Mickey Johnson
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Wallace Edgar "Mickey" Johnson (born August 31, 1952) 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 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).


Career


Basketball

After graduating from
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
's Lindblom High School and playing collegiately at tiny Aurora College, the 6' 10"
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
/
center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth round of the
1974 NBA Draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual NBA Draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 NBA season, 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur ...
. The Blazers immediately traded Johnson to the Chicago Bulls, with whom he averaged just 3.8 points per game as a rookie. Johnson quickly improved, however, and he moved into the Bulls'
starting lineup In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are ''substitutes'' o ...
during the middle of his second season. A versatile scorer and aggressive rebounder, he averaged 17.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in 1976–77. On April 17, 1977, in the deciding game of a first round loss against the team which originally drafted him, Portland (Chicago was then a Western Conference team), Johnson scored a playoff career-high 34 points and added 14 rebounds. The following season, he averaged 18.3 points and 9.1 rebounds, and on February 26, 1978, he scored 30 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in a 100-99 loss, again to Portland. In 1979, he signed as a free agent with 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 ...
, averaging a career-high 19.1 points during his first and only season with that club. In what was arguably the best game of his career, on January 30, 1980, Johnson scored 41 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and recorded 8 assists in a 119-120 loss against the Washington Bullets. Just a couple weeks later, on February 14 during a 118-114 win over 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 ...
, Johnson set a career high with 6 blocks in a single game, while also adding 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. On September 11, 1980, Johnson was traded by the Pacers to the Milwaukee Bucks for
George L. Johnson George Lee Johnson (born December 8, 1956) is a former professional basketball player. A 6'7" Power forward (basketball), forward/center (basketball), center from St. John's University (Jamaica, New York), St. John's University and born in Broo ...
and a 1982 2nd round draft pick ( Jose Slaughter was later selected). After finishing the season with a record of 60-22, the Bucks would face the
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
during the
1981 NBA Playoffs The 1981 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1980–81 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Rock ...
, where Johnson led Milwaukee to a Game 6 win with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals. In Game 7, the Bucks lost 99-98, and the conclusion of the game was delayed for two hours and sixteen minutes as coach
Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...
contested if Philadelphia got away with a 24 second violation as the game ended. During the
1982 NBA Playoffs The 1982 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1981–82 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadel ...
, on April 25, 1982, Johnson scored 28 points and recorded 4 steals in a Game 1 loss against the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Bucks would eventually lose the series in six games, being eliminated by the 76ers for the second year in a row. On Johnson's underappreciated role in the Bucks' postseason run, Don Nelson said "Mickey has not been getting much credit, he's had a few games where his offense was not good, but his defense has always been there..." Despite being a solid starter on the Bucks, Johnson's tenure may be most remembered for the fact that both he and teammate Marques Johnson were the first two players in NBA history to have their full first and last names displayed on their jerseys, as they both shared the same first initial and last name. He also played for the New Jersey Nets and
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
during his career. On March 10, 1983, while on the Warriors, Johnson recorded a triple double with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 119-109 win over 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 ...
. He retired in 1986 with 12,748 career points and 6,465 career rebounds. During his NBA career, Johnson was called "Rubberman" by teammates due his ability to stretch and grab rebounds and block shots, despite his slender frame. He later became the head men's basketball coach at
Malcolm X College Malcolm X College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, is a two-year college located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded as Crane Junior College in 1911 and was the first of the City Colleges. Crane ceased operations at th ...
in Chicago.


Politics

In
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, Johnson unsuccessfully ran in an open race for alderman from Chicago's 24th Ward. He was a finalist for an appointment to fill a vacancy for the same office in 2022; Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot ultimately nominated Monique Scott instead. In 2017, Johnson described
Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt dur ...
as a "patriot" when discussing Kaepernick's use of controversial anthem protesting to bring attention to institutional racism in America.


NBA career statistics


Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1974–75 , align="left" , Chicago , 38 , , - , , 7.7 , , .449 , , - , , .638 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" , Chicago , 81 , , - , , 29.5 , , .463 , , - , , .786 , , 9.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , 15.3 , - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" , Chicago , 81 , , - , , 35.1 , , .446 , , - , , .796 , , 10.2 , , 2.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 17.3 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" , Chicago , 81 , , - , , 35.4 , , .462 , , - , , .812 , , 9.1 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , 18.3 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" , Chicago , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , - , , 31.6 , , .449 , , - , , .830 , , 7.6 , , 4.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 15.4 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" , Indiana , 82 , , - , , 32.3 , , .463 , , .156 , , .799 , , 8.3 , , 4.2 , , 1.9 , , 1.4 , , 19.1 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" , Milwaukee , 82 , , - , , 25.8 , , .448 , , .167 , , .789 , , 6.6 , , 3.5 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 12.5 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" , Milwaukee , 76 , , 71 , , 25.4 , , .491 , , .143 , , .801 , , 6.0 , , 2.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 12.9 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" , Milwaukee , 6 , , 0 , , 25.5 , , .455 , , .000 , , .778 , , 4.2 , , 1.8 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 11.2 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" , New Jersey , 42 , , 7 , , 23.8 , , .401 , , .118 , , .816 , , 5.3 , , 3.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" , Golden State , 30 , , 9 , , 30.0 , , .451 , , .059 , , .829 , , 8.2 , , 3.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 15.5 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" , Golden State , 78 , , 25 , , 27.2 , , .421 , , .172 , , .785 , , 6.6 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.4 , , 13.6 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" , Golden State , 66 , , 9 , , 23.7 , , .426 , , .233 , , .823 , , 6.0 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 13.3 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" , New Jersey , 79 , , 4 , , 19.9 , , .422 , , .208 , , .785 , , 4.2 , , 2.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 7.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 904 , , 125 , , 27.7 , , .449 , , .165 , , .800 , , 7.2 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 14.1


Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1974–75 , align="left" , Chicago , 3 , , - , , 1.7 , , .333 , , - , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" , Chicago , 3 , , - , , 41.3 , , .472 , , - , , .875 , , 13.0 , , 2.3 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 27.3 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" , Milwaukee , 7 , , - , , 24.3 , , .400 , , .000 , , .857 , , 6.7 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , 0.9 , , 11.7 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" , Milwaukee , 6 , , - , , 34.3 , , .573 , , .000 , , .846 , , 5.3 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 19.8 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" , New Jersey , 3 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .263 , , .000 , , .636 , , 3.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 22 , , 0 , , 25.4 , , .466 , , .000 , , .832 , , 5.9 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 13.7


Family

Mickey Johnson is the uncle of journeyman former NBA forward
Linton Johnson Linton Johnson III (born June 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball player. He is married to a woman from Caserta, and has Italian citizenship. Linton Johnson is the nephew of former NBA player Mickey Johnson. Career After a four-yea ...
.HORNETS: Behind the Numbers: Linton Johnson
/ref>


References


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Mickey 1952 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Aurora Spartans men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Golden State Warriors players Indiana Pacers players Milwaukee Bucks players New Jersey Nets players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Power forwards (basketball) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Robert Lindblom Math & Science Academy alumni