Dennis Johnson
Encyclopedia
Dennis Wayne Johnson nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball
player for the National Basketball Association
's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics
, Phoenix Suns
and Boston Celtics
and coach of the Los Angeles Clippers
. He was an alumnus of Dominguez High School
, Los Angeles Harbor College
and Pepperdine University
.
A prototypical late bloomer, Johnson overcame early struggles and had a successful NBA playing career. Drafted 29th overall in 1976 by the Seattle SuperSonics
, Johnson began his professional career as a shooting guard
. He eventually led the Sonics to their only NBA championship in 1979
, winning the Finals MVP Award. After a short stint with the Phoenix Suns
, he became the starting point guard
for the Boston Celtics
, with whom he won two more championships. Johnson was voted into five All-Star Teams, one All-NBA
First and one Second Team, and nine consecutive All-Defensive First and Second Teams
. Apart from his reputation as a defensive stopper, Johnson was known as a clutch player who made several decisive plays in NBA playoffs history.
The Celtics franchise has retired Johnson's #3 jersey, which hangs from the rafters of the TD Garden, the home arena of the team. On April 5, 2010, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame officially announced that Johnson had been posthumously elected to the Hall. He was formally inducted on August 13. He is considered by several sports journalists to be one of the most underrated players of all time.
, a suburb of Los Angeles. Originally a baseball fan and a Little Leaguer, Johnson learned basketball from his father, but seemed to have neither the size nor the talent to compete with his peers: as a teenager at Dominguez High School
, Johnson measured just 5'9" and played only "a minute or two each game". After high school, he worked several odd jobs, including a $2.75-per-hour job as a forklift driver, and played with his brothers in summer league games after work. During this period, Johnson grew to a height of 6'3", and developed what nba.com later described as "rocket launcher legs", which enabled him to jump high to grab rebounds
against taller opponents.
Jim White, the coach at Los Angeles Harbor College
, had watched Johnson play street basketball
; feeling that Johnson excelled in defense, White asked him to enroll. Johnson gave up his jobs and developed into a promising young guard, averaging 18.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and leading Harbor to a college junior state title. However, the young guard lacked discipline, often clashed with White and was thrown out of the team three times in two years.
At the end of his junior college career, two universities offered Johnson scholarships: Azusa Pacific University
and Pepperdine University
. Johnson chose the latter, and in his only year in college, he averaged 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, and developed a reputation for tough defense. After that year, Johnson made himself eligible for the 1976 NBA Draft
, but was skeptical that any team would take him. NBA teams were wary of drafting a player with character issues, and Johnson was known to be a troublemaker.
took Johnson in the second round of the 1976 draft with the 29th pick and gave him a four-year contract, with which he earned a salary of $45,000 in the first year and $90,000 in the last. In his rookie year, the 1976–77 NBA season, Johnson, playing backup to the experienced Sonics backcourt tandem of Slick Watts
and Fred Brown, averaged 9.2 points and 1.5 assists per game. The Sonics finished with a 40–42 record and missed the 1977 NBA Playoffs
, leading head coach Bill Russell
to resign. In the following season, the team lost 17 of the first 22 games under Russell's replacement Bob Hopkins
, who was replaced by Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens
, who gave Johnson a starting spot and paired him with Gus Williams. Johnson revelled in this new role, improving his averages to 12.7 points and 2.8 assists per game. During this period Johnson played shooting guard
and was known for his aggressive slam dunk
ing, in contrast to the more cerebral roles he played later in his career. It was at this time that Johnson's nickname "DJ" was coined by play-by-play announcer Bob Blackburn, to help distinguish him from teammates John Johnson
and Vinnie Johnson
(whom Blackburn referred to as "JJ" and "VJ" respectively).
Finishing strongly, the Sonics ended the regular season with a 47–35 record and made the 1978 NBA Playoffs
. After eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers
, the defending champion Portland Trail Blazers
and the Denver Nuggets
, they almost defeated the Washington Bullets by taking a 3–2 lead in the 1978 NBA Finals
. In a 93–92 Game 3 victory, Johnson blocked seven shots—the most blocks in NBA Finals history for a guard. However, the Sonics lost in seven games, partly because of Johnson's Game 7 scoring drought, in which the second-year guard missed all of his 14 field goal attempts. Johnson later acknowledged that he simply "choked"; he vowed never to repeat this again and credited this game as an important lesson to become a better player.
Johnson and the Sonics got their revenge in the 1978–79 season. After clinching the Pacific Division with a 52–30 record, the team met the Bullets again in the 1979 NBA Finals
. After losing Game 1, the Sonics won the next four games to take the finals series, helped by Johnson, who averaged almost 23 points along with six rebounds and assists per game. He scored 32 points in a Game 4 overtime victory, and was named NBA Finals MVP. It was during this season that Johnson established himself as one of the best guards in the league; he averaged 15.9 points and 3.5 assists per game, and made his first All-Defensive First Team and All-Star Game appearance.
