Amir Johnson facts for kids

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Amir Johnson
Personal information

Born	(1987-05-01) May 1, 1987 (age 38) Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
High school	Verbum Dei (Los Angeles, California) Westchester (Los Angeles, California)
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	253 lb (115 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	2005 / Round: 2 / Pick: 56th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Pro career	2005–2022
Career history
As player:
2005–2009	Detroit Pistons
2006	→Fayetteville Patriots
2007	→Sioux Falls Skyforce
2009–2015	Toronto Raptors
2015–2017	Boston Celtics
2017–2019	Philadelphia 76ers
2019	→Delaware Blue Coats
2020–2022	NBA G League Ignite
As coach:
2023–2024	NBA G League Ignite (assistant)

Career highlights and awards
McDonald's All-American (2005) Second-team Parade All-American (2005) California Mr. Basketball (2005)

Amir Jalla Johnson (born May 1, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He also worked as a coach. Amir played for several NBA teams like the Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers. He was chosen by the Pistons in the 2005 NBA draft. More recently, he was an assistant coach for the NBA G League Ignite. He is currently part of the player development staff for the LA Clippers.

Early Life and High School Basketball

Amir Johnson was born in Los Angeles. He grew up in different parts of the city, including South Central Los Angeles, Harbor City, and Watts. Even though he was tall and athletic, it was hard for him to find a spot on a high school basketball team at first.

High School Journey

During his freshman year, Amir attended two different schools. Neither school put him on their basketball team. He then went to Verbum Dei High School. There, he had a good first season of high school basketball in 2002–03. After that, he moved to Westchester High School. He had to sit out his junior year (2003–04) because of the transfer rules.

Senior Year Success

Amir made up for lost time in his senior year (2004–05). He was named the 2005 California Mr. Basketball. He led Westchester High School to win a state championship. He was also chosen as a McDonald's All-American. This meant he played in the special 2005 Boys Game with other top high school players.

Choosing the NBA

Amir had planned to play college basketball for the University of Louisville. However, he decided to skip college. Instead, he declared for the NBA draft right after high school.

Professional Basketball Career

Amir Johnson had a long career in the NBA. He played for several teams and became known for his strong play.

Detroit Pistons (2005–2009)

The Detroit Pistons picked Amir Johnson in the 2005 NBA draft. He was the 56th player chosen overall. He was one of the last players to go straight from high school to the NBA. After 2006, the NBA made a rule that American players had to be out of high school for at least one year to be eligible for the draft.

Rookie Season and Development League

In his first season (2005–06), Amir played only three games for the Pistons. He scored his first NBA points with a cool windmill dunk. He also spent time playing for the Fayetteville Patriots in the NBA Development League (now called the G League). He played well there, scoring 18 points in one game for the Pistons after being called back up.

Growing as a Player

Amir spent most of the 2006–07 season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA Development League. He was named Player of the Week there. He averaged almost 19 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Skyforce. He also blocked over 3 shots per game. He played only eight games for the Pistons that season. In 2007, he signed a new contract with the Pistons. Over the next two seasons, he played in 124 games. He became an important player coming off the bench.

Toronto Raptors (2009–2015)

In 2009, Amir Johnson was traded to the Toronto Raptors. He quickly became a key player for them. In 2010, he signed a new five-year contract with the Raptors.

Career Highs in Toronto

The 2012–13 season was his best yet. He played more minutes than ever before. He also averaged career highs in points (10.0 per game), rebounds (7.5 per game), and assists (1.5 per game). Amir really loved playing in Toronto. He once said, "Toronto is part of me. I've been around, the people are very kind, I love it here." In December 2013, he scored a career-high 32 points in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boston Celtics (2015–2017)

In July 2015, Amir Johnson signed a two-year contract with the Boston Celtics. He played his first game for the Celtics in October, scoring 15 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. In January 2016, he had a season-high 18 rebounds in a win against the Indiana Pacers. He finished the 2015–16 season averaging 7.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. In November 2016, he scored 23 points and made a career-high four three-pointers in a game against the Chicago Bulls.

Philadelphia 76ers (2017–2019)

Amir Johnson joined the Philadelphia 76ers in July 2017. In June 2018, he won the NBA Hustle Award. This award recognizes players who make a big impact on the game through effort and hustle.

Playing in the G League

In July 2018, Amir re-signed with the 76ers. In February 2019, he chose to play for the Delaware Blue Coats in the NBA G League. He did this because he hadn't played in an NBA game for a while.

Cell Phone Incident

In April 2019, during a playoff game, Amir was seen on camera with a cell phone on the bench. He was not playing in that game. He later apologized for breaking the NBA's rule about phones on the bench. The 76ers fined him for this. After the season, he did not re-sign with the team.

NBA G League Ignite (2020–2022)

In November 2020, Amir Johnson joined the NBA G League Ignite. This team helps young players get ready for the NBA. He played for the Ignite during the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons.

Coaching Career

After his playing career, Amir Johnson moved into coaching. In October 2023, he was hired as an assistant coach for the NBA G League Ignite.

NBA Career Statistics

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

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2005–06	Detroit	3	0	13.0	.700	.667	1.000	1.3	1.0	.0	.7	6.7
2006–07	Detroit	8	0	15.5	.545	.000	.786	4.6	.4	.6	1.6	5.9
2007–08	Detroit	62	0	12.3	.558	–	.673	3.8	.5	.4	1.3	3.6
2008–09	Detroit	62	24	14.7	.595	–	.657	3.7	.3	.3	1.0	3.5
2009–10	Toronto	82*	5	17.7	.623	.000	.638	4.8	.6	.5	.8	6.2
2010–11	Toronto	72	54	25.7	.568	.000	.787	6.4	1.1	.7	1.2	9.6
2011–12	Toronto	64	43	24.3	.576	.400	.690	6.4	1.2	.5	1.1	7.1
2012–13	Toronto	81	38	28.7	.554	.385	.727	7.5	1.5	1.0	1.4	10.0
2013–14	Toronto	77	72	28.8	.562	.303	.636	6.6	1.5	.7	1.1	10.4
2014–15	Toronto	75	72	26.4	.574	.413	.612	6.1	1.6	.6	.8	9.3
2015–16	Boston	79	76	22.8	.585	.233	.570	6.4	1.7	.7	1.1	7.3
2016–17	Boston	80	77	20.1	.576	.409	.670	4.6	1.8	.6	.8	6.5
2017–18	Philadelphia	74	18	15.8	.538	.313	.612	4.5	1.6	.6	.6	4.6
2018–19	Philadelphia	51	6	10.4	.503	.300	.756	2.9	1.2	.3	.3	3.9
Career		870	485	21.1	.570	.332	.673	5.4	1.2	.6	1.0	7.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2008	Detroit	8	0	5.4	.750	.000	.500	1.6	.1	.0	.4	2.6
2009	Detroit	3	0	4.3	1.000	–	–	1.0	.0	.0	.3	.7
2014	Toronto	7	7	27.3	.654	.000	.750	6.0	1.0	.4	.6	11.0
2015	Toronto	4	2	28.0	.690	.000	.500	7.0	1.0	.3	.8	11.5
2016	Boston	6	6	22.3	.667	.000	.778	7.2	.7	.2	1.3	8.5
2017	Boston	14	9	10.1	.500	.333	.625	2.1	.2	.3	.4	2.6
2018	Philadelphia	8	1	11.8	.524	–	.800	2.9	1.1	.3	.1	3.3
2019	Philadelphia	4	0	5.0	1.000	–	–	1.3	.5	.3	.0	2.0
Career		54	25	13.9	.637	.111	.654	3.5	.6	.2	.5	4.9

Personal Life and Community Work

Amir Johnson comes from a family of athletes. His sister, Indi, played basketball for Southern University. His cousins, Kevin and Kaelin Burnett, both played football in the NFL.

Amir is very involved in helping his community. He often hosts "back to school" events. He also visits local hospitals and helps kids from low-income families attend games. He is known for doing kind things for others. For example, he once bought all the copies of a new music album from two stores. Then, he gave them out to people on the street in Toronto.