Jaylen Johnson (born August 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the

Motor City Cruise The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play a ...

of the

NBA G 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 ...

. 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 the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

from 2014 to 2017.

High school career

Johnson wrapped up his senior campaign at

Ypsilanti High School Ypsilanti High School (YHS) was a public school located in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. () Ypsilanti High School (or 'Ypsi High,' as many people referred to it), was a comprehensive high school serving 9–12th grades, located on the western e ...

with averages of 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.3 blocks and 4.1 assists per game. * Produced a triple double of 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in the Class A district title game. He grabbed double-digit rebounds in 11 games as a senior. * A finalist for the Hal Schram Mr. Basketball award in Michigan, Johnson was a first team all-state selection and was the Ann Arbor News Washtenaw County Player of the Year. He was ranked No. 55 nationally by 247Sports.com, 56th by Rivals.com, 62nd by Scout.com and was among the nation's top 25 power forwards by ESPN. * Averaged 13.8 points and 8.5 rebounds as a junior in helping Ypsilanti to a 20-5 record and the school's first regional championship since 1981. He averaged 19.7 points and 15.3 rebounds in three district games before Ypsilanti reached the state quarterfinals, where Johnson totaled 15 points and 12 boards. He was a first-team all-county selection as a junior. In 2013, he attended the LeBron James Skills Academy and Adidas Super 64. Johnson attended the Pangos All-American Camp in 2014 and was awarded the Mario Ellie Award and was also named to the "Cream of the Crop" Top 30. * Produced a double-double for the winning White team in the 2014 Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic all-star game, totaling 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. * Played quarterback early in his prep career.

College career

He joined the

Louisville Cardinals men's basketball The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville (U of L) in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA cham ...

team for the 2014-15 season. During his three-year tenure with the Cards, Johnson made a total of 88 appearances, starting in 22 games his sophomore season and in 26 as a junior. Johnson averaged 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds a contest during his Louisville career. His best season came as a junior (2016–17) when he scored 8.0 points a game, while scooping up 5.8 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per game. His per 40 minutes numbers were 15.6 points and 11.3 rebounds. Johnson finished 7th in the ACC and 102nd nationally in offensive rebounds per game. In late April 2017, he announced his decision to skip his senior year to start his professional career and declare 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. ...

. However, he went undrafted.

Professional career

Windy City Bulls (2017–2018)

After going undrafted in 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. ...

, Johnson signed a training camp deal with 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 January 1 ...

. He was waived on October 14 as one of the final preseason cuts. On November 4, 2017, Johnson was included in opening night roster of the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thirte ...

. On March 24, 2018, the

announced that they had signed Johnson, but was waived on the next day. On October 20, 2018, the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

announced that they had acquired the returning rights to Johnson and

Jarell Eddie Jarell Alexander Eddie (born October 30, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for AYOS Konyaspor of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for Virginia Tech before splitting the first four years of hi ...

from the

for the returning rights to JaKarr Sampson and the draft rights to the No. 38 overall pick in the 2018 NBA G League Draft, Mike Amius.

Iowa Wolves (2019)

On January 11, 2019, Johnson was added to

to their roster. In 21 games played for the Wolves, he averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1 assist per game. On July 1, 2019, Johnson joined the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

for the

2019 NBA Summer League The 2019 NBA Summer League was held at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It began on July 5 and ended on July 15. All 30 teams and two national teams, China and Croat ...

Hapoel Holon (2019)

On September 4, 2019, Johnson signed with

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל הפועל חולון), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Atsmon Playgrounds Holon (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli B ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

for the 2019–20 season. On November 2, 2019, he parted ways with Holon after appearing in five games.

Second stint with Iowa Wolves (2019–2020)

On November 20, 2019, the

announced that they had acquired returning right of Johnson.

Cherkaski Mavpy (2021)

On January 5, 2021,

Cherkaski Mavpy BC Cherkaski Mavpy ( uk, баскетбольний клуб "Черкаські Мавпи", which means "Cherkasy Apes") is a Ukrainian professional basketball club that plays its home games in Cherkasy. In the 2007 NBA Draft, Cherkaski Mavpy ...

announced that they had signed with Johnson. On January 25, 2021, Johnson was included in roster of the

, but was later waived by the

on February 13.

Motor City Cruise (2021–present)

In the 2021 NBA G League draft, Johnson was selected with the 8th pick by the

Personal life

His mother Janetta played basketball at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, is the first woman to lead in the nation in blocked shots, men and women at the same time during her tenure at Wisconsin, she still holds the single-season record for blocked shots at Wisconsin. With 130 Blocks in one season. She also spent four years playing professionally in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bio

RealGM profile

Eurobasket profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jaylen 1996 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Basketball players from Michigan Hapoel Holon players Iowa Wolves players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Motor City Cruise players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Ypsilanti, Michigan Windy City Bulls players