- Frank Johnson (basketball)
Infobox NBAretired
width=
caption=
position=Point Guard
number=15, 3
height_ft=6 |height_in=1
weight_lbs=185
birthdate= birth date and age|1958|23|11Weirsdale ,Florida ,USA
deathdate=
debutyear=1981
finalyear=1990
draftyear=1981
draftround=1
draftpick=11
college=Wake Forest University
teams=
*Washington Bullets
*Houston Rockets
*Phoenix Suns
stat1label=Points
stat1value=4,937
stat2label=Assists
stat2value=2,476
stat3label=Steals
stat3value=570
letter=j
bbr=johnsfr01
highlights=
HOF= Franklin Lenard Johnson (bornNovember 23 1958 in Weirsdale,Florida ) is a retired American professionalbasketball player and coach.Playing Career
After playing collegiately for
Wake Forest University , Johnson was selected in the first round of the1981 NBA Draft with the 11th pick by the Washington Bullets. He has played point guard in the NBA for the Bullets (1981-1988), theHouston Rockets (1988-89) (he has signed as a free agent with theNew Jersey Nets , but they traded him to the Rockets before he played in any games for them) and thePhoenix Suns (1992-94) (his principal role with the Suns was to relieve starting point guard Kevin Johnson when the star fatigued). He was selected from the Rockets by theOrlando Magic in the 1989expansion draft , but he was waived before the 1989-90 season started. He has 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. [ [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsfr01.html NBA playing history for Johnson] ]He has 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). [ [http://195.56.77.208/player/?id=JOH-FRA Italian League playing history for Johnson] ]
Coaching Career
Johnson coached the
Phoenix Suns for almost two seasons beginningFebruary 17 ,2002 , before he was fired onDecember 10 ,2003 and replaced by assistantMike D'Antoni . The official reason for the firing was routine--the team had performed poorly in 2003-04--but at least one local news source reported that some of Johnson's personal behavior caused a minor scandal for the Suns ownership. He has worked as an assistant coach with the Suns beginning late in the 1996-97 season underDanny Ainge andScott Skiles before being promoted.Personal Life
Family
Johnson's brother Eddie also played in the NBA. He spent more than eight seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, and closed out his career with a stints in Cleveland and Seattle. Eddie was a three-time (1980-82) All-Star while with the Hawks, and is often confused with another Eddie Johnson (played for Kansas City, Phoenix, Seattle, Indiana, Charlotte and Houston from 1981-1998) from that time.
References
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