John Howard Getty "J. J." Johnson (October 18, 1947 – January 7, 2016) was 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.

High school and college career

Johnson played high school basketball at Messmer High School in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. As a senior, he helped lead Messmer to the Wisconsin state title in 1966. Johnson, a 6’7"

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

, then played for

Northwest College Northwest College is a Public college, public community college in Powell, Wyoming. History Northwest College opened in 1946, as the "University of Wyoming Northwest Center," with the support of the University of Wyoming and the local school dis ...

Powell, Wyoming Powell is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 6,314 at the 2010 census. Powell is an All-America City and home to Northwest College. History Powell was incorporated in 1909. Powell was named for John Wesley Powell ...

and for the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. He set an Iowa record for points in a season during his senior year, when he averaged 27.9 points per game. Johnson also holds Iowa's top two scoring performances with 49 and 46 points. Johnson played two seasons for Iowa, leading the team in scoring and rebounding both seasons. Johnson, accompanied by later Seattle SuperSonics teammate Fred Brown, guided Iowa to a 14-0 Big Ten record and NCAA tournament berth in 1970.

Professional career

Johnson was selected by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

with the 7th pick of the

1970 NBA Draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

. Johnson was also selected in the 1970 ABA Draft by the

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.1970 ABA Draft at BasketballReference.com
He was the first Cavaliers player to play in an

NBA All Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...

. In 1977, Johnson was traded to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

and was reunited with former Iowa Hawkeye teammate Fred Brown. Johnson was a key contributor for Seattle, who went to the NBA Finals in 1977–78 and won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

in 1978–79 while possibly becoming the first

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in league history as he was the player who more often set the plays for the Sonics rather than their star guards

Dennis Johnson Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a c ...

and Gus Williams. Overall, Johnson had a productive 12-year

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career with four teams, making two

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...

appearances and scoring 11,200 career points. He ended his NBA career in Seattle in the early 1980s.

Later years

Johnson moved from Seattle to San Jose when his son Mitch was recruited to play for Stanford. His son played on the

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

basketball team from 2005 to 2008. On January 7, 2016, at age 68, John Johnson died in his San Jose residence of undetermined cause.

References

External links

1947 births 2016 deaths African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Mississippi Basketball players from Milwaukee Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Houston Rockets players Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States National Basketball Association All-Stars People from Carthage, Mississippi Portland Trail Blazers players Seattle SuperSonics players Small forwards Texas Chaparrals draft picks 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub