Neil Johnson (basketball)

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Neil Johnson
Personal information
Born (1943-04-17) April 17, 1943 (age 81)
Jackson, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolGeorge Washington
(New York City, New York)
CollegeCreighton (1964–1966)
NBA draft1966: 2nd round, 15th overall pick
Selected by the Baltimore Bullets
Playing career1966–1973
PositionPower forward / center
Number11, 24
Career history
1966–1968New York Knicks
1968–1970Phoenix Suns
1970–1973Virginia Squires
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA and ABA statistics
Points2,633 (6.9 ppg)
Rebounds2,003 (5.3 rpg)
Assists632 (1.7 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Neil A. Johnson (born April 17, 1943) is a retired American basketball player born in Jackson, Michigan.

A 6'7" forward/center from Creighton University, Johnson played four seasons in the National Basketball Association as a member of the New York Knicks (1966–1968) and Phoenix Suns (1968–1970), then spent three seasons (1970–1973) in the American Basketball Association with the Virginia Squires. He averaged 6.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in his professional career and appeared in the 1971 ABA All-Star Game.[1]

Known as an "enforcer", Johnson is remembered in the ABA oral history book Loose Balls for punching Warren Jabali in a game between the Virginia Squires and Denver Rockets. Referee John Vanak called the punch "the most devastating punch [he'd] ever seen on the court". According to Vanak, Jabali was one of the most physical players in the ABA, and had been shoving Johnson and his teammates throughout the game until Johnson retaliated. Dave Twardzik of the Squires recalled, "It scared the hell out of me, but the guys on my team were loving it because the whole league hated Jabali."[2]

Career statistics[edit]

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

NBA/ABA[edit]

Source[3]

Regular season[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG PPG
1966–67 New York 51 3 10.2 .345 .663 3.3 .7 3.4
1967–68 New York 43 1 6.7 .415 .479 1.7 .8 2.6
1968–69 Phoenix 80 16.5 .481 .621 5.0 1.7 5.8
1969–70 Phoenix 28 4.9 .333 .667 1.7 .4 1.7
1970–71 Virginia (ABA) 78 23.6 .525 .000 .749 8.6 2.3 12.7
1971–72 Virginia 31 28.2 .469 .333 .691 9.2 2.5 10.4
1972–73 Virginia 69 20.9 .490 .000 .660 5.3 2.3 7.6
Career (NBA) 202 4 11.2 .426 .613 3.4 1.1 4.0
Career (ABA) 178 23.3 .504 .167 .711 7.4 2.3 10.3
Career (overall) 380 4 16.9 .479 .167 .673 5.3 1.7 6.9
All-Star (ABA) 1 4.0 .000 – – 1.0 .0 .0

Playoffs[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG PPG
1967 New York 4 0 16.0 .296 .875 5.8 1.3 5.8
1968 New York 2 0 3.0 .500 – 1.5 .0 2.0
1970 Phoenix 2 3.5 .333 – 2.0 .0 1.0
1971 Virginia (ABA) 12 21.1 .446 1.000 .659 8.3 2.7 9.3
1973 Virginia (ABA) 5 19.6 .500 – .750 4.2 1.0 6.4
Career (NBA) 8 0 9.6 .324 .875 3.8 .6 3.6
Career (ABA) 17 20.6 .458 1.000 .673 7.1 2.2 8.5
Career (overall) 25 0 17.1 .428 1.000 .700 6.0 1.7 6.9

References[edit]

  1. ^ Neil Johnson statistics. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on January 7, 2008.
  2. ^ Terry Pluto. Loose Balls. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990. 218-219.
  3. ^ "Neil Johnson NBA/ABA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
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