Franklin Lenard Johnson (born November 23, 1958) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach. He played ten seasons in 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) for the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

and

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

Playing career

In high school, he played basketball for the Lake Weir Hurricanes. During his junior year in 1974–1975, he was a star for the 33–0 Hurricanes team that won Marion County’s first state championship. He played collegiately for

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

, becoming an All-American selection in 1980–81. He was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 1998. Johnson was selected in the first round of the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft, 23 NBA te ...

with the 11th pick by the

. He played point guard in the NBA for the Bullets (1981–1988), the

(1988–89) (he signed as a free agent with the

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, but they traded him to the Rockets before he played in any games for them). He also played for the

(1992–94) where his main role was to relieve star Kevin Johnson. He was selected from the Rockets by 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 ...

in the 1989

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansion ...

, but was waived before the 1989–90 season started. He played 650 games in the NBA (regular season and playoffs), with regular season career averages of 8.3 PPG and 4.2 APG in 21.6 minutes. He played professionally in Italy for Ranger Varese (1989–91, played in the finals of the Italian Championship in 1990) and Marr Rimini (Serie A2, 1991).

Head coaching record

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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Personal life

Frank earned his nickname “Fourth Quarter Frank” for his clutch performances helping the team grind out close games.

Family

Johnson's brother "Fast Eddie" also played in the NBA. He spent more than eight seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, and closed out his career with stints in Cleveland and Seattle. Eddie was a two-time (1980, 1981) All-Star while with the Hawks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Frank 1958 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Florida Basketball players from Florida Basket Rimini Crabs players Houston Rockets players Orlando Magic expansion draft picks People from Marion County, Florida Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Phoenix Suns head coaches Phoenix Suns players Point guards Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players Washington Bullets draft picks Washington Bullets players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople