Alex "Superman" Johnson (born January 18, 1988) is a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who is currently a member of the London Lightning of the National Basketball League of Canada He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Cal State Bakersfield California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bake ...

and then

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

. Johnson attended high school at

Vaughan Road Academy Vaughan Road Academy (VRA), formerly known as Vaughan Road High School and Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute, is a Toronto District School Board (TDSB) facility that formerly operated as an International Baccalaureate high school in Toronto, Ont ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. As a professional, he was named an NBL Canada All-Star with the

Mississauga Power The Mississauga Power were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Mississauga, Ontario, that competed in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). Established in as the Oshawa Power, they played in the Central Division (NBL Cana ...

. Johnson was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2013 NBL Canada draft by the

Ottawa SkyHawks The Ottawa SkyHawks were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The SkyHawks played in the Central Division of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) during a single season. Financial difficulty resulted ...

High school career

Johnson attended

, where he was considered one of the top perimeter players of his class in Canada. As a senior at Vaughan, he averaged 18.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists. He was also an honor roll student and an Academic All-Star.

Collegiate career

Johnson started out his college basketball career with the

Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (also known as CSUB Roadrunners, and sometimes as the Bakersfield Roadrunners) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the California State University, Bakersfield, located in Bakersfield, Califo ...

, while attending the California State University at Bakersfield. He appeared in 26 games as a freshman and was named a starter in 17 of them. Despite having an injury interfere with his playing time towards the end of the season, Johnson had the 17th-best

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

percentage in school history, shooting .416 from beyond the arc. He finished his freshman year averaging 8.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.4 three-pointers per game. Johnson transferred to

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

to compete in his senior season.

Professional career

Johnson was the first Canadian to ever be drafted first overall in the

National Basketball League of Canada draft National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Johnson was acquired from the now inactive

Ottawa Skyhawks The Ottawa SkyHawks were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The SkyHawks played in the Central Division of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) during a single season. Financial difficulty resulted ...

for Bol Kong on November 19, 2014. In his first season playing professionally in Canada, Johnson was nominated to become an NBL Canada All-Star along with teammate, Morgan Lewis. After leading the Mississauga Power franchise to its first playoff appearance in their inaugural season, Johnson returned for a second year to continue the momentum. In the season, Johnson had additional help with the re-signing of NBL Canada All-Star Morgan Lewis and re-acquirement of

Tut Ruach Tut Ruach (born April 30, 1985) is a Canadian former basketball player. Starting his professional career in 2009, he was named NBL Canada All-Star in 2012. Ruach played college basketball for York University and competed for Father Michael Goetz ...

. On December 29, 2014, he signed with the

Saint John Mill Rats The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) in the Atlantic Division. ...

. On December 16, 2015, Johnson signed with the newly formed Halifax Hurricanes in the NBL Canada. Johnson signed with the

Windsor Express The Windsor Express is a Canadian professional basketball team based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The Express are an expansion team of the National Basketball League of Canada that began play in the 2012–13 season. The Express play its home gam ...

a few days after the Hurricanes released him. On October 30, 2016, Johnson was acquired by the

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. On January 4, 2017, he was waived by Grand Rapids. In 10 games, he averaged 2.1 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 7.9 minutes. In the 2018-19 season, Johnson played for the

London Lightning The London Lightning is a Canadian professional basketball team based in London, Ontario, Canada, with home games at the Budweiser Gardens. The team is a charter member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) that began play for the 201 ...

and averaged 9.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He was named to the All-Canadian Third Team.

Personal life

On October 2, 2014, the

announced their partnership with

BioSteel Sports Supplements Inc. BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc. is a Canadian company based in Toronto that produces dietary supplement products for athletes and exercise enthusiasts. History Officially founded in 2009 by John Celenza and former professional ice hockey player ...

and Peak Sports Canada. Johnson was selected to be the featured player to display the new Peak Sports Canada jersey and the BioSteel Sports Supplements product. That summer, BioSteel also became the exclusive sports drink provider for

Canada Basketball Canada Basketball (CB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in Canada. ...

. On April 16, 2014, the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) unveiled their new commercial to showcase their new marketing campaign, We The North. Johnson was allowed to make a cameo appearance. Johnson also runs his own basketball clinic called the Alex "Superman" Johnson Skills Academy. He is currently married to former

Johnson C. Smith University Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is a private historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The univer ...

college basketball player Brey Dorsett. Inspired by the movie ''

Love & Basketball ''Love & Basketball'' is a 2000 American romantic sports drama film written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood in her feature film directorial debut. The film is produced by Spike Lee and Sam Kit and stars Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps. It tells ...

'', he proposed to Dorsett after acting as if he had gotten injured while playing basketball. The video received over 3 million views and was commented on by multiple actors from the movie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Alex 1988 births Living people Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners men's basketball players Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Grand Rapids Drive players Mississauga Power players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Point guards Saint John Mill Rats players Shooting guards Hamilton Honey Badgers players Basketball players from Toronto Windsor Express players St. John's Edge players 20th-century Canadian people 21st-century Canadian people