BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Joe Marcus Johnson born June 29, 1981 is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Johnson stands at 6'7" (2.01 m) and 240 lbs (109 kg).
He played high school basketball for Little Rock Central High School. He later attended the University of Arkansas where he played under Nolan Richardson for two years. After two years in Arkansas he declared for the 2001 NBA Draft, where he was drafted 10th overall by the Boston Celtics. He has also played for the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks. Johnson is also a former member of the U.S. national team.
Early years
Johnson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. As a youngster, he went to the William E. Thrasher Boys & Girls Club in Little Rock. He attended Little Rock Central High School, a school that had produced other athletes including baseball hall of famers Brooks Robinson and Bill Dickey, as well as football player Fred Williams and collegiate football coach Houston Nutt. At Little Rock Central he was a stand out basketball player.
College career
Johnson was offered scholarships from Duke, Connecticut, and other schools with excellent basketball reputations, but chose the Arkansas Razorbacks because it was his dream to play for them. There he joined future NBA player and Hawks teammate Jannero Pargo. While playing for the Razorbacks, Johnson led the team in scoring, averaging 16.0 points per game, and rebounding, averaging 5.7 rebounds per game, becoming the first freshman in the school's history to lead the team in both.
Professional career
Boston Celtics (2001–2002)
After playing two seasons at the University of Arkansas, Johnson was selected 10th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2001 NBA Draft.
Johnson started 33 of Boston's first 38 games as a rookie, but his playing time dwindled as the Celtics made a push for the playoffs for the first time since 1995. Midway through his rookie season, Johnson was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with guards Randy Brown, Milt Palacio and a first-round pick for veteran forward Rodney Rogers and guard Tony Delk on February 20, 2002.
Phoenix Suns (2002–2005)
Johnson became a force with Phoenix as he averaged 15.2 points per game in his three and a half seasons with the Suns. He also developed into one of the best[citation needed] three-point shooters in the NBA. He was known for his great ball-handling ability considering his size, and for his jump shot.
During the 2004-05 campaign, Johnson and the Suns posted a 62-20 record. In the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Joe Johnson required surgery due to a left orbital bone fracture after dunking a basketball against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round. Johnson would miss the remainder of the Mavs series as well as the first two games of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. When he did return, Johnson wore a face mask for protection. The Suns fell to the eventual NBA champion Spurs, 4 games to 1.
Atlanta Hawks (2005–2012)
In the summer of 2005, Johnson became a highly touted restricted free agent and expressed a desire to leave the Suns to assume a larger role on the Atlanta Hawks. Johnson grew upset with Phoenix's initial offers to re-sign him feeling they were well below his market value. This rift eventually led to Johnson requesting the Suns not match Atlanta's $70 million offer. On August 19, 2005, a deal was finalized and Johnson was involved in a sign-and-trade deal with the Hawks for Boris Diaw and two future first-round draft picks.
In his first season as a Hawk, Johnson led the Atlanta Hawks in several categories: points (20.2 per game), assists (6.5), and steals (1.26), three-point field goals made (128), and minutes (40.7). He was one of only five players in the league to average at least 20 points and six assists in the 2005–06 season, along with Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, Le Bron James and Gilbert Arenas. Johnson was the only Hawk to play in all 82 games and extended his current league-leading consecutive games played streak to 346 as of November 25, 2006.
On March 5, 2006, he was one of 23 NBA players named to the 2006–08 U.S. men's senior national team.
Johnson scored a career-high 42 points on March 7, 2006 against the Golden State Warriors and recorded a career-high 17 assists on March 13, 2006 Hawks loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. He recorded his first career triple-double on February 1, 2006 with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Charlotte Bobcats.
He played for the U.S. national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, winning a bronze medal.
Johnson continued his development in the 2006–07 season, when he averaged 25.0 points, 4.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.05 steals per game. His scoring average ranked ninth in the league. Johnson also shot a career-best 47.1% from the field. Johnson was named by league commissioner David Stern to the 2007 Eastern Conference All-Star team, replacing the injured Jason Kidd (back).
Johnson's scoring average had increased in each season of his 6-year NBA career through 2006–07.
In 2008, Johnson made the 2008 All-Star Game as a reserve. He also was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month twice during the season.Johnson averaged 21.7 points per game on the season, leading the Hawks to their first playoff appearance in 9 years. In Game 4 of the Hawks' first-round mat chup against the Boston Celtics, Johnson scored 35 points, including 20 in the 4th quarter, leading the Hawks to a 97–92 victory.
Despite finishing with the worst record (37-45) among the 2008 NBA Playoffs contingent, the Hawks played very even with the heavily favored and eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics, taking the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed all the way to Game 7. The year marked a turning of the page for the Atlanta franchise, one considered among the least successful in pro sports.
The following year, Johnson registered his second career triple-double on December 23, 2008 in a Hawks win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.He eclipsed the 10,000-point plateau for his career with his first basket during a 110–107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on January 31, 2009, a bank shot assisted by Marvin Williams. On March 19, 2010, Johnson hit a game-winning buzzer beater in overtime against the Charlotte Bobcats.
On July 1, 2010, Johnson signed a 6-year, $119 million extension with the Hawks, which, at the time, made him the NBA's highest-paid player. The signing occurred during one of the most star-studded free agency summers in league history, highlighted by Le Bron James's "Decision" TV special. Among others who signed high-profile deals were Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Amar'e Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Dirk Nowitzki.
Johnson would play another two seasons for the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn Nets (2012–present)
On July 11, 2012, Johnson was traded to the Brooklyn Nets for Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, Johan Petro, DeShawn Stevenson and a 2013 first round draft pick. After a slow start, Johnson began to pick up his play in December, with a 32 point game against the Golden State Warriors on December 7 and a game winning buzzer beater in double overtime against the Detroit Pistons on December 14. After scoring 33 points in a road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 2, he hit another game winner in double overtime two days later to beat the Wizards. In a 113-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on February 19, 2013, Johnson made the game-tying 3-pointer with just under three seconds to go in regulation and went on to hit the game-winning pull up jump shot in overtime. With this win, the Nets snapped a thirteen-game losing streak against the Bucks The next game the Nets played Johnson injured his left heel and was forced to miss three games. He made his return on March 1, 2013 when the Nets were playing the Dallas Mavericks.
On December 16, 2013, Johnson recorded a career high 10 three pointers in a 130-94 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. In the third quarter, Johnson scored 29 points on 10-13 shooting from the field including an NBA record 8-10 three-pointers.
No comments:
Post a Comment