During the following season, Johnson averaged 19.0 points and 4.1 assists, appeared in his second All-Star Game and was named to the All-Defensive First Team and All-NBA Second Team. However, the Sonics lost in the Western Conference Finals
against the Lakers, who had Hall of Famers Magic Johnson
and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
. Because of the abundance of talent on the losing Sonics team, Johnson later called this loss one of the worst disappointments of his professional career. Coach Wilkens grew tired of Johnson, who often clashed with him and was perceived as a growing liability for the team. At the end of the season, Johnson was traded to the Phoenix Suns
for Paul Westphal
and draft picks. The Sonics finished 22 games worse in the next season despite the addition of Westphal.
In the first two years of Johnson's stint, the Suns were fairly successful, reaching the Western Conference Semifinals both seasons. The Suns bowed out in the first round in Johnson's last year. Towards the end of his career at Phoenix, Johnson's deteriorating situation in Phoenix. Like in Seattle, he often clashed with his coach, John MacLeod, and was finally traded by general manager Jerry Colangelo
to the Boston Celtics for Rick Robey
and draft picks. Like Seattle after Johnson's departure, the Suns finished 12 games worse in the next season despite the addition of Robey.
in the NBA Playoffs, mainly because physical Sixers guard Andrew Toney
routinely caused problems for their defensively fragile backcourt. Thus, Celtics general manager Red Auerbach
added the perennial All-Defensive Team member Johnson to his squad. Johnson joined a squad led by Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird
, who played in the frontcourt with two fellow Hall of Famers, center Robert Parish
and forward Kevin McHale
, a combination often called the best frontcourt of all time by the NBA. Johnson described joining the Celtics as a "dream come true" and enjoyed the tutelage of highly successful general manager Auerbach, who was "living history" according to Johnson.
With the Celtics, Johnson changed his playing style for the third time in his career: after being known as a slam dunk
ing shooting guard with the Sonics, and an all-around scorer with the Suns, he now established himself as a point guard
who was defined more by playmaking than scoring. In his first year as a Celtic, he averaged 13.2 points and 4.2 assists and was elected to the All-Defensive Second Team. The Celtics reached the 1984 NBA Finals
, where they met the Los Angeles Lakers
, their intense rivals since the 1960s. The Celtics won 4–3, and Johnson took credit for playing smothering defense on Hall of Fame Lakers playmaker Magic Johnson, limiting him to a sub-average 17 points in the last four games, and being at least partly responsible for several of the Laker point guard's game-deciding errors in Games 2, 4 and 7. As a result, Magic Johnson was taunted as "Tragic Johnson" whenever the Lakers and Celtics played against each other.
In the 1984–85 season, Johnson continued playing smothering defense, earning his next All-Defensive Second Team call-up while averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 assists per game. The Celtics met the Lakers in the 1985 NBA Finals
again. Johnson's big moment came in Game 4: when the score was tied at 105, teammate Larry Bird
had the ball in the last seconds. Being double-teamed by Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
and Magic Johnson, Bird passed to the open Johnson, and the guard sank a 19-ft buzzer beater
to win the game. However, the Lakers took their revenge this time, winning the series in six games, powered by venerable 38-year-old Finals MVP Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson described this loss as one of the toughest in his career, because the Celtics were "close [to winning the series]" but "could not get the job done".
In the following season, the Celtics made the playoffs, helped by the performance of Johnson, who made the All-Defensive Second Team again while scoring 17.8 points and 6.7 assists per game. After defeating the Milwaukee Bucks
in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics reached the 1986 NBA Finals
against the up-and-coming Houston Rockets
, led by the "Twin Towers" of centers Ralph Sampson
and Hakeem Olajuwon
. Led by Finals MVP Larry Bird, the Celtics beat the Rockets 4–2, and Johnson won his third title.
The Celtics were unable to repeat their title in 1987 despite several dramatic playoff victories. Johnson played strong defense again, earning yet another appearance on the All-Defensive First Team, and the Celtics embarked on a nail-biting playoff campaign. In the 1987 Eastern Conference Semifinals
, the Celtics split the first six games against the Milwaukee Bucks
. In the deciding Game 7, which the Celtics won, Johnson had a spectacular play with 1:30 left in the game: a Celtics ball threatened to fly out of bounds, but Johnson dived for it and whipped it backwards in mid-air against Bucks center Jack Sikma
. The ball bounced off Sikma before going out of bounds, and the Celtics maintained possession.
In the next round, the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals
, the Celtics faced the Detroit Pistons
. The series was described as a grudge match between two intense rivals, featuring a great level of personal animosity, sharp rhetoric and several physical altercations. The center of this feud was Pistons pivot Bill Laimbeer
, who brawled with Celtics players Bird and Parish. In Game 5, Johnson was involved in a crucial play: down 107-106, Larry Bird
stole the inbounds pass by Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas
with 5 seconds left and passed it to a sprinting Johnson, who converted a difficult layup with 1 second left in the game. This play caused Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most
to shout out one of his most famous calls:
According to Johnson, this was his favorite play of all-time. Games 6 and 7 also featured a feud, this time between Pistons forward Dennis Rodman
and Johnson. In Game 6, which the Pistons won, Rodman taunted Johnson in the closing seconds by waving his right hand over his head. When the Celtics took Game 7, Johnson went back at Rodman in the last moments of the game and mimicked his taunting gesture. In the 1987 NBA Finals
, however, the Celtics succumbed to the Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 as Lakers playmaker and Finals MVP Magic Johnson put up a great performance, averaging 26 points and 13 assists throughout the series.
