Keldon Johnson
Keldon Johnson (born October 11, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Johnson attended Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, and played for United States men's national under-19 basketball team during the summer of 2017.[1]
| No. 3 – San Antonio Spurs | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / Power forward / Shooting guard |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 11, 1999 Chesterfield, Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College | Kentucky (2018–2019) |
| NBA draft | 2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 29th overall |
| Selected by the San Antonio Spurs | |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| 2019–present | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2019–2020 | →Austin Spurs |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats  at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
High school career
Johnson was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the 13th best player in the 2018 class by 247Sports.com.[2] He committed to University of Kentucky to play college basketball, being joined by fellow recruits Immanuel Quickley, E. J. Montgomery, Ashton Hagans, and Tyler Herro.[3][4]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keldon Johnson SF |
South Hill, VA | Oak Hill Academy (VA) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Nov 11, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 94 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 15 247Sports: 18 ESPN: 7 | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
College career
As a freshman, Johnson averaged 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from behind the arc. He scored 19 points in a win over top-ranked Tennessee on February 16, 2019. Johnson pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds in a victory over Auburn. Following the season he declared for the NBA draft.[5]
Professional career
San Antonio Spurs (2019–present)
On June 20, 2019, Johnson was selected with the 29th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2019 NBA draft.[6] The Spurs obtained the draft pick used to draft Johnson in a 2018 trade; in that trade, Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard was sent to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, center Jakob Pöltl, and a draft choice.[7] Johnson was later listed in the roster of San Antonio Spurs for 2019 NBA Summer League hosted at Vivint Smart Home Arena.[8] Johnson signed with the Spurs on July 1, 2019.[9] On October 30, 2019, Johnson received his first assignment to the Austin Spurs, the Spurs’ affiliate team in the NBA G League.[10]
Johnson made his NBA debut on November 22, 2019, playing two minutes in a 115–104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On August 11, 2020, Johnson scored a season-high 24 points in a 123–105 win over the Houston Rockets with eleven rebounds and three assists.[11] On January 1, 2021, Johnson scored a career-high 26 points in a 103–109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers with ten rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.[12]
Personal life
Johnson majored in undeclared/exploratory studies in agriculture during his college time.[13] Johnson's brother, Kaleb, also played college basketball in Georgetown University during 2015-2019, and was drafted 34th overall by the Austin Spurs in the January 2021 NBA G League draft.[14]
Career statistics
| 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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | San Antonio | 17 | 1 | 17.7 | .596 | .591 | .795 | 3.4 | .9 | .8 | .1 | 9.1 |
| Career | 17 | 1 | 17.7 | .596 | .591 | .795 | 3.4 | .9 | .8 | .1 | 9.1 | |
References
- "Duke-bound Cam Reddish and his crazy summer | Mike Jensen". philly.com. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- "Westtown star Cameron Reddish ascends to No. 1 in recruiting service's rankings". PennLive.com. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- "Keldon Johnson "same level" as great players Steve Smith has coached at Oak Hill". Vaughts Views. May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
- "Choose your own Kentucky basketball adventure: Build 2018-19 Cats roster from available options". SEC Country. May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
- Fisher, Chris (April 10, 2019). "Keldon Johnson declares for 2019 NBA Draft". 247 Sports. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- Orsborn, Tom (June 20, 2019). "Spurs select Kentucky's Keldon Johnson with 29th overall pick". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- "San Antonio Spurs: Keldon Johnson proving he's the prize of Kawhi trade". August 11, 2020.
- "SPURS ANNOUNCE 2019 SALT LAKE CITY SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER". NBA.com. June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- "SPURS SIGN 2019 FIRST ROUND PICK KELDON JOHNSON". NBA.com. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
- "SPURS ASSIGN LUKA SAMANIC AND KELDON JOHNSON TO AUSTIN SPURS". NBA.com. October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- "Spurs keep playoff hopes alive with 123-105 win over Rockets". ESPN.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- "Davis, James lead Lakers' late rally over Spurs, 109-103". ESPN.com. January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- "Keldon Johnson - Men's Basketball - University of Kentucky Athletics". ukathletics.com. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
- "Austin Spurs select Jonathan Kasibabu, Anthony Mathis and Kaleb Johnson in 2021 NBA G League draft". NBA.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.