Marques Johnson

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Marques Kevin Johnson (born February 6, 1956 in Nachitoches, Louisiana) is a former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks (1977-84), Los Angeles Clippers (1984-87), and Golden State Warriors (1989-90).

Johnson was raised in south Los Angeles, where he attended and graduated from Crenshaw High School, a school well-known for its athletics, especially in basketball. He later attended UCLA, and became a star player on its basketball teams, under the guidance of legendary coach John Wooden. In his sophomore year in college (1974-75), Johnson helped to lead the Bruins to what was Coach Wooden's 10th and final NCAA Men's Division I basketball championship. Wooden retired from coaching the following season, and Gene Bartow became the UCLA men's basketball head coach, and Johnson continued to excel, including averaging 21.1 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in his senior season (1976-77), and went on to win the first John R. Wooden Award and USBWA College Player of the Year as the nation's collegiate basketball player of the year.

In 1977, Johnson was selected 3rd overall in the 1977 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, who were coached by Don Nelson, who also served as the team's general manager. Considered one of the best small forwards in the NBA, Johnson helped to lead Milwaukee to several division titles (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984), and in his second season (1978-79), he was the NBA's third leading scorer (25.6 PPG), just behind George Gervin (29.6 PPG) and Lloyd Free (28.8 PPG). However, during his time in Milwaukee (the Bucks moved into the Eastern Conference in the 1980-81 season), his Bucks teams could never get past the powerhouse teams of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers to advance further in the playoffs.

In the 1984 offseason, a bold move was made by Nelson, the Bucks traded Johnson, forward-guard Junior Bridgeman, and forward Harvey Catchings and cash to the newly-relocated Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for forward Terry Cummings, and guards Craig Hodges and Ricky Pierce. This was a homecoming for Johnson, as he grew up and attended high school just a few miles from the Clippers' then-new home, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

As Marques Johnson was accustomed to winning in high school, college, and with the Bucks, his return back to Los Angeles wasn't as glorious, as the Clippers struggled to win, and during a game in the 1986-87 season, Johnson suffered a neck injury, which effectively ended his career. Johnson made a brief comeback during the 1989-90 season, playing only 10 games with the Warriors before retiring for good.

As his playing career ended, Johnson got into the entertainment business, as he acted in small roles in many films, including White Men Can't Jump, Love and Action in Chicago, Blue Chips, and Forget Paris. For a while, Johnson served a color commentator for the Seattle SuperSonics in the late 1990s and is regularly seen nationally on Fox Sports Net as a basketball analyst.

Johnson quotes:

"Yakka!"