The next three seasons were disappointing for the aging Celtics. In the 1987–88 season, Johnson averaged 12.6 points and 7.8 assists, but in the 1988 Playoffs
, the Celtics were unable to beat the Detroit Pistons
in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the next season, Johnson (who statistically declined to 10.0 points and 6.6 assists per game) and his team made the 1989 NBA Playoffs
on a meager 42–40 record, but was immediately eliminated in the first round. The following 1989–90 NBA season was Johnson's last. The now 35-year-old playmaker relinquished his starting point guard role to younger John Bagley, but when Bagley dislocated his shoulder, Johnson returned with high level of performance and was lovingly called "our glue man" by coach Jimmy Rodgers
. In that season, Johnson started in 65 of his 75 games, averaging 7.1 points and 6.5 assists, but the Celtics failed to survive the first round of the 1990 NBA Playoffs
.
Johnson retired after the Celtics did not offer him a new contract at the beginning of the 1991 season. During his retirement ceremony, his perennial Los Angeles Lakers opponent Magic Johnson telegraphed him and lauded him as "the best backcourt defender of all-time". In addition, Celtics colleague and triple NBA Most Valuable Player award winner Larry Bird
called Johnson the best teammate he ever had.
in 2000, and spent four seasons there. For 24 games toward the end of the 2002–03 season, Johnson served as interim head coach after the departure of Alvin Gentry
. Johnson later worked as a scout for the Portland Trail Blazers
, and in 2004, he was named head coach of the NBA Development League
's Florida Flame
. A year later, he became head coach of the NBADL's Austin Toros
, and held that position until his death two years later.
In 1,100 games, Johnson scored 15,535 points, grabbed 4,249 rebounds and gave 5,499 assists, translating to career averages of 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Known as a defensive stalwart, he was elected into nine straight All-Defensive First or Second Teams. Johnson is also acknowledged by the NBA as a "money player" who was clutch in decisive moments, such as scoring 32 points for his team in a Game 4 overtime victory in the 1979 NBA Finals, playing smothering defense on Magic Johnson in the 1984 NBA Finals
, and converting a last-second layup in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals after a Larry Bird
steal.
Furthermore, Johnson is lauded by the NBA as a versatile all-around weapon who played with "contagious competitiveness" and was known for his durability: in 14 NBA seasons, he played in 1,100 of a possible 1,148 games and participated in 180 playoff games, the latter figure the 11th highest number of all time. At his retirement, Johnson was only the 11th NBA player to amass more than 15,000 points and 5,000 assists.
On December 13, 1991, the Celtics franchise retired his number 3 jersey. Johnson said he would always be a Boston Celtic, and remarked that seeing his number in the rafters gave him a "special feeling". However, Johnson did not live to see an induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a fact that has been a considerable point of debate with sports journalists. Bill Simmons
of ESPN
called his Hall of Fame snub an "ongoing injustice", stating that according to him, Joe Dumars
– a Hall of Famer known for strong defense rather than spectacular scoring, like Johnson – was no better [a basketball player] than him. Colleague Ken Shouler called Johnson "one of the first guys I'd give a Hall [of Fame] pass". Contemporary Boston Celtics Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird
gave Johnson ultimate praise, calling him the best teammate he ever had in his autobiography Drive, which is especially significant considering Bird's teammates included Hall of Famers Kevin McHale
, Robert Parish
, Bill Walton
, and Tiny Archibald. On April 3, 2010, ESPN
Boston reported that Johnson was posthumously elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. This was officially confirmed two days later when the Hall released the list of 2010 inductees.
On October 26, 2007, a learning center was dedicated in Johnson's name in the Central Branch of the YMCA of Greater Boston. The center was made possible by the donations and effort of Larry Bird and M.L. Carr. Johnson's family, Danny Ainge, Carr, and members of the YMCA and local community were present for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Donna Johnson said on behalf of her husband, "If Dennis were alive he would really appreciate the thought and love the idea of the Learning Center."
The NBA D-League
Coach of the Year award is named after Johnson.
On October 20, 1997, he was arrested and detained overnight for allegedly holding a knife to his wife's throat and threatening his 17-year old son. Johnson was later charged with aggravated assault and was ordered to stay away from his family. The prosecutors dropped the case several months later after his wife declined to press charges. Johnson reportedly went to counseling
to repair his marriage.
, Johnson had a heart attack
and collapsed at the end of the Toros' practice. After being rushed to a nearby hospital, he could not be revived and was later pronounced dead. Johnson was survived by his wife and his children. Johnson's death was met with shock throughout the NBA. Among others, contemporary Celtics colleague Danny Ainge
called him one of "the most underrated players of all time [...] and one of the greatest Celtics acquisitions", and one-time rival Bill Laimbeer
called him "a great player on a great ballclub".
