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Eddie Johnson (basketball, born 1959)

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Eddie Johnson
Johnson (c. 1986)
Personal information
Born (1959-05-01) May 1, 1959 (age 65)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolWestinghouse (Chicago, Illinois)
CollegeIllinois (1977–1981)
NBA draft1981: 2nd round, 29th overall pick
Selected by the Kansas City Kings
Playing career1981–1999
PositionSmall forward
Number8, 22
Career history
1981–1987Kansas City / Sacramento Kings
1987–1990Phoenix Suns
1990–1993Seattle SuperSonics
1993–1994Charlotte Hornets
1994–1995Olympiacos
1995–1997Indiana Pacers
1997–1999Houston Rockets
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points19,202 (16.0 ppg)
Rebounds4,832 (4.0 rpg)
Assists2,550 (2.1 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Edward Arnet Johnson (born May 1, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a year in the Greek Basket League midway through his career. With nearly 1,200 games in the NBA, he scored the second-most career points among players who never played in an NBA All-Star Game, behind Jamal Crawford. As of the 2018–19 season, he is ranked 52nd in all-time points scored, and ranked fifth-most in points scored by an eligible player not in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. As of 2019 he is the co-host of NBA Today, which airs weekdays on Sirius XM NBA Radio and also is the play-by-play TV analyst for the Phoenix Suns on Bally Sports Arizona.

Early life and college career

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After graduating from Chicago's Westinghouse High School, Johnson, a sharpshooting 6'7" forward/guard, attended the University of Illinois, majoring in history, before being selected by the Kansas City Kings in the 1981 NBA draft. Among Fighting Illini fans he is probably best remembered for his game-winning shot against Michigan State University (MSU). At the time, MSU, which was led by future all-time NBA great Earvin "Magic" Johnson, was undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation, but Illinois was also undefeated at 14–0. The victory gave Illinois a 15–0 record and the #2 ranking nationally (Illinois subsequently faded during regular season play, but MSU went on to become eventual National Champions).

Johnson was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004. Eddie Johnson was selected as a member of the 2019 class of the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame.

Playing career

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NBA

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Johnson would play for the Kings, the Phoenix Suns, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Charlotte Hornets, the Indiana Pacers, the Houston Rockets, and Greek team Olympiacos (1994–1995) before retiring from basketball in 1999. Although his 19,202 points over 1,199 NBA games was the 22nd-highest total in NBA history at the time of his retirement, Johnson was never selected to play in the All-Star game nor ever chosen for an All-NBA team. In fact, the "awards highlight" of his career occurred in 1989, when he received the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award as a member of the Suns. Johnson's career point total of 19,202 is also higher than all but 30 inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Europe

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Johnson also played for one year in the Greek Basket League, with the FIBA EuroLeague powerhouse Olympiacos Piraeus, in the 1994–95 season. He became a cult favorite with the fans of Olympiacos, for his phenomenal shooting from outside the 3-point line. One game in particular established his enduring legend for the club's fans, when he scored four 3-pointers in the final minutes of the low-scoring and tense semi-final of the league's 1995 Final Four, which was played against Panathinaikos Athens, the arch-rivals of Olympiacos. Olympiacos won that game by a score of 58–52, but lost in the EuroLeague Final to Real Madrid Teka. In 18 games played in the EuroLeague, Johnson averaged 21.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 0.7 steals, in 35.1 minutes per game.[1]

Johnson did, however, taste success in the Greek Basket League, where he was instrumental in Olympiacos' 3–2 series win over Panathinaikos, in the Greek playoff finals of 1995. The fifth and vital game of that series, ended in one of the lowest-scoring games ever, as Olympiacos scraped a 45–44 victory, in a match that exhilarated the fans. In 35 games played in the Greek Basket League with Olympiacos, Johnson totaled averages of 21.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.0 steals, in 34 minutes per game, in the 1994–95 season.[2][3]

Return to NBA

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After his season overseas, he then returned to the NBA and started the 1995–96 season with the Indiana Pacers. He was traded to the Denver Nuggets on February 20, 1997, where he was quickly released. However, he signed with the Houston Rockets for the remainder of the season to where he returned for the following two seasons. Along with his Sixth Man of the Year Award, he is also remembered for hitting the game-winning three-pointer as time expired in a 95–92 Rockets win over the Utah Jazz in game 4 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals.[4] Johnson would play an additional season for the Rockets and then 3 games the following season before finally retiring as a player.

Post-NBA career

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After his playing career was over, Johnson turned to broadcasting, serving as a color commentator for Arizona State, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, and currently the Phoenix Suns. Johnson is also an accomplished motivational speaker, and he has recently released an instructional DVD called Eddie Johnson's Jumpshot and Offensive Skills. Johnson is also a regular article contributor to the website Hoopshype.com and also enjoys debating his ideas, opinions, and thoughts with his readers.

Mistaken identity

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In 2006, Eddie (Arnet) Johnson was mistaken in multiple media reports for former NBA player Edward (Lee) "Fast Eddie" Johnson (a guard, two-time NBA All-Star, one-time All-Defensive Second Team player, and four years older than Eddie A. Johnson) when the latter was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault of a minor and burglary on August 8 (Eddie L. Johnson would eventually be sentenced to life imprisonment for that crime and die in prison). While this was not the first time that Eddie L. Johnson had been arrested (by estimates, Johnson has been arrested 100 times),[citation needed] the heinousness of the crime, combined with the fact that it happened during the NBA offseason when Eddie A. Johnson would not normally be on TV, generated major controversy after other outlets failed to read the initial Associated Press story (which detailed correctly "Fast Eddie's" career and background) and put up the wrong Eddie Johnson's picture. Johnson called that day the "worst...of his life" and expressed concern that the case of mistaken identity might permanently sully his reputation.[5] Johnson expressed to Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times that he was considering legal action against the news outlets that used his picture or did not fact-check his identity against that of Edward Lee "Fast Eddie" Johnson.

