Tiffani Tamara Johnson (born December 27, 1975) 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. She played in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA) for the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Aren ...

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

and

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

. Johnson won a

WNBA championship The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. The series is played between the win ...

with the Comets in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. She played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Tennessee Lady Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

and won two

NCAA championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

High school career

Johnson attended

Garinger High School Garinger High School (sometimes referred to simply as Garinger or The G) is a high school located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. History Garinger was in essence the relocation of Central High School, making it one of the oldest rem ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, and was selected as North Carolina Miss Basketball in 1994. She was considered one of the most dominant players in state history as she averaged 28 points and 20 rebounds per game during her senior season. Johnson committed to play

for the

for its tradition and intensity level.

College career

Johnson won her first NCAA championship with the Lady Volunteers in 1996 as she scored 16 points in the title game. At the end of the season, she was suspended for disciplinary reasons and barred from attending team functions including visiting the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. Johnson won a second NCAA championship with the Lady Volunteers in 1997. She was dropped from the team in 1997 before her senior season by head coach

Pat Summitt Patricia Susan Summitt (; June 14, 1952 – June 28, 2016) was an American women's college basketball head coach and college basketball player. As a coach, she acquired 1,098 career wins, the most in college basketball history at the time ...

for disciplinary reasons.

Professional career

Johnson declared for the 1998 American Basketball League (ABL) draft, and was selected as the 26th overall pick by the

San Jose Lasers The San Jose Lasers were a women's professional basketball team in San Jose, California. It was a member of the American Basketball League. Their home games were primarily held at the San Jose State Event Center with an occasional game being ...

. Johnson was included on the training camp roster of the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

during the 1999 season. Johnson was a starter for the Houston Comets when they won a

. On February 22, 2004, Johnson signed with the Houston Stealth of the

National Women's Basketball League The National Women's Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NWBL, was an organization governing professional basketball leagues for women in the United States. The league was founded in 1997 and began play in the Fall of that year. The leagu ...

. On May 18, 2005, Johnson was waived by the Comets. At the time, she ranked fourth all-time with the Comets in games played (150), total rebounds (643) and blocked shots (79). Johnson played for the

during the 2006 season as a late addition to the team. On April 2, 2008, Johnson signed a training camp deal with the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

. She was waived by the team on May 14, 2008.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, align="left" ,

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 6, , 0, , 5.3, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 50.0, , 1.7, , 0.0, , 0.3, , 0.0, , 0.5, , 0.3 , - , align="left" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="13" , ''Did not play (waived)'' , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 31, , 29, , 22.2, , 48.0, , 0.0, , 70.0, , 4.7, , 0.3, , 0.3, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 4.2 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, align="left" ,

, 32, , 28, , 21.0, , 44.9, , 0.0, , 85.7, , 4.3, , 0.7, , 0.4, , 0.5, , 1.3, , 4.6 , - , align="left" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, align="left" ,

, 32, , 32, , 25.5, , 43.3, , 0.0, , 81.0, , 5.4, , 1.2, , 0.5, , 0.8, , 1.2, , 6.3 , - , align="left" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, align="left" ,

, 22, , 3, , 16.3, , 48.4, , 0.0, , 73.9, , 2.9, , 0.6, , 0.1, , 0.3, , 0.9, , 3.5 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, align="left" ,

, 33, , 11, , 20.0, , 50.0, , 0.0, , 75.0, , 3.7, , 0.8, , 0.3, , 0.5, , 0.9, , 4.3 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="13" , ''Did not play (waived)'' , - , align="left" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, align="left" ,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 32, , 8, , 19.9, , 41.5, , 0.0, , 75.7, , 3.9, , 0.5, , 0.3, , 0.5, , 1.0, , 4.7 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 7 years, 3 teams , 188, , 111, , 20.5, , 45.0, , 0.0, , 76.3, , 4.1, , 0.7, , 0.3, , 0.5, , 1.0, , 4.5

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 6, , 6, , 22.5, , 50.0, , 0.0, , 100.0, , 4.8, , 0.2, , 0.5, , 0.3, , 1.2, , 3.7 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 2, , 2, , 35.5, , 41.2, , 0.0, , 57.1, , 8.5, , 1.5, , 0.0, , 1.5, , 2.0, , 9.0 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 3, , 3, , 17.0, , 44.4, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 3.0, , 0.3, , 0.0, , 2.0, , 1.3, , 2.7 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 3, , 0, , 10.3, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 2.0, , 0.0, , 0.7, , 0.0, , 0.3, , 0.0 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 3, , 0, , 21.0, , 50.0, , 0.0, , 100.0, , 4.3, , 1.7, , 0.3, , 0.3, , 1.0, , 6.3 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 5 years, 2 teams , 17, , 11, , 20.6, , 42.2, , 0.0, , 81.3, , 4.4, , 0.6, , 0.4, , 0.7, , 1.1, , 3.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;" , 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;" ,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, 37, , -, , -, , 51.2, , 25.0, , 74.1, , 6.5, , 0.5, , 0.7, , 1.1, , -, , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 35, , -, , -, , 48.7, , 20.0, , 61.8, , 6.3, , 0.7, , 0.5, , 0.7, , -, , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 38, , -, , -, , 53.2, , 0.0, , 70.5, , 7.4, , 0.6, , 0.6, , 0.7, , -, , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 , Career , 110, , -, , -, , 51.1, , 21.4, , 69.8, , 6.7, , 0.6, , 0.6, , 0.8, , -, , 8.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="14", Statistics retrieved from

Sports-Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey Ref ...

Personal life

Johnson graduated from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. She is a cousin of fellow basketball player

Ivory Latta Ivory Latta (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. She was drafted 11th overall by the Detroit Shock in the 2007 WNBA Draft. A guard noted for her three-point shooting and on-court enthusiasm, she played ...

. She now coaches youth basketball in the Atlanta area.

References

External links

Career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Tiffani 1975 births American women's basketball players Centers (basketball) Houston Comets players Sacramento Monarchs players Seattle Storm players Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball players Living people National Women's Basketball League players