Ervin Johnson

Ervin Johnson Jr. (born December 21, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who is a community ambassador for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] He played in the NBA for the Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves as a center from 1993 to 2006.

For the former Los Angeles Lakers player named Earvin Johnson, see Magic Johnson.
Ervin Johnson
Johnson in 2010
Personal information
Born (1967-12-21) December 21, 1967
New Orleans, Louisiana
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolBlock (Jonesville, Louisiana)
CollegeNew Orleans (1989–1993)
NBA draft1993 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23rd overall
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career1993–2006
PositionCenter
Number50, 40
Career history
1993–1996Seattle SuperSonics
1996–1997Denver Nuggets
1997–2003Milwaukee Bucks
2003–2005Minnesota Timberwolves
2005–2006Milwaukee Bucks
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points3,473 (4.1 ppg)
Rebounds5,148 (6.1 rpg)
Blocks1,087 (1.3 bpg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men’s Basketball
Representing  United States
Summer Universiade
1991 Sheffield National team

Early life

Johnson attended Block High School in Jonesville, Louisiana, where he played basketball until he quit in the 10th grade.[2] Three years removed from high school, he worked in a Baton Rouge supermarket and had grown 8 inches when a friend suggested that he should try-out for the New Orleans Privateers, who did not have a big man.[2] Privateers head coach Tim Floyd offered Johnson a scholarship on sight despite the fact he had not played basketball in years.[2][3]

College career

UNO recorded 87 victories during Johnson's time in the program. They earned two NCAA tournament bids and one NIT tournament appearance. When he finished, he was the second all-time leading scorer in UNO history (1,608 points), first all-time in field goal percentage (59%), first all-time in double-doubles with 55, first all-time in rebounds with 1,287 (10.5 per game), third all-time in double-figure scoring games (81), eighth all-time in steals (109), second all-time in games played (123) and first all-time in blocks (294). Johnson was named All-American South Conference for the 1990-1991 season, All-Sun Belt Conference for the 1991-1992 season and was the 1992-1993 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year.[4]

Johnson completed his degree in general studies from University of New Orleans during the 1996-97 NBA season, and was commencement speaker at graduation ceremonies.[5]

Honors

Johnson was named Basketball Times 2nd Team All-American for 1992-93 and 3rd team All-American by Basketball Weekly and United Press International. He was named Honorable Mention All-American for the same season by the Associated Press.

Johnson was named MVP of the NABC All-America Game in 1993.[6]

On December 29, 1997, his Privateer jersey (40) was retired at Lakefront Arena.[7]

In 2005, Johnson was named to the All-Time Men's Basketball Team for the Sun Belt Conference in celebration of the conference's 30th basketball season.[6]

Professional career
Johnson signing an autograph in 2003

A 6'11", 245-pound center from the University of New Orleans, Johnson was selected 23rd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1993 NBA draft, and played for the Sonics, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks.

In the 1996-97 season, Johnson led the league in total defensive rebounds, with 682.

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
* Led the league

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1993–94 Seattle 4536.2.415–.6302.6.2.2.52.6
1994–95 Seattle 643014.2.443.000.6304.5.3.31.03.1
1995–96 Seattle 816018.8.511.333.6695.3.6.51.65.5
1996–97 Denver 8282*31.7.520.000.61511.1.9.82.87.1
1997–98 Milwaukee 818127.9.537–.6018.5.71.02.08.0
1998–99 Milwaukee 50*720.5.508–.6106.4.4.61.15.1
1999–2000 Milwaukee 807426.6.516.000.6058.1.61.01.64.8
2000–01 Milwaukee 821924.2.545–.5387.5.5.51.23.2
2001–02 Milwaukee 81920.5.461.000.4555.8.3.51.02.6
2002–03 Milwaukee 691717.0.452–.6824.3.3.5.92.2
2003–04 Minnesota 664714.7.534.000.6073.5.4.4.71.9
2004–05 Minnesota 46238.9.5191.000.6402.5.1.2.31.6
2005–06 Milwaukee 1804.5.412–.5001.3.1.1.1.8
Career 84545220.1.505.200.6056.1.5.61.34.1

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1994 Seattle 204.0.000––2.0.0.0.0.0
1995 Seattle 4213.5.286–1.0005.3.0.31.03.5
1996 Seattle 181814.1.371–.8183.9.4.3.83.1
1999 Milwaukee 3230.7.462–.5006.0.3.71.74.3
2000 Milwaukee 5531.0.500–.6119.8.41.21.26.2
2001 Milwaukee 181032.1.574–.62510.8.6.52.15.4
2003 Milwaukee 6312.7.375––4.0.5.5.81.0
2004 Minnesota 181619.8.500–.6254.7.7.6.62.7
2006 Milwaukee 303.7.000–1.0001.3.0.3.0.7
Career 775620.5.462–.6786.1.5.51.13.5

Post-playing career

Johnson works for the Denver Nuggets as a community ambassador and hosts clinics to teach basketball fundamentals to children in Colorado.[1]

References
  1. Spyropoulos, Eric (February 22, 2020). "Nuggets honor Black History Month: Recognizing Ambassador Ervin Johnson's impact". NBA. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  2. Lewis, Ted (July 22, 2018). "'Ervin Legend': How Ervin Johnson's unconventional route to UNO lead to Greater New Orleans Hall of Fame induction". The Advocate. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  3. "Ervin Johnson: Keeping the Faith | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES". Nba.com. 2004-02-24. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  4. "Ervin Johnson Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  5. "Ervin Johnson Bio". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  6. "Sun Belt Announces All-Time Men?s Basketball Team". October 26, 2005. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  7. "UNO Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
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