Eddie Johnson (basketball)

:"See Edward Johnson, Jr. for "Fast Eddie" Johnson, the NBA player born in 1955."Infobox NBA Player
name = Eddie Johnson
position = Small forward
height_ft = 6
height_in = 7
weight_lb = 215
birth_date = birth date and age|1959|5|1
birth_place = Chicago, Illinois
college = Illinois
draft = 2nd round, 29th overall
draft_year = 1981
draft_team = Kansas City Kings
career_start = 1981
career_end = 1999
former_teams = Kansas City/Sacramento Kings (1981-1987)
Phoenix Suns (1987-1990)
Seattle SuperSonics (1990-1992)
Charlotte Hornets (1993-1994)
Olympiacos BC (1994-1995)
Indiana Pacers (1995-1997)
Houston Rockets (1997-1999)
awards = NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1989)
Greek League Finals MVP (1995)

Edward (Eddie) Arnet Johnson (born May 1 1959 in Chicago, Illinois) is a retired American professional basketball player who spent 17 seasons in the NBA. A sharpshooting 6'7" forward/guard, Johnson attended the University of Illinois before being selected by the Kansas City Kings in the 1981 NBA Draft. Johnson would play for the Kings, the Phoenix Suns, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Charlotte Hornets, the Indiana Pacers, the Houston Rockets, and Greek team Olympiacos (1994-1995) before retiring from basketball in 1999. Although his 19,202 points was the 22nd highest total in NBA history at the time of his retirement, Johnson was never selected to play in the All-Star game nor ever chosen for an All-NBA team. In fact, the "awards highlight" of his career occurred in 1989, when he received the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award as a member of the Suns.

He also played for one year in the Greek League, with Olympiacos in the 1994-95 season. He became a cult favorite with the fans for his phenomenal shooting from outside the 3-point line. One game in particular established his enduring legend for fans of the Thrylos (Legend), when he scored four 3-pointers in the final minutes of the low-scoring and tense semi-final of the 1995 FIBA Champions' Cup European Final Four against arch-rivals Panathinaikos. Olympiacos won that match 58-52, but lost the final to Real Madrid. Johnson did, however, taste success in the Greek League where he was instrumental in Olympiacos' 3-2 series win over Panathinaikos in the Greek playoff finals of 1995. The fifth and vital match of that series ended in one of the lowest-scoring games ever, as Olympiacos scraped a 45-44 victory in a match that caused heart attacks for the fans. In 25 games for Olympiacos, Johnson totaled averages of 21.1 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game in the 1994-95 season.Fact|date=February 2007

After his season overseas, he then returned to the NBA and started the 1995-96 season with the Pacers. He was traded to the Nuggets on February 20 1997 where he was quickly released. However, he signed with the Rockets for the remainder of the season and then returned to the Rockets for the next two seasons. Along with his Sixth Man of the Year Award, he is also remembered for hitting the game-winning three-pointer as time expired in a 95-92 Rockets win over the Utah Jazz in Game 4 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals.

After his playing career was over, Johnson turned to broadcasting, serving as a color commentator for the Arizona State University men's basketball team, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, and currently the Phoenix Suns. Johnson is also an accomplished motivational speaker, and he has recently released an instructional DVD called "Eddie Johnson's Jumpshot and Offensive Skills". Johnson is also a regular article contributor to the website Hoopshype.com and also enjoys debating his ideas, opinions, and thoughts with his readers.

In 2006, Johnson was mistaken in multiple media reports for "Fast Eddie" Johnson when the latter was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault of a minor and burglary on August 8. Johnson called that day the "worst...of his life" and expressed concern that the case of mistaken identity might permanently sully his reputation. [cite news|url=http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0810johnson-ON.html|title=Former Sun has worst day of life|work=Associated Press|date=2006-08-11|accessdate=2006-08-11|author=Pells, Eddie] Johnson expressed to Jay Mariotti of "The Chicago Sun Times" that he is considering legal action against the various news outlets that used pictures of him gained from the internet or did not fact check his identity against that of Edward "Fast Eddie" Johnson.

References

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/historical/playerfile/index.html?player=eddie_johnson nba.com/historical/playerfile]
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsed03.html Career stats]
* [http://www.positivesideofsports.com/espn-personalities-ejohnson.htm Positive Side of Sports]
* [http://www.jumpshotclub.com/eddie.htm Jumpshotclub.com]