Temeka Rochelle Johnson (born September 6, 1982) is a former 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. Her primary position was

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

High school years

Johnson attended

Bonnabel High School Alfred T. Bonnabel Magnet Academy High School is a Public school (government funded), comprehensive public high school in Kenner, Louisiana, United States, and is part of Jefferson Parish Public Schools, the largest public school system in Louis ...

Kenner, Louisiana Kenner (historically french: Cannes-Brûlées) is a city in Louisiana, United States. It is the largest city in Jefferson Parish, and is the largest incorporated suburban city of New Orleans. The population was 66,448 at the 2020 census. History ...

College years

Johnson played for the

LSU Lady Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

from 2001 to 2005, graduating from the school in 2005. She broke LSU's career assist record. She was also teammates with Seimone Augustus. * AP All-American honorable mention (2004, 2003, 2002) * All-SEC First Team (2005, 2004) * All-SEC Third Team (2003) * SEC Tournament MVP (2003) * SEC All-Tournament Team (2003, 2002)

LSU statistics

Source

WNBA career

Johnson was selected 6th overall in the 2005 WNBA Draft. Upon joining the

Mystics A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Places United States * Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts * ...

she was doubted for being too short to play professional basketball. That same year she would walk away with the 2005

WNBA Rookie of the Year The Women's National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 1998 WNBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel ...

award. In addition, she ranked 2nd in the league in assists. At the beginning of the 2006 season, she was traded to the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

, and during the 2009 off-season, to the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

who went on to win the WNBA Championship later that year. On January 12, 2012, Johnson was traded to the

Tulsa Shock The Tulsa Shock were a professional basketball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Detroit, Michigan before the 1998 WNBA season began; t ...

for

Andrea Riley Andrea Riley (born July 22, 1988) is an American professional basketball player, most recently with the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted 8th overall in the 2010 WNBA draft by the Sparks. Ri ...

. On February 7, 2013, Johnson signed with the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

to fill a gap at the starting point guard position left by Sue Bird who was out for the whole season while recovering from knee surgery. In her second season with the Storm, Johnson became the shortest player in WNBA history to record a triple-double with a performance of 13 points, 11 assists and a career-high 10 rebounds while standing only 5'3". On March 17, 2015, it was announced that Johnson was released by the Storm. Johnson signed once again with the

on March 23, 2015. While playing with the Sparks in the 2015 season, Johnson scored her 2500th career point and recorded her 300th career steal.

International career

Johnson was a member of the gold medal 2003 USA World Championship Young Women Team in

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Overseas career

In the 2005–06 WNBA off-season, Johnson played in both

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

for Bnei Yehuda and Lotos VBW Clima Gdynia. She played for Raanana Hasharon in Israel during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season. In the 2009–10 WNBA off-season, Johnson played in

for

Maccabi Bnot Ashdod Maccabi Bnot Ashdod ( he, מכבי בנות אשדוד) is a professional women's basketball team based in Ashdod, playing in the Ligat Ha'al in Israel since 2003. It is the women's basketball division of the Maccabi Ashdod sports club. During 20 ...

. From 2011 to 2013, Johnson played two off-seasons in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

for

Dynamo Kursk WBC Dynamo Kursk (russian: ЖБК «Динамо» Курск) is a Russian women's basketball club from Kursk playing in the Russian Premier League. They won their first FIBA Eurocup title in 2012. In the 2016–17 season, Kursk won the EuroLea ...

. In the 2013–14 WNBA off-season, Johnson played for another Russian team,

Nadezhda Orenburg PBK Nadezhda Orenburg (russian: ПБК «Надежда») is a Russian women's basketball club from Orenburg founded in 1994. Nadezhda has been 3rd in the Russian Premier League in 2010 and 2011, and reached the Russian Cup's final from 2011� ...

. In October 2015, Johnson signed with AGÜ Spor for the 2015–16 WNBA off-season. In November 2016, Johnson signed once again with

for the 2016–17 WNBA off-season.

References

External links

WNBA Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Temeka 1982 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball players Basketball players from New Orleans Los Angeles Sparks players LSU Lady Tigers basketball players Phoenix Mercury players Point guards Seattle Storm players Tulsa Shock players Washington Mystics draft picks Washington Mystics players