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NBA Courtside: Draymond Green on Joe Johnson comments about Amen Thompson getting paid $200 million with no jump shot: “I do think number one, you get paid for what you’ve done. I think there’s always this idea of you get paid for what you’re going to become. No, no. In this league you get paid for what you you’ve done. Amen Thompson has put together a body of work that says if you want to keep me, this is going to be the going rate. Now, yes, he needs to improve. But on the flip side, I do get a little frustrated sometimes when people come out like, “Yo, this guy can just gain a jump shot.” Like, yo, jump shooting is a skill. Yes, you can work, work, and work to better that skill, but we’re not going to ask Steph Curry to go be Amen Thompson athletically. So, if we’re not going to do that, then let’s not always point to when it’s shooting for a guy, oh man, he need to like, yes, he do. I agree with that. But let’s also know he is elite at jumping. He’s an elite defender. Getting from point A to point B, elite.” (Via @DraymondShow)
Mike D'Antoni: “And then Raja Bell got hurt (left calf in 2006 conference finals). What really ticks me off is that, and I don't know if we would’ve won or not, and I don’t know if we get to the finals or not, nobody knows, but the first year we tried, Joe Johnson breaks his orbital bone in his face (against the Mavs in the 2005 conference semifinals). And then the next year, Raja Bell gets hurt during the Dallas series. So, he's hobbled and hardly played or didn't play or wasn’t up to his usual self in the Western Conference Finals. And then the third year, we had the suspension.”
ESPN: You were 21-40 in your first season as interim head coach in Phoenix. Second year, 62-20. Was it as simple as adding Steve Nash? Mike D'Antoni: I think that was the missing piece. We were young the year before. And also, I took over halfway through the year ... didn't really have a lot of time. [But] we were missing a point guard. And so when you plug into maybe the best point guard --- not maybe, but the best point guard in the league -- and you got Amar'e [Stoudemire] and you got Shawn Marion and Joe Johnson, and we added Quentin Richardson later, it was just a combination of those guys and Steve together that made that big jump. It surprised us. We didn't think we'd do all that. We were just trying to make the playoffs.
NBA Courtside: Joe Johnson says if he’s the Houston Rockets I’m taking that gamble on Russel Westbrook teaming back up with Kevin Durant: “I’m taking that gamble because look, think about this. Even if Fred VanVleet, I’m sure he will start the season, but damn, he just come off of ACL surgery. Y’all going to run him in the ground for 82 game. And what he going to be able to get you in the postseason? Nothing. So, you got to have some depth at that point guard position. Guys who know how to play, guys who know and understand the game and who can make the game easy for guys around him. So, I always think, bro, and when you look at him because he up in age, he always in great damn shape. And for me, y’all know me, bro. I’m a guy who loves a guy in great shape. You’re in great shape. You can play with me any day.” (Via @NightcapShow_ )
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Joe Johnson: It was fun playing against y'all. I'll never forget, bro. I mean, from Chris Webber to Vlade Divac to Doug Christie, those guys were hell of a passers and IQ through the roof. And then you add you to that mix, bro. Y'all was just a hell of a team. Think about those legendary Kings versus Lakers battles. Tell us a little bit about those battles, bro. Hey, knowing what we know now. You know what I'm saying, Smooth? Knowing the history of the game. Y'all may have been robbed a little bit. Mike Bibby: A little bit?! [Laughs] Johnson: Hold up. Do you honestly think it would really… Bibby: Hell yeah! Did you see that sh*t? Look, that could have changed my whole career, you know? I was rolling at that point. Now, what if it looks like if I we go to the Finals, and I get Finals MVP? That's going to look a whole lot better on my resume than the sh*t I got now.
Joe Johnson: I didn't think nobody could beat that Lakers Kobe and Shaq. But, bro, when I tell y'all push him to the brink. Obviously, under certain circumstances, maybe y'all would have won it. But, man, that was a pleasure to watch. You know what I mean? Because I was a young buck. I was just coming into the league in 2001, bro. That was everything to me to see, to see great basketball. Mike Bibby: I think Shaquille O'Neal is the best big man that ever played the game. Kobe Bryant is top two for me. Just to be in those battles and going to LA and seeing all those movie stars and the guys that you look up to in the movies coming and cheering against you knowing we had them beat. I mean, I couldn't ask for nothing else, man.
