Edward Arnet Johnson
Born: May 1, 1959
Position: Shooting Guard
Height: 6-7 (2.01 m)
Jerseys worn: #8
In the NBA:
Nickname: "Fast Eddie" (because of his quick release when he was shooting)
His Game:
Eddie Johnson enjoyed a long career in the NBA thanks to his incredible shot, his professionalism and his leadership skills.
His Career:
Johnson was selected by the Kancas City Kings in the second round (#29) of the 1981 NBA Draft. He averaged 9.3 points as a rookie and never less than 18.7 during the next 5 seasons. In 1984-'85 he scored a career-high 22.9 ppg. Despite his stable scoring, the team couldn't advance to the playoffs and Johnson grew desparate, asking to be traded. He moved to Phoenix for the 1987-'88 season. The following year, he averaged 21.5 as a reserve, the highest number in the NBA among bench players. The team reached the Western Conference Finals in 1989 and 1990.
Midway through the 1990-'91 season, he got traded to Seattle. He provided leadership and instant offense to a young team. In 1991-'92 he averaged 17.1 points and in 1992-'93 14.4 points, helping Seattle reach the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to his former team, Phoenix. The following year he was traded to Charlotte but saw limited playing time.
Johnson came back from Greece and played with the Indiana Pacers furing the 1995-'96 season, scoring 7.7 ppg in 16.2 minutes/game as a reserve forward and guard. In the 1996-'97 midseason he got traded to the Houston Rockets, where he stayed the following 2 seasons, scoring well off the bench. A back injury didn't allow him to play more than 3 games during his last season, 1998-'99.
Honors:
Johnson won the NBA Sixth Man award in 1989. He is the only player in NBA history to score over 19,000 career points and never to play in an All-Star Game.
Highlights:
In the 4th game of the 1997 Western Finals against the Utah Jazz, Johnson scored 31 points for Houston, including the game-winning 3-pointer. He was 38 years old!
Statistics:
| YEAR |
Team |
Games |
Pts |
FT % |
FG % |
3PM |
3-pt % |
Reb. |
Trn |
Ast |
St |
Blk |
Min. |
Star? |
| 1982 |
Kansas City |
74 |
9.3 |
.664 |
.459 |
1 |
.091 |
4.4 |
1.3 |
1.5 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
20.5 |
No |
| 1983 |
Kansas City |
82 |
19.8 |
.779 |
.494 |
20 |
.282 |
6.1 |
2.2 |
2.6 |
0.9 |
0.2 |
35.8 |
YES |
| 1984 |
Kansas City |
82 |
21.9 |
.810 |
.485 |
20 |
.313 |
5.5 |
2.6 |
3.6 |
0.9 |
0.3 |
35.6 |
YES |
| 1985 |
Kansas City |
82 |
22.9 |
.871 |
.491 |
13 |
.241 |
5.0 |
2.7 |
3.3 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
36.9 |
YES |
| 1986 |
Sacramento |
82 |
18.7 |
.816 |
.475 |
4 |
.200 |
5.1 |
2.3 |
2.6 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
30.7 |
YES |
| 1987 |
Sacramento |
81 |
18.7 |
.829 |
.463 |
37 |
.314 |
4.4 |
2.0 |
3.1 |
0.5 |
0.2 |
30.3 |
YES |
| 1988 |
Phoenix |
73 |
17.7 |
.850 |
.480 |
24 |
.255 |
4.4 |
1.9 |
2.5 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
29.8 |
YES |
| 1989 |
Phoenix |
70 |
21.5 |
.868 |
.497 |
71 |
.413 |
4.4 |
1.7 |
2.3 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
29.2 |
YES |
| 1990 |
Phoenix |
64 |
16.9 |
.917 |
.453 |
70 |
.380 |
3.8 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
0.5 |
0.2 |
28.3 |
No |
| 1991 |
Phoenix / Seattle |
81 |
16.7 |
.891 |
.484 |
39 |
.325 |
3.3 |
1.5 |
1.4 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
25.7 |
YES |
| 1992 |
Seattle |
81 |
17.1 |
.861 |
.459 |
27 |
.252 |
3.6 |
1.6 |
2.0 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
29.2 |
YES |
| 1993 |
Seattle |
81 |
14.4 |
.911 |
.467 |
17 |
.304 |
3.3 |
1.6 |
1.6 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
22.8 |
No |
| 1994 |
Charlotte |
73 |
11.5 |
.780 |
.459 |
59 |
.393 |
3.1 |
1.2 |
1.7 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
20.0 |
No |
| 1996 |
Indiana |
62 |
7.7 |
.886 |
.413 |
45 |
.352 |
2.5 |
0.9 |
1.1 |
0.3 |
0.1 |
16.2 |
No |
| 1997 |
Indiana / Houston |
52 |
8.2 |
.809 |
.442 |
49 |
.374 |
2.7 |
0.9 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
17.6 |
No |
| 1998 |
Houston |
75 |
8.4 |
.831 |
.417 |
66 |
.333 |
2.0 |
0.8 |
1.2 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
19.9 |
No |
| 1999 |
Houston |
3 |
4.0 |
.000 |
.462 |
0 |
.000 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
6.0 |
No |
| Career |
Career |
1,199 |
16.0 |
.840 |
.472 |
562 |
.335 |
4.0 |
1.7 |
2.1 |
0.6 |
0.2 |
27.2 |
YES |
In Europe:
Eddie played in Greece during the 1994-'95 season for Olympiakos. He averaged 21.2 points, 5 rebounds and 2.1 assists and led the team to win the Greek Championship and reach the European Championship's final, where they lost to Sabonis' Real Madrid. Despite playing only one year in Greece, his name became legendary because of his shooting style and his big shots in clutch time.