Kris Johnson (basketball) facts for kids
Johnson on scoreboard during an appearance at Pauley Pavilion in 2012.
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| Small forward / shooting guard | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 18, 1975 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| High school |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | UCLA (1994–1998) |
| NBA Draft | 1998 / Undrafted |
| Pro career | c. 1998–c. 2006 |
| Career history | |
| ? | Avtodor Saratov |
| 1999–2000 | Quad City Thunder |
| 2000 | Sioux Falls Skyforce |
| 2001–2003 | Al Rayyan |
| ? | Riyadi |
| 2005 | Antranik |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Kristaan Iman Johnson (born July 18, 1975) is a former American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He won an NCAA championship in 1995 during his first year.
Johnson played professionally for eight years in different countries. He won the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup in 2002. He was also named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). After playing, he worked as a basketball analyst for Fox Sports. He later started his own sports website, JerseyChaser.com.
Johnson played high school basketball at Crenshaw High School. He was named Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year. He also won two California state basketball championships. He and his father, Marques Johnson, both won this award. They also both won an NCAA basketball championship.
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Early Life and High School Basketball
Johnson was born in Los Angeles on July 18, 1975. His father, Marques Johnson, was a former NBA player. His mother is Sabrina Sheran. Kris moved schools often because of his father's basketball career. He went to about 27 different schools.
In 1987, a sad accident happened. His younger brother, Marques Jr., drowned in the family pool. This was a very difficult time for Kris and his family. His parents decided to move him to Atlanta with his mother. This was to help him cope with the pain.
After some challenges at school, Johnson returned to Los Angeles. He played two years at Montclair Prep. He worked hard and lost about 40 pounds (18 kg) between his freshman and sophomore years. For his junior year, he moved to Crenshaw High School. His father had also played there.
At Crenshaw, Johnson became a star player. He averaged 22.6 points and 14 rebounds in his first season. He won the Los Angeles City Section 4-A Player of the Year award. This made him and his father the first father-son duo to win this honor. Johnson also won the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Division I championship with Crenshaw in both his junior and senior years. He averaged 23.3 points and 9.2 rebounds in his final season.
UCLA College Basketball Career
UCLA noticed Johnson because he was great at scoring and rebounding. He was hard to guard, especially when he played close to the basket. He became the third player from Crenshaw High to play for UCLA. His father was the first.
Johnson chose UCLA over several other big colleges. He played for UCLA from 1994 to 1998. He wore his father's jersey number, 54. Like his father, he won a national championship. The Johnsons are one of only four father-son pairs to each win an NCAA basketball championship.
During Johnson's time, UCLA had a great record of 102 wins and 27 losses. They also won three Pacific-10 titles in a row. Johnson was a versatile player, able to score from different parts of the court. He sometimes struggled with his weight, but he worked to improve his fitness.
Before his freshman season in 1994–95, Johnson had surgery on his leg. This slowed him down. He gained weight and struggled to get back into shape. He was removed from the team's main rotation. However, he stayed supportive of his teammates. UCLA won the NCAA tournament that year. Johnson later called it "the greatest experience of his life."
His second season in 1995–96 ended with a surprising loss. UCLA lost to Princeton in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Johnson said the team had "chemistry issues" that year. In his junior season (1996–97), the Bruins won 12 games in a row. They then lost in the Elite Eight, which is the round before the Final Four.
Johnson worked through his feelings about his brother's death. He realized he could not carry that sadness forever. This helped him grow as a person. In his senior year, Johnson led UCLA in scoring. He averaged 18.4 points per game. He was named an honorable mention for the All-Pac-10 award. He also shared the team's co-Most Valuable Player award. The team reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament that season.
Professional Basketball Career
Experts thought Johnson might not be drafted into the NBA. They felt he wasn't quick enough for a shooting guard. They also thought he was too short for a small forward. He was expected to play in Europe instead. However, he was drafted by the Yakima Sun Kings in the 1998 Continental Basketball Association draft.
Johnson played professionally for eight seasons. He played in countries like Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Lebanon, and China. He started in Russia with Avtodor Saratov. Then he played in Turkey for a few months. He returned to the United States to play in the Continental Basketball Association. He played for the Quad City Thunder and later the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
From 2001 to 2003, he played in Qatar for Al Rayyan. There, he won the 2002 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup. Johnson scored 32 points in the championship game. He was named the MVP of the tournament. Later, he played in Lebanon for Riyadi and then Antranik in 2005.
Life After Basketball
After his playing career, Johnson worked at Fox Sports starting in 2008. He was a college basketball analyst and co-host for three years. He also started his own sports website called JerseyChaser.com.
Family Life
Kris Johnson has two younger brothers. Josiah also played basketball at Montclair Prep and UCLA. His other brother, Moriah, played basketball at Tuskegee University. Moriah also appeared on the reality TV show, Baldwin Hills.
Images for kids
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Johnson on scoreboard during an appearance at Pauley Pavilion in 2012.