NBA Courtside: Joe Johnson compares James Harden playoff struggles to Lamar Jackson: “They scrutinize James because they know the situations he’s been in the past during the postseason. So everytime he’s in the postseason they going to watch. It’s kind of like when you look at Lamar Jackson and know he’s going to be great during the regular season. But hell, in the post season can he win us some games? Can we get to the Super Bowl? It’s similar to that” (Via @NightcapShow_)
Crazy Stats: Paul George has the most career postseason points (2,416) among players who never made the @NBA Finals. Paul George - 2,416 Steve Nash - 2,072 Carmelo Anthony - 1,914 Joe Johnson - 1,828 Donovan Mitchell - 1,783 Damian Lillard - 1,715 Jalen Brunson - 1,701 Terry Cummings - 1,664 Alex English - 1,661 Vince Carter - 1,593
NBA Courtside: Joe Johnson thinks Ja Morant would thrive if he got traded to the Miami Heat in the offseason: “I’m not going to lie, I think he would thrive in that Miami situation. One thing about Pat Riley, he’s going to have a real sit down 1 on 1 with him. He does that with everybody. It’s going to be something in that meeting you’ll be able to take, and run with. All you got to do is apply it. If you apply it, I promise you the sky will be the limit for this kid again… I want to see Ja back out there throwing grenades, covering his ears… I never went to the club when I played for the Heat. We worked so hard I couldn’t wait to go lay down” (Via @NightcapShow_ )
Joe Johnson thinks Ja Morant would thrive if he got traded to the Miami Heat in the offseason:
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) March 29, 2026
“I’m not going to lie, I think he would thrive in that Miami situation. One thing about Pat Riley, he’s going to have a real sit down 1 on 1 with him. He does that with everybody. It’s… pic.twitter.com/pbxM0n5YWF
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The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the list of eligible candidates for the Class of 2026, featuring several high-profile first-time nominees. Notable new candidates for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 include the 1996 USA Basketball Women's National Team, Mike D’Antoni, Jamal Crawford, Elena Delle Donne, Blake Griffin, Joe Johnson, Candace Parker, Bruce Pearl, and Kelvin Sampson. Marv Albert, Mark Few, Doc Rivers, and Amar’e Stoudemire are among returning eligible candidates.
“The candidates for the Class of 2026 have each left an indelible impact on the game of basketball,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “Through defining performances, influential leadership, and achievements that helped elevate the sport on the national and international stage, this year’s ballot recognizes those whose legacy continues to shape how the game is played, coached, and celebrated.”
Q. Hardest player you had to guard? Wesley Matthews: Hardest player I had to guard in their peak. I mean, it's going to be Kobe Bryant. It's going to be Kobe but if we take him out of it, Joe Johnson was a demon. I was strong. Like I'm strong. I'm fighting, fighting, fighting. Bump bump. Next thing I know, that ball's like out the net. [laughter] I was like, "Oh shit." said, "He just walked me down like that." Y'all ain't going to help me. Yo, Joe Johnson's a menace. But then you know who else? Brandon Roy. Roy is one of the coldest basketball players. But I mean, I had prime James, Kyrie, KD, Russ...
Gilbert Arenas: So, Jeff Teague, yeah, you might got the best of Kobe Bryant that night or the every night you played him. But he's coming you to slow you down. Like, so to Teague, it's his field. So, in Teague's mind, he wasn't like that on the defensive end. But when you're talking about he's getting awards off of 82 games. We don't know what he's doing in 82 games, right? He's playing against other players, shutting them down, doing what he's doing. We only have an experience from two times a year, right? So from what I’ve seen him do to the two guards on our team, yeah, he was like that. Yeah. He was shutting players down. Teague, if he’s on you, that means Joe Johnson is neutralized. For him to get on you, he's neutralized. He did the job, now he's on you. Same thing with me. Larry Hughes is here but if he sees me getting off he’s going to step on me then if Larry's getting off he going to go to Larry so if Antawn Jamison’s getting off I got Antawn in the post, right? So he had multiple jobs, so as a defender himself, he was a great defender.