He was one of the most recognizable and popular players in the NBA before even stepping on the court. He had dominated in the NCAA with the UNLV Runnin Rebels of the early 90s which included him, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony and Anderson Hunt; coached by the legendary Jerry Tarkanian. They embarrassed Christian Laettner and Duke to win the National Championship in 1990 then went undefeated and seemed like a lock to repeat in 1991, but Laettner and Duke would get their revenge in the Final Four. Johnson would then be the first overall pick of the 1991 NBA draft and instantly become the Hornets franchise player, winning rookie of the year. He form a short lived partnership with fellow young star Alonzo Mourning, but they couldn’t seem to get along and would both be traded away in consecutive years, Johnson would be traded the year after Mourning and get to spend one year in Charlotte with another Hornets legend in Glen Rice, but they did not have great team success. Johnson would be traded to the New York Knicks prior to the 1997 season where he would team with guys like Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston and John Starks and later Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby, as he was a crucial piece to the success of the late 90s Knicks. He was one of the key players of the Knicks and Heat rivalry of that era as he would constantly feud with his former teammate, Mourning. He would have some memorable performance in New York with unforgettable moments like his 4 point play vs. the Indiana Pacers in game 3 of the eastern conference finals which helped New York continue their Cinderella season and be the first 8 seed to make the NBA finals, where they would sadly lose to Tim Duncan, David Robinson and the Spurs. Johnson would play just two more seasons after this before chronic back pain forced him into retirement at just 31 years old.
But even though, his career had the potential to be so much better, he was a great starter from the beginning to the end and on top of that was one of the NBA’s first cultural icons with his famous character “Grandmama” and the prestigious distinction of being the first ever SLAM magazine Cover athlete. But, he doesn’t get talked about as much as he should so we’re going to flip that around and talk about him today, let’s jog your memory.
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