Honors

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College basketball

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  • 1979 – Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
  • 1980 – Team MVP[6]
  • 1980 – 2nd Team All-Big Ten
  • 1981 – Team Captain
  • 1981 – Team MVP
  • 1981 – 1st Team All-Big Ten
  • 2004 – Elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team"
  • 2008 – Honored as one of the thirty-three honored jerseys which hang in the State Farm Center to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in University of Illinois history
  • 2019 – Inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame[7]

Career statistics

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NBA

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1981–82 Kansas City 74 27 20.5 .459 .091 .664 4.4 1.5 .7 .2 9.3
1982–83 Kansas City 82 82 35.8 .494 .282 .779 6.1 2.6 .9 .2 19.8
1983–84 Kansas City 82 82 35.6 .485 .313 .810 5.5 3.6 .9 .3 21.9
1984–85 Kansas City 82 81 36.9 .491 .241 .871 5.0 3.3 1.0 .3 22.9
1985–86 Sacramento 82 30 30.7 .475 .200 .816 5.1 2.6 .7 .2 18.7
1986–87 Sacramento 81 30 30.3 .463 .314 .829 4.4 3.1 .5 .2 18.7
1987–88 Phoenix 73 59 29.8 .480 .255 .850 4.4 2.5 .5 .1 17.7
1988–89 Phoenix 70 7 29.2 .497 .413 .868 4.4 2.3 .7 .1 21.5
1989–90 Phoenix 64 4 28.3 .453 .380 .917 3.8 1.7 .5 .2 16.9
1990–91 Phoenix 15 0 20.8 .473 .286 .724 3.1 1.1 .6 .1 13.5
1990–91 Seattle 66 27 26.9 .486 .333 .912 3.4 1.4 .7 .1 17.4
1991–92 Seattle 81 19 29.2 .459 .252 .861 3.6 2.0 .7 .1 17.1
1992–93 Seattle 82 0 22.8 .467 .304 .911 3.3 1.6 .4 .0 14.4
1993–94 Charlotte 73 27 20.0 .459 .393 .780 3.1 1.7 .5 .1 11.5
1995–96 Indiana 62 1 16.2 .413 .352 .886 2.5 1.1 .3 .1 7.7
1996–97 Indiana 28 0 10.9 .434 .321 .741 1.4 .6 .2 .0 5.3
1996–97 Houston 24 2 25.3 .447 .388 .854 4.1 1.5 .4 .0 11.5
1997–98 Houston 75 1 19.9 .417 .333 .831 2.0 1.2 .4 .0 8.4
1998–99 Houston 3 0 6.0 .462 .000 — .7 .3 .0 .0 4.0
Career 1,199 479 27.2 .472 .335 .840 4.0 2.1 .6 .2 16.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1984 Kansas City 3 — 35.7 .438 .400 1.000 3.3 4.0 1.0 .3 17.0
1986 Sacramento 3 1 32.0 .436 .000 .889 7.0 1.3 1.0 .3 18.7
1989 Phoenix 12 0 32.7 .413 .342 .769 7.3 2.1 1.0 .2 17.8
1990 Phoenix 16 0 21.1 .450 .395 .787 3.6 1.1 .6 .3 12.3
1991 Seattle 5 5 34.2 .517 .267 .828 4.2 1.4 1.4 .2 24.0
1992 Seattle 9 0 27.4 .474 .182 .941 3.0 .9 .3 .3 18.4
1993 Seattle 19 0 20.1 .390 .333 .935 2.4 .9 .2 .1 10.8
1996 Indiana 1 0 9.0 .000 .000 .0 1.0 .0 .0 .0
1997 Houston 16 0 17.8 .410 .298 .958 2.3 .6 .3 .0 8.3
1998 Houston 5 0 17.8 .333 .300 .875 1.6 .2 .0 .0 5.6
Career 89 6 23.8 .429 .310 .864 3.5 1.1 .5 .1 13.1

FIBA European League

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
1994–95 Olympiacos 18 — 35.1 .432 .387 .850 4.6 1.8 .7 .0 21.9 —

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1977–78 Illinois 27 3 17.4 .427 — .741 3.1 .6 .4 .3 8.1
1978–79 Illinois 30 27 26.2 .415 — .531 5.7 1.7 .6 .1 12.1
1979–80 Illinois 35 35 34.7 .462 — .655 8.9 2.0 .4 .2 17.4
1980–81 Illinois 29 29 34.8 .494 — .756 9.2 2.4 1.0 .2 17.2
Career 121 94 28.8 .454 — .671 6.9 1.7 .6 .2 14.0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ EDWARD ARNETT JOHNSON (OLYMPIAKOS BC PIRAEUS).
  2. ^ Edy JOHNSON Statistics STOIXIMAN.GR Basket League OLYMPIACOS.
  3. ^ Έντι το... γρήγορο πιστόλι! (vids & pics) (in Greek).
  4. ^ Sam Smith. "Rockets 95, Jazz 92: Wake up: It's Wild In West". Chicago Tribune. May 26, 1997. Sports, 1.
  5. ^ Pells, Eddie (August 11, 2006). "Former Sun has worst day of life". Associated Press. Retrieved August 11, 2006.
  6. ^ "FightingIllini.com" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  7. ^ Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame
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