Athletes - Kevin Johnson

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	Athletes - Kevin Johnson

Kevin Maurice Johnson (born March 4, 1966 in Sacramento, CA) is a former American NBA player for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns. Originally drafted in 1986 to play professional baseball with the Oakland Athletics as a pitcher, Johnson chose to play basketball instead, and was drafted for the 1987-'88 season by the Cavs after three years as a star at the University of California, Berkeley.

On February 28 1988, Johnson (along with teammates Mark West and Tyrone Corbin) was traded to the Suns where he averaged 18.8 points and 9.5 assists a game for the next 10 years. He was selected an NBA All Star three times and made the playoffs every year of his career.

The 1992-'93 Suns, led by Johnson and power forward Charles Barkley, posted an NBA best 62-20 record. Narrowly escaping first round elimination versus the Los Angeles Lakers, the Suns made it to the NBA Finals, but eventually lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in six games.

Johnson retired after the 1997-'98 season, but returned briefly during the 1999-2000 campaign to spell the injured Jason Kidd during the playoff run. Johnson helped the Suns win their first playoff series in five years (and their only series victory between 1995 and 2005). But after Phoenix fell in the second round to Los Angeles, he retired for the second and final time.

Accomplishments

Johnson is one of only four players in NBA history to have averaged 20 points and 10 assists per game in three different seasons.
He is one of four players to have averaged 15 points per game and 10 assists per game over the course of a season while shooting over 50% from the floor.
On March 7, 2001, Johnson was inducted into the Suns Ring of Honor during a game Phoenix played against the Sacramento Kings, Johnson's hometown team.

Trivia

His nickname is KJ.
During his time with the Suns he opened St. Hope Academy, a school for inner-city children in his hometown of Sacramento.
He was inadvertently responsible for Gary Payton
's nickname, "the Glove". After struggling against Payton and the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1993 Western Conference Finals, Johnson was reported to have been "held like a baseball in a glove."
He graduated from Berkeley in 1987 with a BA in Political Science.

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Athletes - Kevin Johnson

Accomplishments

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