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player for the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
, Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
and Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
and coach of the Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. He was an alumnus of Dominguez High School
Dominguez High School
Dominguez High School is a four-year secondary school located in Compton, California. It is part of the Compton Unified School District.The school's current principal is Rigoberto Roman...
, Los Angeles Harbor College
Los Angeles Harbor College
Los Angeles Harbor College is one of two community colleges serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles. LAHC serves mainly students from Harbor City, Carson, San Pedro, Gardena, Lomita, Wilmington and the Palos Verdes Peninsula....
and Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
.
A prototypical late bloomer, Johnson overcame early struggles and had a successful NBA playing career. Drafted 29th overall in 1976 by the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
, Johnson began his professional career as a shooting guard
Shooting guard
The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
. He eventually led the Sonics to their only NBA championship in 1979
1979 NBA Finals
The 1979 NBA World Championship Series at the conclusion of the 1978-79 season were won by the Seattle SuperSonics defeating the Washington Bullets 4 games to 1. The series was a rematch of the 1978 NBA Finals which the Washington Bullets had won 4-3...
, winning the Finals MVP Award. After a short stint with the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
, he became the starting point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
for the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
, with whom he won two more championships. Johnson was voted into five All-Star Teams, one All-NBA
All-NBA Team
The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The team has been selected in every season of the...
First and one Second Team, and nine consecutive All-Defensive First and Second Teams
NBA All-Defensive Team
The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches; the coaches are not allowed to vote for players on their own team...
. Apart from his reputation as a defensive stopper, Johnson was known as a clutch player who made several decisive plays in NBA playoffs history.
The Celtics franchise has retired Johnson's #3 jersey, which hangs from the rafters of the TD Garden, the home arena of the team. On April 5, 2010, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame officially announced that Johnson had been posthumously elected to the Hall. He was formally inducted on August 13. He is considered by several sports journalists to be one of the most underrated players of all time.
Early years
Dennis Wayne Johnson was born the eighth of sixteen children, to a social worker and a bricklayer who lived in Compton, CaliforniaCompton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...
, a suburb of Los Angeles. Originally a baseball fan and a Little Leaguer, Johnson learned basketball from his father, but seemed to have neither the size nor the talent to compete with his peers: as a teenager at Dominguez High School
Dominguez High School
Dominguez High School is a four-year secondary school located in Compton, California. It is part of the Compton Unified School District.The school's current principal is Rigoberto Roman...
, Johnson measured just 5'9" and played only "a minute or two each game". After high school, he worked several odd jobs, including a $2.75-per-hour job as a forklift driver, and played with his brothers in summer league games after work. During this period, Johnson grew to a height of 6'3", and developed what nba.com later described as "rocket launcher legs", which enabled him to jump high to grab rebounds
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
against taller opponents.
Jim White, the coach at Los Angeles Harbor College
Los Angeles Harbor College
Los Angeles Harbor College is one of two community colleges serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles. LAHC serves mainly students from Harbor City, Carson, San Pedro, Gardena, Lomita, Wilmington and the Palos Verdes Peninsula....
, had watched Johnson play street basketball
Streetball
Streetball or street basketball is a variation of the sport of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less by way of formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules...
; feeling that Johnson excelled in defense, White asked him to enroll. Johnson gave up his jobs and developed into a promising young guard, averaging 18.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and leading Harbor to a college junior state title. However, the young guard lacked discipline, often clashed with White and was thrown out of the team three times in two years.
At the end of his junior college career, two universities offered Johnson scholarships: Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University is a private, inter-denominational, evangelical Christian university located near Los Angeles in suburban Azusa, California. It was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900 in Whittier, California. It began offering degrees in 1939...
and Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
. Johnson chose the latter, and in his only year in college, he averaged 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, and developed a reputation for tough defense. After that year, Johnson made himself eligible for the 1976 NBA Draft
1976 NBA Draft
The 1976 NBA Draft was the 30th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on June 8, 1976 before the 1976–77 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
, but was skeptical that any team would take him. NBA teams were wary of drafting a player with character issues, and Johnson was known to be a troublemaker.
Seattle SuperSonics (1976–80)
The Seattle SuperSonicsSeattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
took Johnson in the second round of the 1976 draft with the 29th pick and gave him a four-year contract, with which he earned a salary of $45,000 in the first year and $90,000 in the last. In his rookie year, the 1976–77 NBA season, Johnson, playing backup to the experienced Sonics backcourt tandem of Slick Watts
Slick Watts
Donald Earl "Slick" Watts is an American former basketball player.Watts was not selected by any team in the 1973 NBA Draft, but his coach at Xavier University of Louisiana was a cousin of Bill Russell, who was the coach and general manager for the Seattle SuperSonics...
and Fred Brown, averaged 9.2 points and 1.5 assists per game. The Sonics finished with a 40–42 record and missed the 1977 NBA Playoffs
1977 NBA Playoffs
The 1977 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1976-1977 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers four games to two in the Finals. It was...
