Gus Johnson (basketball)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gus "Honeycomb" Johnson (December 13, 1938–April 29, 1987) was a professional basketball player who played nine seasons with the NBA's Baltimore Bullets, and part of one season with the Phoenix Suns and the ABA's Indiana Pacers. He was known for his strength and powerful dunks, breaking three backboards during his career [1].

As a Bullet, Johnson was named to 1964 All-Rookie Team, played in five NBA All-Star Games, was named to four All-NBA Second Teams, and was twice named to the All-NBA Defense First Team. His number twenty-five jersey was retired by the Bullets organization. As a Pacer, he was a member of the franchise's 1972–1973 ABA championship team.

Johnson starred at Akron Central Hower in high school as an All-Ohio star. One of his teammates was future Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond. Despite his obvious talent and athletic ability, Johnson was offered few college scholarship opportunities, which was unfortunately common for blacks in his day. He ended up attending and playing college ball in Idaho where he developed into a 6'6 235-pound force with considerable skills and athletic ability. Again, despite his talents, Johnson had to wait for interest in him to find him. Johnson joined the Baltimore Bullets in 1963 as a 25 year old rookie. Johnson was an immediate success and was runner-up Rookie Of The Year to Ohio prep rival Jerry Lucas. Johnson joined Lucas and former prep teammate Thurmond on the NBA All-Rookie Team. The Bullets played in the NBA West Division for the first three years of Johnsons's career before being shifted to the more competitive East due to expansion. Very good teams in Boston, Philadelphia and Cincinnati would have to decline before the building Bullets could move up. Johnson was both a remarkable power player and an exciting open court player. During his career in the NBA in the 1960s, Johnson was among the most respected rebounders in the league, using his combination of strength and leaping ability. His drives to the basket were comparable to Elgin Baylor and Connie Hawkins, and he was one of the league's first famous dunkers. A star who sold tickets during the days of ten and twelve-team NBA ball, Johnson was also injury prone and battled constant knee problems. Despite those injury issues, he was a perennial All-Star. His best years with the Bullets were 1968-1971. As the team was more successful, Johnson received more recognition for his play. The 1968-69 team had the NBA's best regular season record, but faded in the playoffs when Johnson was out with injuries. After a third-place finish in 1970 to eventual champion New York, Johnson and the Bullets upset New York and made the NBA Finals in 1971. Johnson reached All-Pro status during this period. Injuries dropped Johnson to the Bullet bench in 1972, his last with the team. Injuries limited Johnson to 10 pro seasons, NBA and ABA combined. His career averages of 16 points and 12 rebounds included seasons as a reserve which lowered his numbers. Those injuries have also likely prevented numerous post-career honors, such as Hall of Fame induction or placement on the NBA 50 Greatest Ever group. Johnson died of chronic illnesses in 1987.