Andy Johnson (basketball)

Andrew Johnson Jr. (November 8, 1932 – August 30, 2002) was an American professional basketball player and coach.

Andy Johnson
Johnson, c. 1962
Personal information
Born(1932-11-08)November 8, 1932
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 30, 2002(2002-08-30) (aged 69)
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolNorth Hollywood
(North Hollywood, California)
CollegePortland (1950–1953)
NBA draft1953: undrafted
Playing career1958–1971
PositionPower forward / small forward
Number12
Coaching career1970–1971
Career history
As player:
19581961Philadelphia Warriors
1961–1962Chicago Packers
1962–1963Philadelphia Tapers
1962–1969Allentown Jets
1970–1971Camden Bullets
As coach:
1970–1971Camden Bullets
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

A 6'5" guard/forward, Johnson played at the University of Portland in the 1950s before serving with the US military in the Korean War. He began his professional basketball career with the Harlem Globetrotters, then played in the NBA from 1958 to 1962 as a member of the Philadelphia Warriors and Chicago Packers. He averaged 9.8 points over his NBA career, posting a high of 14.3 points per game with the Packers in the 1961–62 season.[1]

To Johnson's surprise, he was cut by Chicago before the 1962–63 season began, allegedly because he "didn't know the plays". He then joined the Philadelphia Tapers of the American Basketball League. Johnson hoped to return to the NBA after a season with the Tapers, but such an opportunity never materialized. He played eight more years in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) / Eastern Basketball Association (EBA).[2] Johnson was named as the EPBL Most Valuable Player with the Allentown Jets in 1964.[2] He served as player-coach of the Camden Bullets during the 1970–71 season and led the team to a 12–16 record.[3]

Because he had been cut by the Chicago Packers before his fifth NBA season, he did not qualify for a pension from the NBA,[1] though after some effort, he managed to receive some money from them later in his life.[4]

Johnson is the subject of a 2010 biography called Basketball Slave. The book was written by his son, Mark, who believed his father had been exploited throughout his athletic career on account of his ethnicity.[4]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

Source[5]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1958–59 Philadelphia 67 17.3 .373 .602 3.2 1.3 6.9
1959–60 Philadelphia 75 18.9 .378 .601 3.8 2.0 8.2
1960–61 Philadelphia 79* 25.3 .359 .571 4.4 2.6 9.6
1961–62 Chicago 71 30.9 .448 .628 4.9 3.2 14.3
Career 292 23.2 .392 .605 4.1 2.3 9.8

Playoffs

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1960 Philadelphia 9 20.3 .418 .511 5.0 2.3 8.9
1961 Philadelphia 3 16.7 .318 .667 3.3 .3 6.7
Career 12 19.4 .393 .536 4.6 1.8 8.3

References

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  1. ^ a b George Vecsey. "Tracing The Old Survivors". New York Times. December 12, 1990. Retrieved on December 26, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Andrew Johnson minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  3. ^ "Andy Johnson minor league basketball coaching statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Books". SLAM. February 2010. 80–81.
  5. ^ "Andy Johnson NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
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