, leading head coach Bill Russell
Bill Russell
William Felton "Bill" Russell is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association...
to resign. In the following season, the team lost 17 of the first 22 games under Russell's replacement Bob Hopkins
Bob Hopkins
Robert M. Hopkins is a former National Basketball Association player and coach. He played college ball at Grambling where he scored 3,759 points , and then played in the NBA for four seasons with the Syracuse Nationals...
, who was replaced by Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens
Lenny Wilkens
Leonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA...
, who gave Johnson a starting spot and paired him with Gus Williams. Johnson revelled in this new role, improving his averages to 12.7 points and 2.8 assists per game. During this period Johnson played shooting guard
Shooting guard
The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
and was known for his aggressive slam dunk
Slam dunk
A slam dunk is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim. This is considered a normal field goal attempt; if successful it is worth two points. The term "slam dunk" was...
ing, in contrast to the more cerebral roles he played later in his career. It was at this time that Johnson's nickname "DJ" was coined by play-by-play announcer Bob Blackburn, to help distinguish him from teammates John Johnson
John Johnson (basketball)
John Howard Getty "J.J." Johnson is a former American basketball player.Johnson was a 6’7” small forward who played high school basketball at Messmer High School, and collegiately for Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming and for the University of Iowa...
and Vinnie Johnson
Vinnie Johnson
Vincent "Vinnie" Johnson is a retired American professional basketball player and a key player as sixth man for the Detroit Pistons during the team's NBA championships of 1989 and 1990.-College basketball career:...
(whom Blackburn referred to as "JJ" and "VJ" respectively).
Finishing strongly, the Sonics ended the regular season with a 47–35 record and made the 1978 NBA Playoffs
1978 NBA Playoffs
The 1978 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1977-1978 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets defeating the Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics four games to three in the Finals. Wes...
. After eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, the defending champion Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
and the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
, they almost defeated the Washington Bullets by taking a 3–2 lead in the 1978 NBA Finals
1978 NBA Finals
-Series summary:Bullets win series 4-3-Game 1:The Bullets, behind Kevin Grevey's 27 and Elvin Hayes's 21 points, held a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter at the Seattle Center Coliseum. But, the Sonics staged a comeback in front of the home crowd, led by "instant offense" guard Fred Brown...
. In a 93–92 Game 3 victory, Johnson blocked seven shots—the most blocks in NBA Finals history for a guard. However, the Sonics lost in seven games, partly because of Johnson's Game 7 scoring drought, in which the second-year guard missed all of his 14 field goal attempts. Johnson later acknowledged that he simply "choked"; he vowed never to repeat this again and credited this game as an important lesson to become a better player.
Johnson and the Sonics got their revenge in the 1978–79 season. After clinching the Pacific Division with a 52–30 record, the team met the Bullets again in the 1979 NBA Finals
1979 NBA Finals
The 1979 NBA World Championship Series at the conclusion of the 1978-79 season were won by the Seattle SuperSonics defeating the Washington Bullets 4 games to 1. The series was a rematch of the 1978 NBA Finals which the Washington Bullets had won 4-3...
. After losing Game 1, the Sonics won the next four games to take the finals series, helped by Johnson, who averaged almost 23 points along with six rebounds and assists per game. He scored 32 points in a Game 4 overtime victory, and was named NBA Finals MVP. It was during this season that Johnson established himself as one of the best guards in the league; he averaged 15.9 points and 3.5 assists per game, and made his first All-Defensive First Team and All-Star Game appearance.
During the following season, Johnson averaged 19.0 points and 4.1 assists, appeared in his second All-Star Game and was named to the All-Defensive First Team and All-NBA Second Team. However, the Sonics lost in the Western Conference Finals
1980 NBA Playoffs
The 1980 NBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1979-1980 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers four games to two in the Finals...
against the Lakers, who had Hall of Famers Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
. Because of the abundance of talent on the losing Sonics team, Johnson later called this loss one of the worst disappointments of his professional career. Coach Wilkens grew tired of Johnson, who often clashed with him and was perceived as a growing liability for the team. At the end of the season, Johnson was traded to the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
for Paul Westphal
Paul Westphal
Paul Westphal is a retired American basketball player and current head coach of the National Basketball Association's Sacramento Kings. Westphal has had a storied career in the NBA, both as a player and as a coach. As a player, he won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the 1974 NBA...
and draft picks. The Sonics finished 22 games worse in the next season despite the addition of Westphal.
Phoenix Suns (1980–83)
In Phoenix, Johnson further established himself as a quality player. In his three years as a Sun, Johnson averaged 14–20 points a game and provided tough defense. He played in two All-Star Games, was voted into three consecutive All-Defensive First Teams and earned his only All-NBA First Team appearance. In this period, Johnson played shooting guard and became the main scorer on the team, as opposed to being the second or third option as a Sonic.In the first two years of Johnson's stint, the Suns were fairly successful, reaching the Western Conference Semifinals both seasons. The Suns bowed out in the first round in Johnson's last year. Towards the end of his career at Phoenix, Johnson's deteriorating situation in Phoenix. Like in Seattle, he often clashed with his coach, John MacLeod, and was finally traded by general manager Jerry Colangelo
Jerry Colangelo
Jerry Colangelo , is an American businessman and sports executive.He formerly owned the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the Arizona Sandsharks of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League and the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major...
to the Boston Celtics for Rick Robey
Rick Robey
Frederick Robert Robey is a retired American professional basketball player. At 6'11", he played the center and forward positions....
and draft picks. Like Seattle after Johnson's departure, the Suns finished 12 games worse in the next season despite the addition of Robey.
