Joe Johnson (basketball)

For other people named Joe Johnson, see Joe Johnson (disambiguation).

Joe Johnson

Johnson with the Hawks
No. 2   Atlanta Hawks
Shooting guard
Personal information
Date of birth	June 29, 1981 (1981-06-29)
Place of birth	Little Rock, Arkansas
Nationality	American
High school	Little Rock Central
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
College	Arkansas (1999–2001)
NBA Draft	2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Pro career	2001–present
League	NBA
Career history
2001–2002	Boston Celtics
2002–2005	Phoenix Suns
2005–present	Atlanta Hawks
Career highlights and awards
5× NBA All-Star (2007–2011) All-NBA Third Team (2010) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2002)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Competitor for United States World Championships Bronze 2006 Japan National team

Joe Marcus Johnson (born June 29, 1981) is an American professional basketball player, currently a member of the Atlanta Hawks of the 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. Johnson is also a former member of the U.S. national team.

Early years

Johnson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Johnson was an only child; he considered his mother to be the most influential person in his life.^{[citation needed]} 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 standout 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 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.^{[citation needed]} In his freshman year at Arkansas the team made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament but were defeated by Iowa.

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 is known for his great ball-handling ability considering his size, and for his jump shot.

In the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Joe Johnson required surgery due to a left orbital bone fracture after dunking a basketball. Because of the injury, Johnson wore a face mask for the rest of the playoffs. The Suns lost to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs, 4 games to 1.

Atlanta Hawks (2005–present)

Johnson (#2) pulls up for a jumper

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 only one of five players in the league to average at least 20 points and six assists in the 2005–06 season. 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 25.0 scoring average was behind only Allen Iverson among qualifying NBA guards, and ninth-best overall. 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 matchup against the Boston Celtics, Johnson scored 35 points, including 20 in the 4th quarter, leading the Hawks to a 97–92 victory. The Hawks went on to lose the series four games to three.

He 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.

Career transactions

• June 27, 2001: Drafted 10th overall by Boston Celtics in 2001 NBA Draft.
• February 20, 2002; Traded by Boston along with Randy Brown, Milt Palacio and a future first-round draft pick to the Phoenix Suns for Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk.
• August 19, 2005: Signed and traded by Phoenix to Atlanta Hawks for Boris Diaw and two future first-round draft picks.
• July 4, 2010: Agreed to terms of a 6 year, $119 million contract to stay in Atlanta.

NBA career statistics

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

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2001–02	Boston	48	33	20.9	.439	.273	.769	2.9	1.5	.7	.2	6.3
2001–02	Phoenix	29	27	31.5	.420	.333	.778	4.1	3.6	.9	.4	9.6
2002–03	Phoenix	82	34	27.5	.397	.366	.774	3.2	2.6	.8	.2	9.8
2003–04	Phoenix	82	77	40.6	.430	.305	.750	4.7	4.4	1.1	.3	16.7
2004–05	Phoenix	82	82	39.5	.461	.478	.750	5.1	3.5	1.0	.3	17.1
2005–06	Atlanta	82	82	40.7	.453	.356	.791	4.1	6.5	1.3	.4	20.2
2006–07	Atlanta	57	57	41.4	.471	.381	.748	4.2	4.4	1.0	.2	25.0
2007–08	Atlanta	82	82	40.8	.432	.381	.834	4.5	5.8	1.0	.2	21.7
2008–09	Atlanta	79	79	39.5	.437	.360	.826	4.4	5.8	1.1	.2	21.4
2009–10	Atlanta	76	76	38.0	.458	.369	.818	4.6	4.9	1.1	.1	21.3
2010–11	Atlanta	72	72	35.5	.443	.297	.802	4.0	4.7	0.6	.1	18.2
Career		771	701	36.8	.443	.366	.793	4.2	4.5	1.0	.2	17.7
All-Star		5	1	18.2	.412	.348	.000	.8	1.4	1.4	.0	7.2

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003	Phoenix	6	0	27.3	.275	.154	.400	4.3	1.3	.7	.3	5.3
2005	Phoenix	9	9	39.4	.504	.556	.697	4.3	3.3	1.1	.4	18.8
2008	Atlanta	7	7	39.3	.409	.444	.909	3.9	4.0	.3	.0	20.0
2009	Atlanta	11	11	39.0	.417	.353	.622	4.5	3.5	1.3	.0	16.4
2010	Atlanta	11	11	40.0	.387	.220	.810	5.1	5.0	.9	.3	17.9
2011	Atlanta	12	12	41.4	.439	.429	.810	4.6	3.3	1.1	.1	18.8
Career		56	50	38.6	.418	.379	.755	4.5	3.6	1.0	.2	16.9

External links

• NBA.com Profile – Joe Johnson
• Fan Forum – Joe Johnson
• Yahoo.com – Joe Johnson