Robert "B. J." Johnson Jr. (born December 21, 1995) is an American 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 for

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

of the VTB United League. 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 ...

for La Salle and

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

High school career

Johnson is the son of Robert Johnson, who played basketball at

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History La ...

from 1986 to 1990. The younger Johnson grew up outside Philadelphia and attended Lower Merion High School, NBA Hall-of-Famer

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

's alma mater. He had 22 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Chester High School in the 2013 state championship. Johnson was a top-100 high school prospect.

College career

Johnson originally committed to

out of high school. He averaged 4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Orange as a sophomore in 2014–15. After the season, he decided to transfer to La Salle. He explained that coach

John Giannini John Manfredo Giannini (born October 31, 1962) is an American college basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Rowan University from 1989 to 1996, the University of Maine from 1996 to 2004, and La Salle University from 2 ...

told him he would be an impact player after sitting out the requisite year. Johnson scored 35 points in a December 2016 win over Florida Gulf Coast. As a junior at La Salle, Johnson led the team in points (17.6 per game) and rebounds (6.3) per game. He was named to the All-

Big 5 Big Five may refer to: Animals * the Big Five, large African wild animals said to be most difficult to hunt: lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and Cape buffalo * Big Five animals of the Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India: Indian rhinocero ...

first team. After the season he declared for the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, but ultimately withdrew his name. As a senior, Johnson was named to the All-

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

second team. He was also named to the All-Big 5 first team after a season in which he averaged 20.8 points per game, the most for an Explorer since

Rasual Butler Rasual Butler (born Felix Rasual Cheeseborough; May 23, 1979 – January 31, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. In his 14-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career, he played for the Miami Heat, New Orleans Hornets, Los ...

in 2002, as well as leading the team with 8.3 rebounds per game. He graduated from La Salle with a degree in finance.

Professional career

Lakeland Magic (2018–2019)

After going undrafted in the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including inte ...

, Johnson signed with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

for NBA Summer League competition. On September 5, 2018, Johnson signed with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. He was waived by the Magic on October 10 but would play for their

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

affiliate the

Lakeland Magic The Lakeland Magic are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Lakeland, Florida, and are affiliated with the Orlando Magic. The Magic began play in the 2017–18 season and play their home games at the RP Fundin ...

. On October 23, 2018, Johnson was included in Lakeland's training camp roster.

Atlanta Hawks (2019)

On March 1, 2019, Johnson signed a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks. Johnson made his NBA debut two days later, putting up 11 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting (3-of-3 three-point shooting), 2 rebounds, and a steal during 19 minutes of action in a 123–118 win over the Chicago Bulls. On March 12, Johnson signed a second 10-day contract. After the expiration of his second 10-day contract, Johnson returned to the Lakeland Magic.

Sacramento Kings (2019)

On April 2, 2019, Johnson signed a rest-of-season contract with the Sacramento Kings. On July 19, 2019, Johnson was waived by the Kings.

Orlando Magic (2019–2020)

On September 27, 2019, Johnson re-signed with the

for training camp; however, he was waived on October 19. On November 4, the Magic signed him to a two-way contract. On January 4, 2020, Johnson, playing for Orlando's G League affiliate

, tallied 35 points, eight rebounds and two assists in the G League against the Canton Charge. He averaged 22.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game for Lakeland. Johnson was named to the All-NBA G League Second Team.

Long Island Nets (2021)

On December 4, 2020, Johnson signed with the Miami Heat. On December 19, 2020, Johnson was waived by the Heat. He was added to the Long Island Nets roster and made his debut on February 10, 2021. In 14 games, he averaged 18.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 31.1 minutes per game.

Brisbane Bullets (2021)

On April 19, 2021, Johnson signed with the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian National Basketball League for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. In 11 games, he averaged 10.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game.

Second stint with Lakeland / Orlando Magic (2021–2022)

On October 15, 2021, Johnson signed with the

, but was waived the next day. On October 28, he re-signed with the

as an affiliate player where he played 10 games and averaged 24.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.5 minutes per game. On December 17, 2021, Johnson signed a 10-day contract with the Orlando Magic. and on January 4, 2022, he was reacquired and activated by Lakeland.

Real Betis (2022–present)

On April 6, 2022, Johnson signed with Coosur Real Betis of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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, 1 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 10 , , 0 , , 8.3 , , .281 , , .333 , , .900 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 4 , , 0 , , 16.3 , , .440 , , .400 , , , , 3.8 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , 6.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 21 , , 0 , , 9.4 , , .387 , , .385 , , .917 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.8

Playoffs

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, style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 1 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , – , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 3.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .250 , , .125 , , , , .9 , , .2 , , .1 , , .3 , , 1.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 4 , , 14.6 , , .307 , , .262 , , .720 , , 3.2 , , .5 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", La Salle , 29 , , 28 , , 32.6 , , .449 , , .362 , , .838 , , 6.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", La Salle , 27 , , 27 , , 35.2 , , .446 , , .359 , , .869 , , 8.3 , , .7 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 20.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 91 , , 59 , , 25.5 , , .426 , , .335 , , .843 , , 5.5 , , .7 , , .9 , , 0.5 , , 13.1

References

External links

La Salle Explorers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, B. J. 1995 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Philadelphia Brisbane Bullets players Lakeland Magic players La Salle Explorers men's basketball players Liga ACB players Long Island Nets players Lower Merion High School alumni Orlando Magic players Real Betis Baloncesto players Sacramento Kings players Shooting guards Basketball players from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Syracuse Orange men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players United States men's national basketball team players