Philip Donald Johnson (born September 6, 1941) is a former college

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 and a former basketball coach. He played college basketball at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

and Weber State, and has coached collegiately at

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

Early life and college playing career

Philip Donald Johnson, a native of

Grace, Idaho Grace is a city in Caribou County, Idaho, Caribou County, Idaho, United States. The population was 915 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History The area of Grace was once inhabited by the Shoshone Indians. The Oregon Trail passed w ...

, graduated from

Grace High School Grace High School is the public secondary school in Grace, Idaho, southeast of Pocatello. It serves grades 7-12 for the Grace Joint School District. Academics In the 2022-23 '' US News and World Report'' annual survey of US public high schoo ...

in 1959. He attended Utah State University for one year before transferring to Weber College (now

) in

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

, where he played on the Wildcats basketball team for one season. In 1961, Johnson returned to

and played two years on the Utah State Aggies basketball team. Playing under coach LaDell Andersen, Johnson was part of Utah State teams that made the NCAA tournaments of

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

. Johnson averaged 12.3 points and 7.1 rebounds in his senior season and graduated from Utah State in 1963 with a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

, and in 1964 he completed his master's degree.

Coaching career

Johnson began his coaching career in the 1963–64 season as the freshman basketball team coach at Utah State. In 1964, Johnson returned to his junior college alma mater, by then Weber State College, as an assistant coach under

Dick Motta John Richard Motta (born September 3, 1931) is an American former basketball coach whose career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) spanned 25 years. Motta coached the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship, and he won the 1971 ...

. In four seasons with Johnson as an assistant, Weber State finished at the top of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

in 1965, 1966, and 1968 and made the 1968 NCAA Tournament. In 1968, Johnson became head coach at Weber State. In three seasons with Johnson as head coach, Weber State was Big Sky regular season champions every season and made every NCAA tournament from

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. The Big Sky also recognized Johnson as Coach of the Year in those seasons, as well. Johnson left Weber State with a 68-16 record. In his first NBA coaching job, Johnson again joined Dick Motta's coaching staff in 1971 with the

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 1 ...

. On November 29, 1973, the

Kansas City-Omaha Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

hired Johnson as new head coach after firing

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...

. Inheriting a 6–19 team, Johnson went 27–31 for the rest of the season, and the Kings finished 33–49. The following season, Johnson led the Kings a 44–38 record and a berth in the

1975 NBA Playoffs The 1975 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1974–75 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeating the Eastern Conference champion Washin ...

. For this achievement, Johnson earned the 1975

NBA Coach of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who le ...

. Johnson was fired on January 7, 1978, following a 13–24 start for the now Kansas City Kings. In 1979, Johnson returned to the Chicago Bulls, this time as an assistant coach on

Jerry Sloan Gerald Eugene Sloan (March 28, 1942 – May 22, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before beginning a 30-year coaching career, 23 of which were spent ...

's staff. When Sloan was fired, Phil completed the year as Rod Thorn's assistant. On July 20, 1982, Johnson joined

Frank Layden Francis Layden (born January 5, 1932) is an American former basketball coach and executive of the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz as well as former head coach of the Women's National Basketball Association's Utah Starzz. Coaching car ...

's staff on the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

and would serve as an assistant coach for two seasons. On November 30, 1984, the Kansas City Kings hired Johnson as head coach, after Jack McKinney resigned following a 1–8 start. The Kings finished the 1984–85 season 31–51. The Kings then moved to

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, and Johnson coached the Kings' first two seasons in Sacramento. The team made the playoffs the first season. Following a 14–32 start, in the second year, the Kings fired Johnson on February 9, 1987. This was the second time the team fired Johnson from the head coaching position. Johnson was an assistant coach with the

from December 11, 1988 until his resignation on February 10, 2011. During his stint with the Jazz, he was named the NBA's top assistant coach four times by an annual survey of NBA general managers (2002, 2004, 2007, 2010). In 1992, Johnson was inducted into the Weber State University Sports Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame. On July 12, 2016, Johnson was awarded the inaugural Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award by the NBA Coach's Association. Utah State University inducted him into the Athletic Hall of Fame on September 4, 2016. Johnson and his wife, Ann, are the parents of two children, Mitchel and Nathan, and have two grandchildren, McKenna and Alexander. They reside in suburban

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

References

External links

NBA.com coach file: Phil Johnson

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Phil 1941 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Idaho Basketball players from Idaho Chicago Bulls head coaches Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Kansas City Kings head coaches Kansas City-Omaha Kings head coaches People from Grace, Idaho Utah Jazz assistant coaches Utah State Aggies men's basketball players Weber State Wildcats men's basketball coaches