Frank Johnson (basketball)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 23, 1958 Weirsdale, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lake Weir (Summerfield, Florida) |
| College | Wake Forest (1976–1981) |
| NBA draft | 1981 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11th overall |
| Selected by the Washington Bullets | |
| Playing career | 1981–1994 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 15, 3 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1981–1988 | Washington Bullets |
| 1988–1989 | Houston Rockets |
| 1989–1991 | A. Ranger Varese (Italy) |
| 1991 | Marr Rimini (Italy) |
| 1991–1992 | Olympique Antibes (France) |
| 1992–1994 | Phoenix Suns |
| As coach: | |
| 2002–2003 | Phoenix Suns |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 4,937 (8.3 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,025 (1.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,476 (4.2 apg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Franklin Lenard Johnson (born November 23, 1958) is a retired American professional basketball player and coach.
After playing collegiately for Wake Forest University, 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 principal 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.
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).
Johnson coached the Phoenix Suns for almost two seasons beginning February 17, 2002, before he was fired on December 10, 2003 and replaced by assistant Mike D'Antoni. The official reason for the firing was routine—the team had performed poorly in 2003–04—but an article in the Arizona Republic reported that some of Johnson's personal behavior caused a minor scandal for the Suns ownership. He had worked as an assistant coach with the Suns beginning late in the 1996–97 season under Danny Ainge and Scott Skiles before being promoted.
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, yet he is often confused with the sharpshooter Eddie Johnson, who played for NBA franchises in Kansas City, Phoenix, Seattle, Indiana, Charlotte and Houston during the 1980s and '90's.
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