Dave M. Johnson (born November 16, 1970) is an American former professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player who had a brief career in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...
(NBA) in the early 1990s.
Born in
Morgan City, Louisiana
Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary and lower St. Martin parishes in the U.S. State of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census. Known for being “right in the middle of everywhere”, Morgan City is located 68 miles (109&nb ...
, Johnson attended
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
, where, as a junior and senior, he developed into a high scoring
small forward
The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...
. Following his senior year, he participated in the now defunct Orlando Classic pre-draft camp/tournament and made the all-tourney team. He had the highest measured
vertical leap of all the camp participants (34 inches), was the leading scorer in the tournament (19 points per game) and also won the
Slam Dunk Contest
The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...
. He was selected by the
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
as the 26th pick in the
1992 NBA draft
The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were conside ...
. He played one season for Portland before moving on to the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...
in his second and final NBA season, for whom he played 17 games in
1993-94.
External links
College & NBA stats@ basketballreference.com
1970 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in France
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American expatriate basketball people in Spain
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Louisiana
CB Zaragoza players
Chicago Bulls players
Florida Beachdogs players
JDA Dijon Basket players
Liga ACB players
Maine Central Institute alumni
Partenope Napoli Basket players
People from Morgan City, Louisiana
Portland Trail Blazers draft picks
Portland Trail Blazers players
Rapid City Thrillers players
Small forwards
Syracuse Orange men's basketball players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople
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