Boston Celtics (1983–90)
Before the 1983–84 season, the Celtics had repeatedly lost to the Philadelphia 76ersPhiladelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
in the NBA Playoffs, mainly because physical Sixers guard Andrew Toney
Andrew Toney
Andrew Toney is an American former professional basketball player who played for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers from 1980 to 1988...
routinely caused problems for their defensively fragile backcourt. Thus, Celtics general manager Red Auerbach
Red Auerbach
Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach was an American basketball coach of the Washington Capitols, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and the Boston Celtics. After he retired from coaching, he served as president and front office executive of the Celtics until his death...
added the perennial All-Defensive Team member Johnson to his squad. Johnson joined a squad led by Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
, who played in the frontcourt with two fellow Hall of Famers, center Robert Parish
Robert Parish
Robert Lee Parish is a retired American basketball center. He was known for his strong defense and jump shooting, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003...
and forward Kevin McHale
Kevin McHale
Kevin Edward McHale is a retired American professional basketball player and current head coach of the Houston Rockets. After his playing career, he worked for the Minnesota Timberwolves as the team's general manager and later its coach. He was fired as coach in June 2009...
, a combination often called the best frontcourt of all time by the NBA. Johnson described joining the Celtics as a "dream come true" and enjoyed the tutelage of highly successful general manager Auerbach, who was "living history" according to Johnson.
With the Celtics, Johnson changed his playing style for the third time in his career: after being known as a slam dunk
Slam dunk
A slam dunk is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim. This is considered a normal field goal attempt; if successful it is worth two points. The term "slam dunk" was...
ing shooting guard with the Sonics, and an all-around scorer with the Suns, he now established himself as a point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
who was defined more by playmaking than scoring. In his first year as a Celtic, he averaged 13.2 points and 4.2 assists and was elected to the All-Defensive Second Team. The Celtics reached the 1984 NBA Finals
1984 NBA Finals
The 1984 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1983-84 NBA season. In 1984, the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven-game Finals, winning Game 7 111-102. Larry Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the award of...
, where they met the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, their intense rivals since the 1960s. The Celtics won 4–3, and Johnson took credit for playing smothering defense on Hall of Fame Lakers playmaker Magic Johnson, limiting him to a sub-average 17 points in the last four games, and being at least partly responsible for several of the Laker point guard's game-deciding errors in Games 2, 4 and 7. As a result, Magic Johnson was taunted as "Tragic Johnson" whenever the Lakers and Celtics played against each other.
In the 1984–85 season, Johnson continued playing smothering defense, earning his next All-Defensive Second Team call-up while averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 assists per game. The Celtics met the Lakers in the 1985 NBA Finals
1985 NBA Finals
The 1985 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1984–85 NBA season.The Boston Celtics were looking to repeat as NBA Champions for the first time since the . The Celtics had homecourt advantage for the second year in a row as they finished the regular season with a 63-19...
again. Johnson's big moment came in Game 4: when the score was tied at 105, teammate Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
had the ball in the last seconds. Being double-teamed by Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
and Magic Johnson, Bird passed to the open Johnson, and the guard sank a 19-ft buzzer beater
Buzzer beater
In basketball, a buzzer beater is a shot taken just before the game clock of a period expires, when the buzzer sounds. The term is normally reserved for baskets that win or tie the game, but also refers to shots that beat an end-of-quarter or halftime buzzer...
to win the game. However, the Lakers took their revenge this time, winning the series in six games, powered by venerable 38-year-old Finals MVP Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson described this loss as one of the toughest in his career, because the Celtics were "close [to winning the series]" but "could not get the job done".
In the following season, the Celtics made the playoffs, helped by the performance of Johnson, who made the All-Defensive Second Team again while scoring 17.8 points and 6.7 assists per game. After defeating the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics reached the 1986 NBA Finals
1986 NBA Finals
The 1986 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1985-86 NBA season. It pitted the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. The Celtics defeated the Rockets four games to two to win their 16th NBA championship. The championship would...
against the up-and-coming Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
, led by the "Twin Towers" of centers Ralph Sampson
Ralph Sampson
Ralph Lee Sampson, Jr. is a retired American college and professional basketball player.A 7-foot-4 phenom, three-time College Player of the Year, and No...
and Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon is a retired Nigerian-American professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played the center position in the National Basketball Association for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008,...
. Led by Finals MVP Larry Bird, the Celtics beat the Rockets 4–2, and Johnson won his third title.
The Celtics were unable to repeat their title in 1987 despite several dramatic playoff victories. Johnson played strong defense again, earning yet another appearance on the All-Defensive First Team, and the Celtics embarked on a nail-biting playoff campaign. In the 1987 Eastern Conference Semifinals
1987 NBA Playoffs
The 1987 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1986-1987 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics four games to two in the Finals...
