Johnson in Kentucky's Blue-White scrimmage in 2013
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No. 44 – Oklahoma City Blue | |||||||||||||
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Position | Center | ||||||||||||
League | NBA Development League | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born |
Brooklyn, New York |
September 22, 1995 ||||||||||||
Nationality | American | ||||||||||||
Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | ||||||||||||
Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school |
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Florida) |
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College | Kentucky (2013–2015) | ||||||||||||
NBA draft | 2015 / Round: 2 / Pick: 48th overall | ||||||||||||
Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder | |||||||||||||
Playing career | 2015–present | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
2015–present | Oklahoma City Blue | ||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||
Medals
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Dakari Naeem Johnson (born September 22, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League. He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky.
Johnson attended St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. During the 2010–11 school year, once coach Kevin Boyle left for Montverde Academy, Johnson followed his coach, where he had to sit out the 2011–12 season due to the transfer. Because of his excellent grades, Johnson decided to reclassify, thus making the 2012–13 season his final and senior season at the high school level. He ended up averaging 17.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game as a senior. He subsequently earned selection to the 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game and Jordan Brand Classic.
Considered a five-star recruit by ESPN.com, Johnson was ranked as the No. 2 center in the nation in 2013.
As a freshman at Kentucky in 2013–14, Johnson spent the season backing up teammate Julius Randle and averaged 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 39 games. As a sophomore the following season, he again played back-up, this time to freshman big man Karl-Anthony Towns and junior Willie Cauley-Stein. He again appeared in 39 games in 2014–15 and averaged slightly higher numbers with 6.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
On April 9, 2015, Johnson declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility. He was joined alongside fellow Kentucky teammates in Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles and Devin Booker.