Kevin Maurice Johnson (born March 4, 1966 in Sacramento, California) is a retired American basketball point guard who played for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns.

Johnson attended Sacramento High School where he starred in both basketball and baseball all four years. Originally drafted in 1986 to play professional baseball with the Oakland Athletics as a shortstop, Johnson chose to play basketball instead, attending the University of California, Berkeley, where he starred for four seasons. His number 11 is retired. Johnson was the seventh selection overall by the Cavaliers for the 1987-88 season in the 1987 NBA Draft.

About halfway through the 1987-88 NBA season, on February 28, 1988, Johnson (along with teammates Mark West and Tyrone Corbin) was traded to the Suns in exchange for Larry Nance. Once in Phoenix, Johnson averaged 18.8 points and 9.6 assists per game for the next 10 years. He was selected an NBA All-Star three times and made the playoffs every year of his career after his rookie seson.

The 1992-93 Suns, led by Johnson (despite missing 31 regular season games due to injury and 2 after being suspended because of a brawl with the New York Knicks) and power forward Charles Barkley, posted an NBA-best 62-20 record. Narrowly escaping first round elimination versus the Los Angeles Lakers, the Suns made it to the NBA Finals, but eventually succumbed to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in six games en route to the Bulls' third consecutive title.

He played for the US national team in the 1994 FIBA World Championship, winning the gold medal.^[1]

Johnson retired after the 1997-98 season, but returned briefly during the 1999-2000 campaign to spell the injured Jason Kidd during the playoff run. Johnson helped the Suns win their first playoff series in five years (and their only series victory between 1995 and 2005). But after Phoenix fell in the second round to Los Angeles, he retired for the second and final time. After his second retirement, Johnson spent one season (2000-01) as a studio commentator for The NBA on NBC.

Kevin Johnson currently concentrates on business opportunities and community involvement both in Sacramento, California and Phoenix, Arizona. In Sacramento, Johnson manages St. HOPE Corporation (SHC), a non-profit community development corporation designed to expand economic, educational, and social opportunities that lead to the revitalization of inner-city communities.

Affiliated with SHC are six other separately incorporated non-profit entities, all founded by Johnson and all working in concert to achieve his inner-city objectives. In Phoenix, as president and CEO of The Kevin Johnson Corporation, Johnson oversees the operations of several subsidiary organizations specializing in real estate development and management, sports management, and business acquisition. A key component of The Kevin Johnson Corporation includes appearances and public speaking engagements for corporations, academic institutions, and community organizations.

Johnson during the 06-07 school year worked as a teacher, teaching leadership and was the Principal for the School of Law & Public Service at Sacramento High School.

Accomplishments

• Johnson is one of only four players in NBA history to have averaged at least 20.0 points and 10.0 assists per game in three different seasons.
• Johnson is one of four players to have averaged at least 15.0 points and 10.0 assists per game over the course of a season while shooting at least .500 from the field.
• Johnson is one of only two players (the other is Magic Johnson) to have averaged at least 20.0 points and 10.0 assists per game over the course of a season while shooting at least .500 from the field. Both Kevin Johnson and Magic Johnson accomplished the feat twice, the former in 1988-89 and 1990-91 and the latter in 1986-87 and 1988-89.
• On March 7, 2001, the Suns inducted Johnson into their Ring of Honor and retired his uniform number seven during halftime of a game Phoenix played against the Sacramento Kings, Johnson's hometown team.
• NBA record holder for minutes in a finals game, playing 62 minutes in 1993 vs. the Chicago Bulls.
• Three time NBA All-Star.
• Phoenix Suns all time leader in free throws made, free throws attempted, and in assists.

Education

• High school diploma, Sacramento High School, Sacramento, California, 1984
• BA Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, 1987 (received diploma 1998)
• Johnson is a 2000 graduate of the Harvard Divinity School Summer Leadership Institute, a program that prepares students for work in faith-based urban economic revitalization.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Nickname is "KJ"
• Though he only stands 6'1", KJ often would dunk the ball, including dunks on Hakeem Olajuwon, Mark Eaton, and John "Hot Rod" Williams.
• Johnson has appeared in the video games NBA Jam, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, NBA Hangtime, NBA Jam Extreme, NBA Live (multiple years) and in NBA Jam (2003) as a 90's All-Star.
• In 1989, Johnson founded St. HOPE Academy, an after-school program for inner-city children in Sacramento. Established in the Oak Park neighborhood where Johnson grew up. St. HOPE has expanded since its inception and is the driving force behind the creation of a $1 million after-school facility; the 40 Acres Art Gallery and Cultural Center (a mixed-use community complex); and, since 2003, St. HOPE Public Schools, which provides high quality education to nearly 2,000 students through an elementary charter school and four autonomous small schools on the campus of Sacramento High School (Johnson’s alma mater).

References

External links

• Johnson's NBA.com bio
• Phoenix Suns Legends
• Kevin Johnson Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com

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