, the Celtics split the first six games against the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
. In the deciding Game 7, which the Celtics won, Johnson had a spectacular play with 1:30 left in the game: a Celtics ball threatened to fly out of bounds, but Johnson dived for it and whipped it backwards in mid-air against Bucks center Jack Sikma
Jack Sikma
Jack Wayne Sikma is a retired American NBA basketball center. He was known for his distinctive curly, blonde hair in his playing days....
. The ball bounced off Sikma before going out of bounds, and the Celtics maintained possession.
In the next round, the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals
1987 NBA Playoffs
The 1987 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1986-1987 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics four games to two in the Finals...
, the Celtics faced the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
. The series was described as a grudge match between two intense rivals, featuring a great level of personal animosity, sharp rhetoric and several physical altercations. The center of this feud was Pistons pivot Bill Laimbeer
Bill Laimbeer
William "Bill" Laimbeer, Jr. is a retired National Basketball Association player for the Detroit Pistons. Playing at center, the 6'11" Laimbeer was a four-time All-Star and integral part of the Pistons teams that won two championships...
, who brawled with Celtics players Bird and Parish. In Game 5, Johnson was involved in a crucial play: down 107-106, Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
stole the inbounds pass by Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas
Isiah Thomas
Isiah Lord Thomas III , nicknamed "Zeke",is the men's basketball coach for the FIU Golden Panthers, and a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association from 1981 until 1994. He led the "Bad Boys" to the NBA...
with 5 seconds left and passed it to a sprinting Johnson, who converted a difficult layup with 1 second left in the game. This play caused Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most
Johnny Most
John M. "Johnny" Most was an American sports announcer, known primarily as the raspy radio voice of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1990....
to shout out one of his most famous calls:
According to Johnson, this was his favorite play of all-time. Games 6 and 7 also featured a feud, this time between Pistons forward Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...
and Johnson. In Game 6, which the Pistons won, Rodman taunted Johnson in the closing seconds by waving his right hand over his head. When the Celtics took Game 7, Johnson went back at Rodman in the last moments of the game and mimicked his taunting gesture. In the 1987 NBA Finals
1987 NBA Finals
The 1987 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1986-87 NBA season. The match took place between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. The Lakers won 4–2, beating the Celtics in the Finals. The key moment of the series was Magic Johnson's junior sky hook in Game 4...
, however, the Celtics succumbed to the Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 as Lakers playmaker and Finals MVP Magic Johnson put up a great performance, averaging 26 points and 13 assists throughout the series.
The next three seasons were disappointing for the aging Celtics. In the 1987–88 season, Johnson averaged 12.6 points and 7.8 assists, but in the 1988 Playoffs
1988 NBA Playoffs
The 1988 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1987-1988 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons four games to three in the Finals...
, the Celtics were unable to beat the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the next season, Johnson (who statistically declined to 10.0 points and 6.6 assists per game) and his team made the 1989 NBA Playoffs
1989 NBA Playoffs
The 1989 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1988-89 NBA season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, who were severely hampered by injuries, four...
on a meager 42–40 record, but was immediately eliminated in the first round. The following 1989–90 NBA season was Johnson's last. The now 35-year-old playmaker relinquished his starting point guard role to younger John Bagley, but when Bagley dislocated his shoulder, Johnson returned with high level of performance and was lovingly called "our glue man" by coach Jimmy Rodgers
Jimmy Rodgers (basketball)
James Donald "Jimmy" Rodgers is an American former basketball coach. He coached the Boston Celtics for two seasons, and the Minnesota Timberwolves for nearly a season and a half...
. In that season, Johnson started in 65 of his 75 games, averaging 7.1 points and 6.5 assists, but the Celtics failed to survive the first round of the 1990 NBA Playoffs
1990 NBA Playoffs
The 1990 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1989-1990 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons successfully defending their championship by beating the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers...
.
Johnson retired after the Celtics did not offer him a new contract at the beginning of the 1991 season. During his retirement ceremony, his perennial Los Angeles Lakers opponent Magic Johnson telegraphed him and lauded him as "the best backcourt defender of all-time". In addition, Celtics colleague and triple NBA Most Valuable Player award winner Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
called Johnson the best teammate he ever had.
Post-player career
After retiring as a player, Johnson worked as a scout for the Celtics. In 1993, he became an assistant coach for the Celtics, a position he held until 1997. After spending several years outside the limelight, he returned as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles ClippersLos Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
in 2000, and spent four seasons there. For 24 games toward the end of the 2002–03 season, Johnson served as interim head coach after the departure of Alvin Gentry
Alvin Gentry
Alvin Gentry is an American professional basketball coach, and college basketball player, who has led four different NBA teams. He served as an interim coach for the Miami Heat at the end of the 1995 season, and later coached the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Clippers...
. Johnson later worked as a scout for the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
, and in 2004, he was named head coach of the NBA Development League
NBA Development League
The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...
's Florida Flame
Florida Flame
The Florida Flame were a NBA Development League team based in Fort Myers, Florida. Its logo represents a basketball on fire moving at high speed....
