Frank Johnson (basketball)

Last updated

Frank Johnson
Frank Johnson, Duke Chronicle 1981 All-ACC.jpg
Johnson with Wake Forest in 1981
Personal information
Born (1958-11-23) November 23, 1958 (age 65)
Weirsdale, Florida, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school Lake Weir (Summerfield, Florida)
College Wake Forest (1976–1981)
NBA draft 1981: 1st round, 11th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Bullets
Playing career1981–1994
Position Point guard
Number15, 3
Career history
As player:
19811988 Washington Bullets
1988–1989 Houston Rockets
1989–1991 A. Ranger Varese
1991 Marr Rimini
1991–1992 Olympique Antibes
19921994 Phoenix Suns
As coach:
19972002 Phoenix Suns (assistant)
20022004 Phoenix Suns
2017–2018 Milwaukee Bucks (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-ACC (1981)
  • 2× Second-team All-ACC (1978, 1979)
Career NBA statistics
Points 4,937 (8.3 ppg)
Rebounds 1,025 (1.7 rpg)
Assists 2,476 (4.2 apg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Franklin Lenard Johnson (born November 23, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Washington Bullets, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns.

Contents

Playing career

In high school, he played basketball for the Lake Weir Hurricanes. During his junior year in 1974–1975, he was a star for the 33–0 Hurricanes team that won Marion County's first state championship. [1] He played collegiately for Wake Forest University, becoming an All-American selection in 1980–81. He was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 1998. Johnson was selected in the first round of the 1981 NBA draft with the 11th pick by the Washington Bullets. He played point guard in the NBA for the Bullets (1981–1988), the Houston Rockets (1988–89) (he signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets, but they traded him to the Rockets before he played in any games for them). He also played for the Phoenix Suns (1992–94) where his main role was to relieve star Kevin Johnson. He was selected from the Rockets by the Orlando Magic in the 1989 expansion draft, but was waived before the 1989–90 season started. He played 650 games in the NBA (regular season and playoffs), with regular season career averages of 8.3 PPG and 4.2 APG in 21.6 minutes. [2]

He played professionally in Italy for Ranger Varese (1989–91, played in the finals of the Italian Championship in 1990) and Marr Rimini (Serie A2, 1991). [3]

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular seasonGGames coachedWGames wonLGames lostW–L %Win–loss %
PlayoffsPGPlayoff gamesPWPlayoff winsPLPlayoff lossesPW–L %Playoff win–loss %
TeamYearGWLW–L%FinishPGPWPLPW–L%Result
Phoenix 2001–02 311120.3556th in MidwestMissed playoffs
Phoenix 2002–03 824438.5374th in Midwest624.333Lost in First round
Phoenix 2003–04 21813.381(fired)
Career1346371.470624.333

Personal life

Frank earned his nickname “Fourth Quarter Frank” for his clutch performances helping the team grind out close games. [4]

Family

Johnson's brother "Fast Eddie" also played in the NBA. He spent more than eight seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, and closed out his career with stints in Cleveland and Seattle. Eddie was a two-time (1980, 1981) All-Star while with the Hawks.

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References

  1. "No. 4: Frank Johnson leads Lake Weir to state title, coaches NBA team". ocala.com. Star–Banner . Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  2. "Frank Johnson Stats - Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com.
  3. "Legabasket". 195.56.77.208. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2007.
  4. Coughenour, Jim (January 19, 2017). "#TBT: Fourth Quarter Frank". Bright Side Of The Sun. Retrieved December 8, 2020.