Avery Johnson

Dallas Mavericks
Position	Head Coach Point Guard
Personal information
Born	March 25, 1965; New Orleans, Louisiana
Nationality	USA
Listed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
College	New Mexico Junior College; Cameron University; Southern University
Playing career	1988–2004
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

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For the fictional character Avery J. Johnson from the Halo series of games, see Sergeant Major A.J. Johnson.

Avery Johnson (born March 25, 1965 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former professional basketball player and current head coach of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. Johnson is known as the "Little General" for his small stature (for an NBA player at least: he's 5' 11"), his outstanding (and vocal) leadership skills as a point guard and floor general, and his close friendship with former teammate, David "The Admiral" Robinson.

Playing career

As a high school senior in 1983, Avery Johnson led St. Augustine H.S. to a 35 - 0 record and the Class 4A Lousiana State Championship. Johnson matriculated at New Mexico Junior College before moving on to Cameron University, and finally Southern University. Upon graduation in 1988 Johnson went undrafted. After a summer season with the USBL Palm Beach Stingrays, however, Johnson was signed by the Seattle SuperSonics and managed to spend the next 16 years playing in the NBA, including stints with the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, and Golden State Warriors. A true journeyman as a player, occasionally being traded, or even waived, mid-season, Johnson is most well-known for his time with the San Antonio Spurs (1991, 1992-1993, 1994-2000), particularly his integral role on the 1999 Spurs team that won the NBA championship against the New York Knicks in which he hit the series-clinching shot in Game 5.

Coaching career

After spending the 2003-2004 season playing with the Golden State Warriors, Johnson signed as a player-coach with the Dallas Mavericks under Don Nelson. Johnson had played under Nelson from 2001-2003, and it was understood from the beginning that Johnson was being groomed to eventually succeed Nelson as head coach. On October 28, 2004, Johnson retired from playing to concentrate full-time on coaching, and his transition from assistant to head coach came a mere five months later on March 19, 2005.

Under Johnson, the Mavericks closed out the 2004-2005 season with a 16-2 run and a first-round playoff victory over the Houston Rockets, before bowing out to the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the playoffs. Johnson was named the April 2005 NBA Coach of the Month, only one month after becoming a head coach for the first time.

The 2005-2006 season was even more successful for Johnson and was marked by a series of milestones. In November 2005 Johnson again won the NBA Coach of the Month award (his second and second consecutive, following his award from April the previous season), making him the first NBA coach to win the award in his first two months as a head coach. On January 28, 2006, when the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Utah Jazz, Johnson's record as coach reached 50-12, making Johnson the fastest coach to reach 50 wins. In February 2006, he was chosen to coach the 2006 NBA All-Star team for the Western Conference. On March 15, 2006, Johnson set the record for most wins over the course of a coach's first 82 games (the duration of a full season), with 66 wins over the span. Although Johnson ultimately led the Mavericks to the second-best record in the Western Conference, the team entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the west, due to the structure of the 2006 NBA Playoffs seeding.

In April 2006, Avery Johnson was rewarded for this success with the 2006 NBA Coach of the Year Award.

In June, 2006, after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies, the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, and the Phoenix Suns in the first three rounds of the playoffs, Johnson led the Dallas Mavericks to their first ever NBA Finals appearance. However, the Mavs were defeated in the series by the Miami Heat, losing 4 straight after winning the first two games.

Preceded by Don Nelson	Dallas Mavericks Head Coach 2005–	Succeeded by Current

External links

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