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Vinnie Johnson

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Vinnie Johnson
Personal information
Born (1956-09-01) September 1, 1956 (age 68)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolFranklin D. Roosevelt
College
NBA draft1979: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career1979–1992
PositionShooting guard / point guard
Number15, 25
Career history
1979–1981Seattle SuperSonics
1981–1991Detroit Pistons
1991–1992San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points11,825 (12.0 ppg)
Assists3,212 (3.3 apg)
Rebound3,109 (3.2 rpg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Vincent Johnson (born September 1, 1956), is an American former professional basketball player and a key player as sixth man for the Detroit Pistons during the team's National Basketball Association (NBA) championships of 1989 and 1990. He was nicknamed "the Microwave" in the NBA for his ability to score quickly off the bench. He also played for the Seattle SuperSonics and San Antonio Spurs.

College basketball career

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Johnson began his collegiate basketball career in 1975 at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. He was a star there for two years, leading the team to the NJCAA national tournament in the 1976–77 season while averaging 29 points per game and being named a junior college All-American.[1]

Johnson transferred across town to attend Baylor University for the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons. One of the most prolific scorers in Baylor basketball history, Johnson averaged 24.1 points per game in his two seasons in Waco. A two-time All-American, Johnson is the school record-holder in points-per-game average, ranks 15th in career points, and third in career assists average at Baylor. He was named All-SWC in both 1978 and 1979. Johnson also holds the Baylor record for most points scored in a game with 50 against TCU in 1979.

Professional basketball career

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Johnson was chosen as the No. 7 overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. He was traded to the Detroit Pistons in November 1981.[2] During the 1982-83 NBA season, Johnson scored a career high 15.8 points a game while starting in 51 of the 82 games he played in.[3] For the rest of his career, he would mostly play as an important role player coming off the bench.

At 6 feet 2 inches tall, Johnson's skill set allowed him to come off the bench to replace either point guard Isiah Thomas or shooting guard Joe Dumars. Johnson earned the nickname "the Microwave" from Boston Celtics guard Danny Ainge for his ability to heat up an offense by scoring both fast and frequently when inserted into the game.[2][4]

On June 14, 1990, Johnson made a championship-clinching 14-foot shot with 0.7 seconds left to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 92–90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The shot, which gave Detroit a repeat championship, briefly earned Johnson a new nickname: 007.[2]

Johnson left the Pistons following the 1990–91 season, playing a final season with the San Antonio Spurs before retiring from the NBA in 1992.

The Pistons honored Johnson's career by retiring his number 15 jersey in a ceremony on February 5, 1994, at The Palace of Auburn Hills.[2] Johnson was influenced by New York City playground legend and basketball Hall of Famer Earl Monroe growing up, and only wore number 15 throughout his playing days. When asked about it by a fan later he said, "It was a huge honor. The fact that they retired my jersey tells me that I did some great things for the organization."[citation needed]

NBA career statistics

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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
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1979–80 Seattle 38 — 8.6 .391 .000 .795 1.4 1.4 .5 .1 3.2
1980–81 Seattle 81 — 28.5 .534 .200 .793 4.5 4.2 1.0 .2 13.0
1981–82 Seattle 7 0 14.9 .409 .000 .750 2.1 1.6 .9 .3 3.9
1981–82 Detroit 67 15 17.8 .493 .273 .754 2.1 2.4 .7 .3 7.7
1982–83 Detroit 82 51 30.6 .513 .275 .778 4.3 3.7 1.1 .6 15.8
1983–84 Detroit 82 0 23.3 .473 .211 .753 2.9 3.3 .5 .2 13.0
1984–85 Detroit 82 16 25.5 .454 .185 .769 3.1 4.0 .9 .2 12.8
1985–86 Detroit 79 12 25.0 .467 .154 .771 2.9 3.4 1.0 .3 13.9
1986–87 Detroit 78 8 27.8 .462 .286 .786 3.3 3.8 1.2 .2 15.7
1987–88 Detroit 82 1 23.6 .443 .208 .677 2.8 3.3 .7 .2 12.2
1988–89† Detroit 82 21 25.3 .464 .295 .734 3.1 3.0 .9 .2 13.8
1989–90† Detroit 82 12 24.0 .431 .147 .668 3.1 3.1 .9 .2 9.8
1990–91 Detroit 82 28 29.1 .434 .324 .646 3.4 3.3 .9 .2 11.7
1991–92 San Antonio 60 23 22.5 .405 .317 .647 3.0 2.4 .7 .2 8.0
Career 984 187 24.7 .464 .254 .740 3.2 3.3 .9 .3 12.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1980 Seattle 5 — 2.4 .333 — — .4 .4 .2 .0 .4
1984 Detroit 5 — 26.4 .370 .000 .895 2.8 2.4 .2 .2 10.2
1985 Detroit 9 0 26.1 .515 .000 .786 3.0 3.2 .7 .1 14.2
1986 Detroit 4 0 21.3 .449 .000 .538 4.3 2.8 .8 .0 12.8
1987 Detroit 15 0 25.9 .459 .000 .861 2.9 4.1 .6 .3 14.7
1988 Detroit 23 0 20.7 .423 .143 .660 3.3 1.9 .7 .2 10.3
1989† Detroit 17 0 21.9 .455 .417 .758 2.6 2.5 .2 .2 14.1
1990† Detroit 20 0 23.2 .462 .286 .791 2.8 2.7 .4 .2 10.3
1991 Detroit 15 3 29.2 .464 .154 .710 5.1 2.9 .7 .3 15.2
1992 San Antonio 3 0 23.0 .458 .500 .500 2.7 2.3 1.7 .3 8.3
Career 116 3 23.0 .453 .274 .754 3.1 2.6 .6 .2 12.0

Personal life

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Johnson grew up in Brooklyn, New York,[1] attending Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School. Johnson has a younger brother, Eric Johnson, who played a season in the NBA with the Utah Jazz.[5]

Following his career with the Detroit Pistons, Johnson established Piston Automotive in 1995. The company found success as a supplier for major international automotive companies, particularly the Ford Motor Company and General Motors. Johnson serves as the Piston Group's chairman and chief executive officer. He has also served as the chairman of the Board of Directors for the joint ventures JL Automotive LLC and PASA Modules, LLC.[6]

In addition to his post-playing career professional work, Johnson is a member of the Michigan Minority Business Development Council, and the Detroit Chamber of Commerce.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Staff report (January 30, 2015). "Vinnie Johnson, ex-MCC star, joins juco hoops hall". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d The Microwave
  3. ^ "Vinnie Johnson Per Game Averages". Basketball Reference.
  4. ^ "20 Questions with Vinnie Johnson". NBA.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2009.
  5. ^ Lee Benson (July 22, 1989). "NO NBA NEPOTISM: JOHNSON HAS TO EARN CAREER ON HIS OWN". Deseret News. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  6. ^ "ELT – Vinnie Johnson". Piston Group. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
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