Hall of Fame Professional Basketball Player, Coach. For fourteen seasons (1976 to 1990, he played as a point guard in the National Basketball Association with the Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics. Born Dennis Wayne Johnson, he attended Dominguez High School in California and later played collegiate basketball at Pepperdine University. Selected by the SuperSonics during the 2nd round of the 1976 NBA Draft, he totaled 1,100 career regular season games. Johnson was a key member of three NBA championship teams (1979 SuperSonics, 1984 and 1986 Celtics). Johnson was part of a Celtics lineup which included Hall of Fame players Larry Bird and Robert Parish. During his career, he played in five NBA All-Star Games and was named MVP of the 1979 NBA Finals. Johnson compiled 15,535 points with 5,499 assists and achieved all-star status five times, in addition to receiving MVP honors for the 1978-1979 NBA Finals. After retiring as a player, he began a lengthy coaching career, initially as an assistant with the Celtics (1993 to 1997) followed by the Los Angeles Clippers (1999 to 2003). He succeeded Alvin Gentry as head coach of the Clippers in 2003. He collapsed and died suddenly during practice in the NBA Developmental League, where he was a coach. He was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame posthumously in 2010.
Hall of Fame Professional Basketball Player, Coach. For fourteen seasons (1976 to 1990, he played as a point guard in the National Basketball Association with the Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics. Born Dennis Wayne Johnson, he attended Dominguez High School in California and later played collegiate basketball at Pepperdine University. Selected by the SuperSonics during the 2nd round of the 1976 NBA Draft, he totaled 1,100 career regular season games. Johnson was a key member of three NBA championship teams (1979 SuperSonics, 1984 and 1986 Celtics). Johnson was part of a Celtics lineup which included Hall of Fame players Larry Bird and Robert Parish. During his career, he played in five NBA All-Star Games and was named MVP of the 1979 NBA Finals. Johnson compiled 15,535 points with 5,499 assists and achieved all-star status five times, in addition to receiving MVP honors for the 1978-1979 NBA Finals. After retiring as a player, he began a lengthy coaching career, initially as an assistant with the Celtics (1993 to 1997) followed by the Los Angeles Clippers (1999 to 2003). He succeeded Alvin Gentry as head coach of the Clippers in 2003. He collapsed and died suddenly during practice in the NBA Developmental League, where he was a coach. He was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame posthumously in 2010.
Bio by: C.S.
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