Joe Johnson

Joe Marcus Johnson (born June 29, 1981) is a National Basketball Association player, currently a member of the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA and a former member of the U.S. national team. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

College career[]

Joe Johnson was offered many scholarships from Duke, Connecticut, etc., but chose the Arkansas Razorbacks because it was his dream to play for them.

While playing for the Razorbacks, Johnson led the team in scoring, averaging 16.0 points per game, and rebounding, averaging 5.7 rebounds per game, becoming the first freshman in the school's history to lead the team in both.

Professional career[]

Boston Celtics[]

After playing two seasons at the University of Arkansas, Johnson was selected 10th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2001 NBA Draft.

Johnson started 33 of Boston's first 38 games as a rookie, but his playing time dwindled as the Celtics made a push for the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 1995. Midway through his rookie season, Johnson was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with guards Randy Brown, Milt Palacio and a first round pick for veteran forward Rodney Rogers and guard Tony Delk on February 20, 2002.

Phoenix Suns[]

Johnson became a force with Phoenix as he averaged 15.2 points per game in his three and a half seasons with the Suns. He also developed into one of the most lethal three-point shooters in the NBA. He is notorious for his great ball-handling ability considering his size, and for his jump shot.

In the 2004-05 season playoffs, Joe Johnson required surgery on his face; after dunking a basketball, he swung off the rim and landed horribly on his face. Because of the injury, Johnson wore a face mask for the rest of the playoffs. The Suns lost to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs, 4 games to 1.

Atlanta Hawks[]

In the summer of 2005, Johnson became a highly touted restricted free agent and expressed a desire to leave the Suns to assume a larger role on the Atlanta Hawks. On August 19, 2005, a deal was finalized and Johnson was involved in a sign-and-trade deal with the Hawks for Boris Diaw and two future first-round draft picks.

In his first season as a Hawk, Johnson led the Atlanta Hawks in several categories: points (20.2 per game), assists (6.5), and steals (1.26), three-point field goals made (128), and minutes (40.7). He was only one of five players in the league to average at least 20 points and six assists in the 2005-06 season. Johnson was the only Hawk to play in all 82 games and extended his current league-leading consecutive games played streak to 346 as of November 25, 2006.

On March 5, 2006, he was one of 23 NBA players named to the 2006-08 U.S. men's senior national team.

Johnson scored a career-high 42 points on March 7, 2006 against the olden State Warriors and recorded a career-high 17 assists in March 13, 2006 Hawks loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. He recorded his first career triple-double on February 1, 2006 with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Charlotte Bobcats.

He played for the U.S. national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, winning a bronze medal.

Johnson continued his development in the 2006-07 season, when he averaged 25.0 points, 4.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.05 steals per game. His 25.0 scoring average was behind only Allen Iverson among qualifying NBA guards, and ninth-best overall. Johnson also shot a career-best 47.1% from the field. Johnson was named by league commissioner David Stern to the 2007 Eastern Conference All-Star team, replacing the injured Jason Kidd (back).

Johnson's scoring average had increased in each season of his 6-year NBA career through 2006-2007.

In 2008, Johnson made the 2008 All-Star Game as a reserve. He also was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month twice during the season. Johnson averaged 21.7 points per game on the season, leading the Hawks to their first playoff appearance in 9 years. In Game 4 of the Hawks' first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics, Johnson scored 35 points, including 20 in the 4th quarter, leading the Hawks to a 97-92 victory. The Hawks went on to lose the series four games to three.

NBA career statistics[]

Regular season[]

|- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Boston Celtics | 48 || 33 || 48 || .439 || .273 || .769 || 2.9 || 1.5 || .7 || .2 || 6.3 |- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Phoenix | 29 || 27 || 31.5 || .420 || .333 || .778 || 4.1 || 3.6 || .9 || .4 || 9.6 |- | align="left" | 2002 | align="left" | Phoenix | 82 || 34 || 27.5 || .397 || .366 || .774 || 3.2 || 2.6 || .8 || .2 || 9.8 |- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Phoenix | 82 || 77 || 40.6 || .430 || .305 || .750 || 4.7 || 4.4 || 1.1 || .3 || 16.7 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Phoenix | 82 || 82 || 39.5 || .461 || .478 || .750 || 5.1 || 3.5 || 1.0 || .3 || 17.1 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Atlanta Hawks | 82 || 82 || 40.7 || .453 || .356 || .791 || 4.1 || 6.5 || 1.3 || .4 || 20.2 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Atlanta | 57 || 57 || 41.4 || .471 || .381 || .748 || 4.2 || 4.4 || 1.0 || .2 || 25.0 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Atlanta | 82 || 82 || 40.8 || .432 || .381 || .834 || 4.5 || 5.8 || 1.0 || .2 || 21.7 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 544 || 474 || 36.4 || .442 || .377 || .780 || 4.2 || 4.2 || 1.0 || .2 || 16.6 |- | align="left" | All-Star | align="left" | | 2 || 0 || 15.5 || .545 || .500 || .000 || .5 || 2.0 || 1.0 || .0 || 7.5

Playoffs[]

|- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Phoenix | 6 || 0 || 27.3 || .275 || .154 || .400 || 4.3 || 1.3 || .7 || .3 || 5.3 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Phoenix | 9 || 9 || 39.4 || .504 || .556 || .697 || 4.3 || 3.3 || 1.1 || .4 || 18.8 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Atlanta | 7 || 7 || 39.3 || .409 || .444 || .909 || 3.9 || 4.0 || .3 || .0 || 20.0 |-issac is a bum | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 22 || 16 || 36.1 || .426 || .447 || .775 || 4.2 || 3.0 || .7 || .3 || 15.5

External links[]

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