George Thomas Johnson (born December 18, 1948) is an American retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'11"

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 eccentrici ...

born in

Tylertown, Mississippi Tylertown is a town in Walthall County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat of Walthall County. The population was 1,609 at the 2010 census. History The town of Tylertown was first known as the Magee Settlement. It was settled by ...

and from

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

, he played in 13

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 St ...

(NBA) seasons (1972–1983; 1984–1986) as a member of the Golden State Warriors, the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...

, the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

, the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, and 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 ...

. Johnson was a key reserve on the Warriors team that won the

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 1975, and he grabbed 5,887

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

in his career. Johnson led the NBA in

blocked shots In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the de ...

per game three times, led the NBA in disqualifications in 1977–78 with 20, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1980–81. He blocked at least 10 shots in a game six times during his NBA career. Johnson recorded the first

five-by-five In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: point (basketball), points, rebound (basketball), rebounds, assist (basketball), assists ...

in NBA history, and is one of only twelve players to accomplish one. On March 26, 1978, he had 15 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 7 blocks in a 118-104 victory over the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

.New Jersey Nets at Washington Bullets Box Score, March 26, 1978 , Basketball-Reference.com
/ref> In 1981-82, Johnson started 62 games for the Spurs, helping them win the Midwest Division championship and reach the Western Conference finals. After San Antonio was swept by the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in a series in which Johnson was badly outplayed by

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

, Spurs coach

Stan Albeck Charles Stanley Albeck (May 17, 1931 – March 25, 2021) was an American professional basketball coach. Albeck coached for several teams in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), including the Denver ...

determined the team was seriously deficient in the low post. Albeck sought a premier center, and got it by trading for

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 ...

All-Star

Artis Gilmore Artis Gilmore (born September 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basket ...

, signaling the end of Johnson's time in San Antonio. Inspired by his teammate

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the ...

, Johnson shot his

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

s underhanded.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 56 , , – , , 6.2 , , .410 , , – , , .412 , , 2.5 , , 0.1 , , – , , – , , 1.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 66 , , – , , 19.6 , , .483 , , – , , .551 , , 7.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 1.9 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 82 , , – , , 17.5 , , .476 , , – , , .659 , , 7.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 1.7 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 82 , , – , , 21.3 , , .484 , , – , , .673 , , 7.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.6 , , 2.1 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 39 , , – , , 15.3 , , .487 , , – , , .806 , , 5.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 1.9 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Buffalo , 39 , , – , , 27.1 , , .448 , , – , , .687 , , 10.3 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 2.7 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 81 , , – , , 29.8 , , .395 , , – , , .719 , , 9.6 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 3.4* , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , – , , 26.4 , , .427 , , – , , .761 , , 7.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 3.2 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , – , , 26.2 , , .457 , , .000 , , .706 , , 7.4 , , 2.1 , , 0.7 , , 3.2 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, 82 , , – , , 23.6 , , .473 , , – , , .734 , , 7.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 3.4* , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 62 , , 21.0 , , .467 , , – , , .672 , , 6.1 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 3.1* , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 37 , , 0 , , 12.5 , , .439 , , – , , .737 , , 3.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 1.6 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 0 , , 12.3 , , .532 , , 1.000 , , .815 , , 2.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 1.2 , , 1.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, 41 , , 0 , , 6.4 , , .522 , , – , , .688 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 904 , , 62 , , 20.0 , , .451 , , .500 , , .694 , , 6.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 2.5 , , 4.8

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Golden State , 9, , –, , 5.0, , .400, , –, , .250, , 1.6, , 0.3, , –, , –, , 1.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

† , style="text-align:left;”, Golden State , 17, , –, , 18.9, , .571, , –, , .593, , 7.4, , 0.9, , 0.5, , 2.4, , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Golden State , 13, , –, , 20.1, , .574, , –, , .737, , 6.7, , 1.3, , 1.1, , 1.8, , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 2, , –, , 35.0, , .667, , –, , .333, , 12.5, , 1.0, , 1.0, , 3.5, , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 7, , –, , 23.6, , .462, , –, , .700, , 9.0, , 0.9, , 0.4, , 2.3, , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1982 , style="text-align:left;”,

, 9, , –, , 19.4, , .500, , –, , .600, , 5.1, , 1.3, , 0.7, , 1.7, , 1.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 1, , 0, , 4.0, , –, , –, , –, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 59 , , 0 , , 17.7 , , .551 , , – , , .618 , , 6.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 2.0 , , 4.2

References

External links

Career Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, George T. 1948 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Mississippi Buffalo Braves players Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Dillard Bleu Devils basketball players Golden State Warriors players New Jersey Nets players People from Tylertown, Mississippi Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Seattle SuperSonics players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links