Lee Willie Johnson (born 16 June 1957) 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. He played briefly 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) and several other leagues.
College career
Johnson 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 four years at
East Texas State University
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
, before being drafted by the
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 ...
in the
1979 NBA draft.
Professional career
Johnson played only one season in the NBA, with the Rockets and
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
. Throughout his career, Johnson played with the
Rochester Zeniths of the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...
, in Italy, Israel, and France, most notably for
Arrigoni Rieti, with whom he won the
1979–80 season of
Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include:
* Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people
* Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager
* Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player
* Vitomir Kor ...
, and with
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
, from 1984 through 1987.
Awards
*1980–81
CBA Rookie of the Year
*1980–81
CBA Playoffs MVP
External links
Profile—TheDraftReview.com
1957 births
Living people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in France
American expatriate basketball people in Israel
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball players
Basket Napoli players
Basketball players from Arkansas
Centers (basketball)
Detroit Pistons players
Houston Rockets draft picks
Houston Rockets players
Junior college men's basketball players in the United States
Lega Basket Serie A players
Libertas Liburnia Basket Livorno players
Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players
Montana Grizzlies basketball players
Olympique Antibes basketball players
Paris Racing Basket players
People from Conway County, Arkansas
Power forwards (basketball)
Rochester Zeniths players
Texas A&M–Commerce Lions men's basketball players
{{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub