Amir Jalla Johnson (born May 1, 1987) is an American former 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 (appro ...

player and coach who served as an assistant coach for the NBA G League Ignite of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He is currently a part of the player development staff for the LA Clippers. He has previously played for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, the team that selected Johnson in the second round of the

2005 NBA draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fro ...

, as well as the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

and

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

Early life

Born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Johnson grew up mainly in

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown. It is de ...

, but also spent time as a child in Harbor City and

Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), a list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Albie Watts, a fictional character in the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' *Angie ...

. Despite being tall and athletic, Johnson struggled to find a place on a high school basketball team. His freshman year was split at two schools (Pacific Hills, Narbonne), neither of which featured him on the court. From there, he enrolled at Verbum Dei High School, where he enjoyed a solid inaugural season of high school basketball as a sophomore in 2002–03. He then transferred to Westchester High School but was forced to sit out his junior year of 2003–04. He made up for lost time as a senior in 2004–05 as he was named the 2005 California Mr. Basketball after leading Westchester to a state title. He was subsequently named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

and appeared in the 2005 Boys Game. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Johnson was listed as the No. 7 power forward and the No. 29 player in the nation in 2005. Despite committing to play for the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

, Johnson decided to skip college and declared for

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (2005–2009)

Johnson was selected by the

with the 56th overall pick in the

. He is the last direct from high school player to be selected in the NBA draft (until 2015 with Satnam Singh Bhamara), as the NBA instituted a rule prior to the 2006 draft that requires American players to be at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school class to be eligible. As a rookie for the Pistons, Johnson appeared in just three games during the 2005–06 season. He scored his first NBA basket on a windmill dunk against the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

on January 24, 2006. On February 27, 2006, he was assigned to the Fayetteville Patriots of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. After appearing in 18 games for the Patriots, he was recalled by the Pistons on April 17, 2006. That same day, he scored 18 points for the Pistons in their 20-point loss to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, making all six of his

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

attempts, both three-point attempts, and all four of 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 ...

attempts. Johnson spent most of the 2006–07 season playing for the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

of the NBA Development League, where he earned Player of the Week honors for his play. In 22 games for the Skyforce, Johnson averaged 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 3.1 blocks per game, while shooting 62.3% from the field. Despite his strong D-League play, Johnson managed just eight games for the Pistons in 2006–07, averaging 5.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. On July 12, 2007, Johnson re-signed with the Pistons to a three-year, $12 million contract. Over the next two seasons, Johnson played a total of 124 games for the Pistons as he became a valuable asset off the bench. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 2007–08, and 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 2008–09. He also averaged 1.1 blocks per game over the two seasons.Amir Johnson NBA & ABA Stats
/ref>

Toronto Raptors (2009–2015)

On June 23, 2009, Johnson was traded to the

in a three three-team trade that also involved 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

and

Richard Jefferson Richard Allen Jefferson Jr. (born June 21, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played small forward. He played for eight teams in his 17-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jefferson playe ...

. He was later traded to the

on August 18, 2009, along with

Sonny Weems Clarence "Sonny" Weems (born July 8, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Shenzhen Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and the University of Ar ...

, in exchange for

Carlos Delfino Carlos Francisco Delfino (born 29 August 1982) is an Argentine professional basketball player for Baltur Cento of the Italian Serie A2 Basket. Standing at , he plays at the small forward and shooting guard positions. He is also noted for his de ...

and Roko Ukić. On July 8, 2010, Johnson re-signed with the Raptors to a five-year, $34 million contract. Johnson had a career-best season in 2012–13 as he averaged career-highs in minutes played (28.7 mpg), points (10.0 ppg), rebounds (7.5 rpg), assists (1.5 apg) and steals (1.0 spg). With his continued rise in dominance and overall production, Johnson began to embrace the city of Toronto, quoting that "Toronto is part of me. I've been around, the people are very kind, I love it here."Raptors' Amir Johnson says he's in love with Toronto
/ref> On December 8, 2013, Johnson scored a career-high 32 points in a 106–94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boston Celtics (2015–2017)

On July 9, 2015, Johnson signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the

. He made his debut for the Celtics in the team's season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 28, recording 15 points and 7 rebounds off the bench in a 112–95 win. On January 13, 2016, he recorded 14 points and a season-high 18 rebounds in a 103–94 win over the Indiana Pacers. On March 20, he scored a season-high 18 points in a 120–105 win over the

. He finished the 2015–16 season with averages of 7.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. On November 2, 2016, Johnson scored 23 points and hit a career-high four three-pointers in a 107–100 win over 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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

Philadelphia 76ers (2017–2019)

On July 8, 2017, Johnson signed with the

. On June 25, 2018, he was named the winner of the NBA Hustle Award during the 2018 NBA Awards. On July 16, 2018, Johnson re-signed with the 76ers. On February 22, 2019, he volunteered to play for the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware. They are the G-League affiliates of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The Bl ...

of the

because he had not appeared in a game for the 76ers since January 26. On April 13, 2019, during a nationally televised playoff game between Philadelphia and the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

, Johnson was caught by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

cameras sitting on the bench during the game taking a cell phone out of his pocket to show teammate

Joel Embiid Joel Hans Embiid ( ; born 16 March 1994) is a Cameroonian and American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks men's ...

a text message, while the Sixers were trailing by ten points. Moments later, Johnson was removed from the bench and returned to the locker room. Johnson was not active for the game. At the post game press conference, Embiid stated that Johnson's daughter was very ill and he just looked at the message. After the game, Johnson issued an apology through a statement and was fined an undisclosed amount by the 76ers for violating the NBA's rule against cell phones on the bench. Johnson did not re-sign with the team following the season.

NBA G League Ignite (2020–2022)

On November 12, 2020, Johnson was announced as addition to the NBA G League Ignite. His spot on the roster was confirmed on February 1, 2021. On October 28, 2021, Johnson re-signed with the Ignite.

Coaching career

On October 30, 2023, Johnson was hired as an assistant coach by the NBA G League Ignite.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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, 75 , , 72 , , 26.4 , , .574 , , .413 , , .612 , , 6.1 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .8 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 79 , , 76 , , 22.8 , , .585 , , .233 , , .570 , , 6.4 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 77 , , 20.1 , , .576 , , .409 , , .670 , , 4.6 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .8 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 74 , , 18 , , 15.8 , , .538 , , .313 , , .612 , , 4.5 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .6 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 51 , , 6 , , 10.4 , , .503 , , .300 , , .756 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 870 , , 485 , , 21.1 , , .570 , , .332 , , .673 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 7.0

Playoffs

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2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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Personal life

Johnson grew up in an athletic family. His sister, Indi, played forward for

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

's women's basketball team, while his cousins, Kevin and Kaelin Burnett, both played linebacker in the NFL.This Is Amir Johnson: The Biography
/ref> Johnson is highly involved in community work, and regularly hosts back to school programs, visits local hospitals and pays for low income youth to attend games. He is also known for his random acts of kindness. Shortly after the release of

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

's ''

Nothing Was the Same ''Nothing Was the Same'' is the third studio album by the Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake. It was released on September 24, 2013, through OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records. Work on the record ...

'' album, Johnson bought all the copies from two local stores and handed them out to random pedestrians in Toronto.

References

External links

NBA G League profileOfficial website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Amir 1987 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's 3x3 basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Los Angeles Big3 players Boston Celtics players Delaware Blue Coats players Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players Fayetteville Patriots players McDonald's High School All-Americans NBA high school draftees NBA G League Ignite coaches NBA G League Ignite players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards Sioux Falls Skyforce players Toronto Raptors players Verbum Dei High School alumni Westchester High School (Los Angeles) alumni

Early life

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (2005–2009)

Toronto Raptors (2009–2015)

Boston Celtics (2015–2017)

Philadelphia 76ers (2017–2019)

NBA G League Ignite (2020–2022)

Coaching career

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

See also

References

External links