Best NBA Draft Sleepers of All-Time
5. Dennis Johnson (1976 NBA Draft, 2nd Round, 29th Overall)
In just his third year in the NBA, Dennis Johnson was named to an All-Star Team and helped the Seattle Supersonics capture their lone NBA Championship in 1979 as their starting shooting guard, even capturing NBA Finals MVP honors. This all came after Johnson fell out of the first round of the 1976 NBA Draft and wasn’t nabbed until the 29th overall pick.
Johnson’s Hall of Fame career didn’t even remotely end with his run in Seattle. After four seasons with the Sonics and three with the Phoenix Suns, Johnson joined Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics where he went on to play point guard for the legendary mid-80s Celts. When his career finally came to a close, Johnson was a five-time All-Star, three-time NBA Champion, and was voted to the NBA All-Defensive First Team six times.
On both ends of the floor, Johnson could tear it up. He had a propensity for stepping up in the biggest moments and for maximizing the best player on the floor when he was playing alongside Bird. There’s a reason that Bird has described D.J. as possibly the best player that Larry Legend ever played with.
Johnson passed away in 2007 from a heart attack he suffered at practice while coaching the D-League’s Austin Toros. Three years after, he was posthumously and rightfully inducted into the Hall of Fame. Despite all he accomplished as a player, he’s often overlooked in terms of greats from that era. Even after proving everyone wrong for passing on him in the first round of the draft, D.J. is still being slept on.
Next: Another Hall of Famer Was Slept On