Vinnie Johnson
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | September 1, 1956
Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
College |
|
NBA draft | 1979: 1st round, 7th overall pick |
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
Playing career | 1979–1992 |
Position | Shooting guard / point guard |
Number | 15, 25 |
Career history | |
1979–1981 | Seattle SuperSonics |
1981–1991 | Detroit Pistons |
1991–1992 | San Antonio Spurs |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 11,825 (12.0 ppg) |
Assists | 3,212 (3.3 apg) |
Rebound | 3,109 (3.2 rpg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
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.
College basketball career
Johnson began his collegiate basketball career in 1975 at
Johnson transferred across town to attend
Professional basketball career
Johnson was chosen as the No. 7 overall pick in the
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
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
NBA career statistics
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
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
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 | Seattle | 5 | — | 26.4 | .370 | .000 | .895 | 2.8 | 2.4 | .2 | .2 | 10.2 |
1985 | Seattle | 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
Johnson grew up in
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
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
References
- ^ a b Staff report (January 30, 2015). "Vinnie Johnson, ex-MCC star, joins juco hoops hall". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- ^ a b c d The Microwave
- ^ "Vinnie Johnson Per Game Averages". Basketball Reference.
- NBA.com. Archived from the originalon 2009-03-22. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
- ^ Lee Benson (July 22, 1989). "NO NBA NEPOTISM: JOHNSON HAS TO EARN CAREER ON HIS OWN". Deseret News. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ "ELT – Vinnie Johnson". Piston Group. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- Official website
- Vinnie Johnson Q & A
- Motor City Bad Boys Listing for Vinnie Johnson