. A year later, he became head coach of the NBADL's Austin Toros
Austin Toros
The Austin Toros are a NBA Development League minor league basketball team based in Cedar Park, Texas, United States.The team plays home games at Cedar Park Center.Their logo is the design of a bull and basketball with the state of Texas in the background...
, and held that position until his death two years later.
Legacy
1984 NBA Finals
The 1984 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1983-84 NBA season. In 1984, the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven-game Finals, winning Game 7 111-102. Larry Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the award of...
, and converting a last-second layup in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals after a Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
steal.
Furthermore, Johnson is lauded by the NBA as a versatile all-around weapon who played with "contagious competitiveness" and was known for his durability: in 14 NBA seasons, he played in 1,100 of a possible 1,148 games and participated in 180 playoff games, the latter figure the 11th highest number of all time. At his retirement, Johnson was only the 11th NBA player to amass more than 15,000 points and 5,000 assists.
On December 13, 1991, the Celtics franchise retired his number 3 jersey. Johnson said he would always be a Boston Celtic, and remarked that seeing his number in the rafters gave him a "special feeling". However, Johnson did not live to see an induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a fact that has been a considerable point of debate with sports journalists. Bill Simmons
Bill Simmons
William J. "Bill" Simmons III is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes columns and hosts podcasts for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!...
of ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
called his Hall of Fame snub an "ongoing injustice", stating that according to him, Joe Dumars
Joe Dumars
Joe Dumars III , nicknamed Joe D, is a retired American basketball player in the NBA, and currently the Detroit Pistons' President of Basketball Operations....
– a Hall of Famer known for strong defense rather than spectacular scoring, like Johnson – was no better [a basketball player] than him. Colleague Ken Shouler called Johnson "one of the first guys I'd give a Hall [of Fame] pass". Contemporary Boston Celtics Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
gave Johnson ultimate praise, calling him the best teammate he ever had in his autobiography Drive, which is especially significant considering Bird's teammates included Hall of Famers Kevin McHale
Kevin McHale
Kevin Edward McHale is a retired American professional basketball player and current head coach of the Houston Rockets. After his playing career, he worked for the Minnesota Timberwolves as the team's general manager and later its coach. He was fired as coach in June 2009...
, Robert Parish
Robert Parish
Robert Lee Parish is a retired American basketball center. He was known for his strong defense and jump shooting, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003...
, Bill Walton
Bill Walton
William Theodore "Bill" Walton III is a retired American basketball player and television sportscaster. The "Big Red-Head", as he was called, achieved superstardom playing for John Wooden's powerhouse UCLA Bruins in the early '70s, winning three straight College Player of the Year Awards, while...
, and Tiny Archibald. On April 3, 2010, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Boston reported that Johnson was posthumously elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. This was officially confirmed two days later when the Hall released the list of 2010 inductees.
On October 26, 2007, a learning center was dedicated in Johnson's name in the Central Branch of the YMCA of Greater Boston. The center was made possible by the donations and effort of Larry Bird and M.L. Carr. Johnson's family, Danny Ainge, Carr, and members of the YMCA and local community were present for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Donna Johnson said on behalf of her husband, "If Dennis were alive he would really appreciate the thought and love the idea of the Learning Center."
The NBA D-League
NBA Development League
The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...
Coach of the Year award is named after Johnson.
Personal life
Dennis Johnson was married to Donna, his wife of 31 years, and had three children named Dwayne, Denise and Daniel. Johnson was also known for his appearance: despite being African-American, he had freckles and reddish hair.On October 20, 1997, he was arrested and detained overnight for allegedly holding a knife to his wife's throat and threatening his 17-year old son. Johnson was later charged with aggravated assault and was ordered to stay away from his family. The prosecutors dropped the case several months later after his wife declined to press charges. Johnson reportedly went to counseling
Relationship counseling
Relationship counseling is the process of counseling the parties of a relationship in an effort to recognize and to better manage or reconcile troublesome differences and repeating patterns of distress...
to repair his marriage.
Death
On February 22, 2007, at the Austin Convention CenterAustin Convention Center
The Neal Kocurek Memorial Austin Convention Center is a multi-purpose convention center located in Austin, Texas, USA. The building is the home of the Texas Rollergirls, and was also home to the Austin Toros basketball team, until their move to the Cedar Park Center in nearby Cedar Park in 2010.The...
, Johnson had a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and collapsed at the end of the Toros' practice. After being rushed to a nearby hospital, he could not be revived and was later pronounced dead. Johnson was survived by his wife and his children. Johnson's death was met with shock throughout the NBA. Among others, contemporary Celtics colleague Danny Ainge
Danny Ainge
Daniel Ray "Danny" Ainge is an American basketball manager and retired professional basketball and baseball player, currently serving as President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics....
called him one of "the most underrated players of all time [...] and one of the greatest Celtics acquisitions", and one-time rival Bill Laimbeer
Bill Laimbeer
William "Bill" Laimbeer, Jr. is a retired National Basketball Association player for the Detroit Pistons. Playing at center, the 6'11" Laimbeer was a four-time All-Star and integral part of the Pistons teams that won two championships...
called him "a great player on a great ballclub".
See also
- List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders