Former Phoenix Suns star Amar'e Stoudemire is one of the members of the 2026 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class, along with Candace Parker and Doc Rivers. Stoudemire was the 9th overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns.
Before his Hall of Fame enshrinement, Amare Stoudemire dropped by on the "Cousins" podcast with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. With Stoudemire playing for four teams in 13 NBA seasons, McGrady asked him who the most underrated player he ever played with was, and STAT gave an interesting name.
"Joe at that time was our ISO player," said Stoudemire. "You know what I'm saying? Like when we need a bucket, we went to Joe, and Joe created the shot for himself. And that propelled him when he went to Atlanta , and he became a seven-time All-Star and all these types of things."
Johnson was the 10th overall pick of the NBA Draft the year before Stoudemire joined the league. However, the Celtics traded him in the middle of his rookie season because they felt he wasn't ready to help Paul Pierce right away to make a playoff push. He ended up in Phoenix, where his career started to take shape.
Joe averaged just 6.3 points per game in 20 minutes of playing time per outing in Boston .
When he moved to Phoenix, those numbers improved to 9.6 points per game and 31 minutes per game. In his last two seasons with the Suns, Johnson became the instant offense scorer that Stoudemire talked about. He left for Atlanta to take on a bigger role, and it was there that he proved his worth.
"But to me, I think his offensive skills and the way he played the game of basketball are underrated. He's a seven-time All-Star and what he did in his career was special," Stoudemire added.
STAT's fellow Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony also called Johnson the most underrated 1-on-1 player of his era , and it was a big compliment coming from Melo, who is known as one of the best 1-on-1 players of his era.
"He got his name Iso Joe, and we still don't give him credit for it," said Melo. "When I used to see him work, it was like poetry with him."
"When he was Atlanta Joe, when Woody is you know, he's running plays to iso him every single time, and he don't gotta dribble, he just footwork, getting you to lean one way, he don't take more than two, three dribbles. He's a phone booth player. You knew what was coming – tween, tween, hesi, pull. Like every single time…And ain't sh— you could do about it."
Johnson earned six All-Star selections and his lone All-NBA selection as a member of the Hawks . More importantly, it was there that the legend of Iso Joe began. He carried that over to Brooklyn and the other teams he played for. Curiously, Joe returned to the NBA in 2021-22 so that he could retire as a member of the Celtics, the team that originally drafted him.
Related: Joe Johnson says Tony Allen "must be on that indica" over his LeBron take
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Aug 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
