing spent three and a half seasons in Brooklyn, averaging 14.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

"After Larry Foust's eight All-Star selections, Joe Johnson's seven lead the list of eligible players outside the Hall of Fame, Favale wrote. "With only one All-NBA selection on his CV, he never quite hovered around megastar territory. But Iso Joe could get buckets...

"More impressively, he's one of just 20 players to cross both the 20,000-point and 5,000-assist threshold. Out of that group, he's the sole player not to make the Hall of Fame or be considered a first-ballot lock."

With the way basketball's Hall of Fame works today, Favale is almost certainly right. Johnson's resume wouldn't get him close to being voted into football or baseball's Hall of Fame, but we've seen plenty of low-level stars sneak in.

Johnson's accolades include seven All-Star selections and an All-NBA Third Team appearance in 2010. Aside from that, he was considered a top 20 player in the league for a few seasons, but ultimately never won a championship or took the role of a bona fide superstar throughout his career.

Nevertheless, he remains one of the best isolation scorers in the modern era of basketball, and perhaps ever. Iso Joe was nothing short of a bucket-getter, and his 44-37-80 shooting splits prove how efficient he was in the department.

Johnson never officially announced his retirement from the NBA, but he is certainly considered retired after making a brief comeback in 2021 with the Boston Celtics. He still plays in the Big3 league, but he is eligible. Perhaps one day Nets and hoop fans everywhere will rejoice as Iso Joe gets his nod into basketball glory.