|
Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics and coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. He was an alumnus of Dominguez High School, Los Angeles Harbor College and Pepperdine University. A prototypical late bloomer, Johnson overcame early struggles and had a successful NBA playing career. Drafted 29th overall in 1976 by the Seattle SuperSonics, Johnson began his professional career as a shooting guard. He eventually led the Sonics to their only NBA championship in 1979, winning the Finals MVP Award. After a short stint with the Phoenix Suns, he became the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics, with whom he won two more championships. Johnson was voted into five All-Star Teams, one All-NBA First and one Second Team, and nine consecutive All-Defensive First and Second Teams. Apart from his reputation as a defensive stopper, Johnson was known as a clutch player who made several decisive plays in NBA playoffs history.〔 The Celtics franchise has retired Johnson's #3 jersey, which hangs from the rafters of the TD Garden, the home arena of the team. On April 5, 2010, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame officially announced that Johnson had been posthumously elected to the Hall. He was formally inducted on August 13. He is considered by several sports journalists to be one of the most underrated players of all time.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Hall of Fame still neglecting a few greats )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Shining stars who belong in the Hall of Fame )〕 ==Early years== Dennis Wayne Johnson was born the eighth of sixteen children, to a social worker and a bricklayer who lived in Compton, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.〔 Originally a baseball fan and a Little Leaguer,〔 Johnson learned basketball from his father, but seemed to have neither the size nor the talent to compete with his peers: as a teenager at Dominguez High School, Johnson measured just 5'9" and played only "a minute or two each game".〔 After high school, he worked several odd jobs, including a $2.75-per-hour job as a forklift driver, and played with his brothers in summer league games after work. During this period, Johnson grew to a height of 6'3",〔 and developed what some later described as "rocket launcher legs", which enabled him to jump high to grab rebounds against taller opponents.〔 Jim White, the coach at Los Angeles Harbor College, had watched Johnson play street basketball; feeling that Johnson excelled in defense, White asked him to enroll.〔 Johnson gave up his jobs and developed into a promising young guard, averaging 18.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and leading Harbor to a college junior state title.〔 However, the young guard lacked discipline, often clashed with White and was thrown off of the team three times in two years.〔 At the end of his junior college career, two universities offered Johnson scholarships: Azusa Pacific University and Pepperdine University.〔 Johnson chose the latter, and in his only year in college, he averaged 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game,〔 and developed a reputation for tough defense. After that year, Johnson made himself eligible for the 1976 NBA Draft, but was skeptical that any team would take him.〔 NBA teams were wary of drafting a player with character issues,〔 and Johnson was known to be a troublemaker. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dennis Johnson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|