Daniel Geoffrey Craig Johnson (born 3 April 1988) is an Australian 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 the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). Standing 6'11½" (212 cm) tall, Johnson's primary position is

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, but with a strong mid and long range shooting ability, he is equally effective at playing

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

. He is a seven-time

All-NBL Team The All-NBL Team is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) honour bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBL season. The team has been selected in every season since the league's second year in 1980. The All-NBL Team i ...

member, including three All-NBL First Team recognitions. Johnson is also a long-time Australian state league player and has had many stints overseas.

Early life and junior career

Johnson was born in Carnarvon,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, and grew up in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, where he attended

Willetton Senior High School Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) is a public secondary school in Willetton, Western Australia, south of the Perth central business district and east of the port of Fremantle. The school opened in February 1977 with 77 students. As of 2021, ...

. In 2006 and 2007, he attended the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

(AIS) and played for the program's SEABL team. In 2006, he helped the AIS win the King Club International Cup en route to being voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 22 points, six rebounds, one assist, two blocks and a steal over five games. He was also a member of the Australian national under-19 team that competed in Germany, Taiwan and Italy in 2006. The following year, he played for the Emus at the

2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Serbian: Светско првенство до 19 година ФИБА до 19 година) was the 8th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship. It was held in Novi Sad, Serbia from 12 to 22 July 2 ...

in Serbia. Johnson moved to the United States to play

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

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

in the 2007–08 NCAA season. Holding the

Waves Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. * Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music * Waves (ban ...

' starting centre position for most of the season, Johnson averaged 9.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 21 games.

Professional career

NBL

Johnson returned to Australia in 2008 and played two seasons with the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

in the NBL. In his rookie season, the Tigers made it to the grand final series, where they lost in five games to the

South Dragons The South Dragons were an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). They made their debut in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09. The club was based at MSAC in Melbourne's in ...

. Johnson played his first season with the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. In his second season with Adelaide, Johnson earned his first player of the week award and won the NBL Most Improved Player while also earning All-NBL Third Team honours. In his third season with Adelaide, he led the league in rebounding (8.1 per game) and earned All-NBL Second Team honours. In the 2013–14 season, Johnson helped the 36ers reach the NBL Grand Final series while earning All-NBL First Team honors. He was also named the 36ers Club MVP for the third straight year. Johnson started the 2014–15 season in Poland with Stelmet Zielona Góra, but returned to the Adelaide 36ers in January 2015. In the 2015–16 season, Johnson's 9.3 rebounds per game saw him lead the NBL in rebounding for the second time while once again earning All-NBL Second Team honours. In the 2016–17 season, Johnson helped the 36ers win the minor premiership while earning All-NBL First Team honours. In the 2017–18 season, Johnson helped the 36ers reach the NBL Grand Final series while earning All-NBL First Team honours. In the 2018–19 season, Johnson served as captain of the 36ers for the first time. He went on to win the Club MVP and earn All-NBL Second Team honours. In October 2019, Johnson played his 250th game for the 36ers as well as his 300th in the NBL. He scored an NBL career-high 38 points in a loss to the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

on 18 January 2020. He went on to win the Club MVP for the fifth time. In May 2020, Johnson's contract with the 36ers was extended until the end of the 2022–23 season. He was named co-captain for the 2020–21 season. He played his 300th game for the 36ers and 350th NBL game during the season. He averaged a career-high 19.5 points per game in 2020–21 to lead the 36ers in scoring for the sixth time. He was subsequently named Club MVP alongside

Josh Giddey Joshua Giddey (born 10 October, 2002) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Thunder with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Gi ...

. In December 2022, Johnson played his 400th NBL game.

Off-season stints

Johnson is a long-time Australian state league player, having played for the

(

Big V Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

, 2008–09);

Willetton Tigers Willetton Tigers is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Willetton Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organi ...

( SBL, 2010); South Adelaide Panthers (

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, 2011),

West Adelaide Bearcats West Adelaide Bearcats is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching West Adelaide Basketball Club (WABC), the major administrative basketball o ...

(Premier League, 2013–14); Sturt Sabres (Premier League, 2016); and

Forestville Eagles Forestville Eagles is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching Forestville Eagles Basketball Club (FEBC), the major administrative ba ...

(Premier League /

NBL1 Central NBL1 Central, formerly the Premier League, is a semi-professional basketball league in South Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball South Australia partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to ...

, 2018 and 2022). Additionally, Johnson has had a number of off-season stints overseas, with his first stint abroad coming following the

2013–14 NBL season The 2013–14 NBL season was the 36th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 10 October 2013 and 23 March 2014, and was followed by a post-season f ...

when he played in Puerto Rico for

Piratas de Quebradillas The Piratas de Quebradillas is a Puerto Rican basketball team, part of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league. Founded in the mid 1920s, it is one of the original teams of the league. The club enjoyed its most successful era during the 1970s, ...

. He went on to play in New Zealand for the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

in 2015, before returning to Puerto Rico in 2016 to play for

Santeros de Aguada Santeros de Aguada was a Puerto Rican professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. The team was based in Aguada, Puerto Rico. The team moved to Fajardo in 2021, changing their name and re-branding to Cariduros de Fajardo with ...

. In 2017, he played for

Petrochimi Bandar Imam Petrochimi Bandar Imam Basketball Club ( fa, تیم بسكتبال پتروشیمی بندر امام, ''Tim-e Beskâtbal-e Petrushimi-ye Bendâr Eman''), also known as shortly Petrochimi, is an Iranian professional basketball club based in Mahshah ...

in Iran; in 2018, he played for

Ferro Carril Oeste Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its footb ...

in Argentina; and in 2019, he played for

Earth Friends Tokyo Z The Earth Friends Tokyo Z is a professional basketball team that competes in the second division of the Japanese B.League. Roster Notable players * Shinji Akiba *Zach Andrews * Cinmeon Bowers *Ruben Boykin * Kyle Casey *Will Cr ...

in Japan. He returned to Japan in March 2020 for a one-game stint with

SeaHorses Mikawa Seahorses Mikawa is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Kariya and sponsored by Aisin. The team was founded in 1947. The team played in the National Basketball League (Japan), National Basketball League. In July 2015 it was annou ...

National team career

In 2019, Johnson made his debut for the

Australian Boomers The Australian men's national basketball team, known as the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has been placed among the world elite t ...

playing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers. In 2022, Johnson helped the Australian men's 3x3 team win gold again at the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in Singapore. He represented Australia in 3x3 at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

in England, where the team won silver.

References

External links

Adelaide 36ers player profileTake 40: Daniel JohnsonNBL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Daniel 1988 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players Australian men's basketball players Australian expatriate basketball people in Argentina Australian expatriate basketball people in Japan Australian expatriate basketball people in Iran Australian expatriate basketball people in New Zealand Australian expatriate basketball people in Poland Australian expatriate basketball people in Puerto Rico Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Basket Zielona Góra players Centers (basketball) Earth Friends Tokyo Z players Ferro Carril Oeste basketball players Melbourne Tigers players Pepperdine Waves men's basketball players Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC players Piratas de Quebradillas players Power forwards (basketball) Santeros de Aguada basketball players SeaHorses Mikawa players Basketball players from Perth, Western Australia Wellington Saints players