Wesley Johnson (basketball)

Wesley JaMarr Johnson (born July 11, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for Syracuse University and Iowa State University. He was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.[1][2]

Wesley Johnson
Johnson with the Clippers in December 2016
Free agent
PositionSmall forward
Personal information
Born (1987-07-11) July 11, 1987
Corsicana, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolCorsicana (Corsicana, Texas)
College
NBA draft2010 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career2010–present
Career history
20102012Minnesota Timberwolves
2012–2013Phoenix Suns
20132015Los Angeles Lakers
20152018Los Angeles Clippers
2018–2019New Orleans Pelicans
2019Washington Wizards
2019–2020Panathinaikos
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

In high school, he averaged 15.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.3 blocks as a senior at Corsicana High School. He was a first-team all-district pick in 2004 and 2005.[3] He also played for the Dallas Mustangs AAU team.[3]

College career

2006–07

As a freshman at Iowa State, Johnson was named to the Big 12 all-Rookie team and earned honorable mention freshman All-America honors after averaging 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds, starting 30 of 31 games. Johnson's highlights from his freshman year included 14 points and 13 rebounds in win against Missouri, including the game-winner on a tip-in with 1.6 seconds left. He also scored 17 points at No. 10 Texas A&M.

2007–08

Johnson missed five games and played with an injured ankle throughout the majority of the season. He still was named an honorable mention all-Big 12 selection after averaging 12.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Johnson scored 20 points behind a 5-of-11 effort from 3-point range against eventual NCAA Champion Kansas.[3]

2008–09

Johnson made the decision to transfer following the 2008 season, and selected Syracuse. Per NCAA transfer rules, he had to sit out the 2008–09 season, leaving him with two years of college eligibility.[4]

2009–10

Johnson became a starter for the Orange in his first year with the team. In November 2009 he was named MVP of the 2K Coaches Classic after scoring 25 points in a Syracuse victory over the No. 6 North Carolina.[5] Johnson would score 17 points and grab 10 rebounds as Syracuse knocked off then-No. 10 Florida on December 10, 2009.[6] In his first game of Big East play, Johnson scored 20 points and grabbed a career high 19 rebounds as Syracuse defeated Seton Hall 80–73 on December 29, 2009.[7] Johnson was named Big East Player of the Year on March 9, 2010, finishing with season averages of 16.0 points and 8.4 rebounds.[8] On March 29, 2010, Johnson was named a First Team AP All American.[9][10]

On April 12, 2010, Johnson declared himself eligible for the NBA draft, forgoing his final year of college eligibility.[11][12] He signed with sports agent Rob Pelinka.[13]

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves

Johnson with the Timberwolves in January 2012

Johnson was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 4th pick in the 2010 NBA draft. On March 18, 2011, Johnson scored a career-high 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting in a loss against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Phoenix Suns

On July 27, 2012, Johnson was traded to the Phoenix Suns in a three-team deal.[14] In his first game with the Suns, Johnson scored a three-pointer in a close victory against the Detroit Pistons. Johnson would not gain significant playing time with the Suns until Lindsey Hunter took over as head coach for the team. On February 26, 2013, Johnson recorded 14 points, along with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in an 84–83 victory against his former team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. A day later, Johnson made a game-tying three-pointer from a long pass by Jermaine O'Neal that helped the Suns win 105–101 in overtime against the San Antonio Spurs. On March 1, 2013, Johnson scored a season high 15 points and added six rebounds and two steals in a 92–87 victory against the Atlanta Hawks.

Los Angeles Lakers

On July 15, 2013, Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.[15] In his first season with the Lakers, Johnson averaged career highs in points, rebounds, steals and blocks. He was one of only eight players in the league to average at least 1 block and 1 steal per game, and the only perimeter player to do so. He had four games where he scored 20 or more points, the most since his rookie season. On November 29, 2013, Johnson recorded 27 points, along with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks, in a 106–102 victory against the Detroit Pistons. He tallied four double-doubles over the course of the season, a career high.

On July 28, 2014, Johnson re-signed with the Lakers on a one-year deal.[16]

Los Angeles Clippers

On July 9, 2015, Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.[17] He made his debut for the Clippers in the team's season opener against the Sacramento Kings on October 28, recording 3 points and 1 steal in a 111–104 win.[18]

On July 8, 2016, Johnson re-signed with the Clippers.[19]

New Orleans Pelicans

On October 15, 2018, Johnson was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Alexis Ajinça.[20]

Washington Wizards

On February 7, 2019, Johnson was traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Markieff Morris and a 2023 second-round pick.[21] On April 5, 2019, Johnson was waived by the Wizards.[22]

Panathinaikos

On July 22, 2019, Johnson signed a one-year deal with Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague.[23] In his first career game with Panathinaikos, Johnson scored 7 points in 19 minutes of playing time against AEK Athens.[24]

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

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Minnesota 796326.2.397.356.6963.01.9.7.79.0
2011–12 Minnesota 656422.6.398.314.7062.7.9.5.76.0
2012–13 Phoenix 502119.1.407.323.7712.5.7.4.48.0
2013–14 L.A. Lakers 796228.4.425.369.7924.41.61.11.09.1
2014–15 L.A. Lakers 765929.5.414.351.8044.21.6.8.69.9
2015–16 L.A. Clippers 80920.8.404.333.6523.1.61.1.76.9
2016–17 L.A. Clippers 68311.9.365.246.6472.7.3.4.42.7
2017–18 L.A. Clippers 744020.1.408.339.7412.9.81.0.85.4
2018–19 New Orleans 261314.5.398.380.6672.1.6.5.33.7
2018–19 Washington 12013.1.250.231.7001.5.6.2.42.8
Career 60933422.1.404.337.7413.21.1.8.77.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016 L.A. Clippers 6012.8.357.3331.0003.0.3.2.72.7
2017 L.A. Clippers 303.6.000.000.500.7.0.3.0.3
Career 909.7.357.333.8002.2.2.2.41.9

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2006–07 Iowa State 313031.7.445.294.7537.91.1.81.112.3
2007–08 Iowa State 272527.0.396.333.7794.01.4.9.412.4
2009–10 Syracuse 353535.0.502.415.7728.52.21.71.816.5
Career 939031.6.454.349.7687.01.61.11.213.9

References

  1. "Dana O'Neil: Big East early season review – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. December 23, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  2. "Jay Bilas' Midseason All-American team – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. January 12, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  3. "Wesley Johnson – Iowa State University Athletics". www.CYCLONES.com. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  4. "Daily Orange – MBB | Syracuse lands Iowa State transfer Johnson". Media.www.dailyorange.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  5. "North Carolina vs. Syracuse - Recap - November 20, 2009 - College Basketball - SI.com". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  6. "Syracuse Orange vs. Florida Gators – Box Score – December 10, 2009 – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. December 10, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  7. Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey (December 29, 2009). "Syracuse Orange vs. Seton Hall Pirates – Box Score – December 29, 2009 – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. Retrieved March 22, 2010.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Waters, Mike (March 9, 2010). "Syracuse's Wes Johnson wins Big East Player of the Year". syracuse.com. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  9. O'Connell, Jim (March 29, 2010). "Kentucky freshmen lead AP All-America team; Fredette, Lillard honorable mention". deseretnews.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  10. "Wes Johnson makes AP All-American team". 9wsyr.com. March 29, 2010. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  11. "Syracuse's Johnson to skip senior year". ESPN.com. August 13, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  12. Waters, Mike (April 12, 2010). "Wes Johnson leaves his "home in Syracuse for the NBA (video)". blog.syracuse.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  13. Mullen, Liz (May 11, 2010). "Pelinka Signs Two Potential NBA Lottery Picks; Falk Inks Monroe". SportsBusiness Daily. Street & Smith. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  14. "Suns Acquire Johnson and Pick, Trade Lopez and Warrick". NBA.com. July 27, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  15. "Lakers Sign Wesley Johnson". NBA.com. July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  16. "Lakers Sign Wesley Johnson". NBA.com. July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  17. "CLIPPERS RE-SIGN JORDAN AND SIGN JOHNSON". NBA.com. July 13, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  18. "Griffin leads Clippers past Kings 111–104 in opener". NBA.com. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  19. "Press Release: Clippers Re-sign Free Agents Crawford, Johnson, Mbah A Moute And Rivers". NBA.com. July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  20. "Pelicans acquire Wesley Johnson". NBA.com. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  21. "Wizards acquire Johnson from Pelicans". NBA.com. February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  22. "Wizards waive Wesley Johnson". NBA.com. April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  23. "Panathinaikos lands veteran forward Johnson". EuroLeague.net. July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  24. "Panathinaikos 89 - AEK Athens 65". EuroBasket. September 28, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
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