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HOW JOE BECAME A HAWK (career transactions): Obtained in a
sign-and-trade transaction from the Phoenix Suns, in exchange for Boris Diaw and
two conditional draft picks, on August 19, 2005 • Acquired by the Suns from the
Boston Celtics, along with Randy Brown, Milt Palacio and a first-round pick, in
exchange for Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk on February 20, 2002 • Originally
selected by Boston in the first round (10th overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft.
LAST SEASON (2006-07): Before injuries derailed his season – marking the
first time Johnson missed any game(s) in his NBA career due to injury – the
six-year pro was en route to a career year in several categories • His 376
consecutive games played streak (the NBA’s best) ended on December 10 when he
sat out with a right calf strain • In addition to missing four at that time,
Johnson was forced to the sidelines for an additional 21 games with a right calf
contusion (from March 7 to season’s end) • The injury overshadowed an All-Star
season for the injury invitee (he was named to the Eastern Conference reserves
by Commissioner David Stern to replace Jason Kidd) as he became the first
Atlanta player named to the midseason contest since Shareef Abdur-Rahim in 2002
• Johnson recorded 12 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal in 18 minutes
(5-9 FGM, 2-5 3FGM) in the game • He ranked 9th in the NBA in scoring (25.0 ppg),
22nd in FGM (536), 32nd in 3FGM (119) and 2nd in minutes played (41.4) • Johnson
finished the season with averages of 25.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.4 apg and 1.1 spg in
41.4 mpg (.471 FG%, .381 3FG%, .748 FT%) • The team leader in points, minutes,
FGM, 3FGM, 3FG% and assists (per game), he also finished 2nd in FG% and 4th
(tied) in steals • Posted two double-doubles (one pts/assts, one pts/rebs) and
scored 25-or-more points in 36-of-57 games • Nineteen (19) of those games saw
Johnson tally 30 points or more (Atlanta was 12-7 in those games) • He was the
team’s leading scorer in 43 games, top assist man in 23 and top rebounder in
five contests • Off to a great start to begin the season, he scored 25 or more
in each of the first seven games, setting a team record in the process
(previously held by Lou Hudson (Oct. ’71) and Bob Pettit (Oct. ’61)) • The NBA’s
Eastern Conference Player of the Week (on Nov. 13), he passed 6,000 and
7,000-point milestones during the year • Last summer, Johnson participated on
Team USA’s Men’s Senior National Team, one of 23 players named to the historic
2006-08 National Team program • Team USA took home the bronze medal after
finishing with an 8-1 record and Johnson registered 7.3 points (tied for fifth),
1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists (.393 FG%, .308 3FG%, 6-6 FTs) in nine games •
SEASON HIGHS: 39 pts @Orl (1/26/07), 10 rebs v/Sea (11/11/06), 11 @GS (2/11/07),
3 stls (5x), 1 blk (11x), 14 FGM (5x), 6 3FGM v/GS (1/31/07), 10 FTM @Phoe
(2/9/07).
PROFESSIONAL CAREER: Through six seasons, Johnson is averaging 15.6 ppg,
4.1 rpg, 4.0 apg and 1.0 spg in 35.6 mpg (.444 FG%, .376 3FG%, .764 FT%) •
CAREER
HIGHS: 42 pts v/GS (3/7/06), 12 rebs (2x), 17 assts @Milw (3/13/06), 5
stls (2x), 4 blks v/Sea (2/22/06), 57 mins @NY (3/15/06), 17 FGM v/Orl
(3/19/06), 6 3FGM (5x), 10 FTM (2x) • He has missed 25 games due to injury or
illness • 2005-06: Johnson had an outstanding campaign in his first as a Hawk,
perhaps the best all-around season by an Atlanta player since the days of
Dominique Wilkins • He led the team in six statistical categories – points,
assists, steals, games and minutes played and three-point FG% – and ranked third
in FG% • Among NBA leaders, JJ ranked 21st in scoring, 14th in assists, 31st in
steals and 6th in minutes • A tireless worker, Johnson set the Hawks’ franchise
record for minutes played in a season (3,340), shattering Bob Pettit’s record
that had stood for 42 years • Finished with averages of 20.2 ppg, 6.5 apg, 4.1
rpg and 1.3 spg in 40.7 mpg (.453 FG%, .356 3FG%, .791 FT%) • He recorded 12
double-doubles, and his first career triple-double (the 19th in Atlanta history)
on Feb. 1 at Charlotte (15 pts/11 assts/10 rebs) • One of just three NBA players
on the season (Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson five times, Cleveland’s LeBron James
three times) to compile 40+ points and 10+ assists in the same game on multiple
occasions (40 and 13 on 2/24 @Ind, 40 and 11 on 3/19 v/Orl) • One of only five
active NBA players to total 40+ points and 13+ assists in the same game – and
the only player to accomplish that in 2005-06 (joining Antoine Walker (Jan.
2001), Tracy McGrady (Feb. 2003), James (Mar. 2004) and Baron Davis (Apr. 2005))
• By virtue of a 25.2-point, 7.0-assist, 6.2-rebound and 1.0-steal week in
December (12th-18th), Johnson took home his first Eastern Conference Player of
the Week award • He scored 30-plus points on 11 occasions, including 40-plus
four times • In his first season as the team’s leader, Johnson set or tied
single-game career-highs in points, assists, blocks, field goals made,
three-pointers made, free throws made and minutes • Finished the season having
played in 358 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in the NBA behind
Toronto’s Morris Peterson (361) • Johnson played in all 82 games, the first
Hawks player to accomplish that since Alan Henderson did in 2002-03 • 2004-05
(with Phoenix): In his fourth NBA season, Johnson averaged 17.1 points, 5.1
rebounds, 3.5 assists in a team-high 39.5 minutes played (7th in NBA) with
Phoenix • He ranked 2nd in the league with a franchise record .478 three-point
percentage and 8th with a career-high 177 three-point field goals made • Became
only the fourth player in NBA history to make at least 150 three-point field
goals and shoot over 45 percent from behind the arc in the same season (others -
Glen Rice in 1996-97, Dana Barros in 1994-95 and Dale Ellis in 1988-89) • He
scored 20-plus points 30 times, including a season-best 30 three times • In an
April 11 game at the LA Lakers, Johnson connected on six of the team's franchise
record 19 three-point field goals • He shot 50 percent or better from the field
40 times • 2003-04 (with Phoenix): Finished ninth in voting for the 2003-04 NBA
Most Improved Player Award and averaged 16.7 points (37th in NBA), 4.7 rebounds,
4.4 assists (29th) and 1.1 steals in 40.6 minutes (3rd) • Was one of only 11 NBA
players to average more than 16 points, four rebounds and four assists and eight
of those players were 2004 All-Stars (Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady,
Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Baron Davis, Paul Pierce, Steve Francis) • Led the NBA
with 3,331 minutes in 2003-04, the third-highest single season total in Suns
franchise history • Ended the season having logged at least 40 minutes in 35
consecutive games, the longest streak in the NBA since Nate Thurmond recorded 37
straight from Dec. 30, 1968-March 7, 1969 • One of only nine players in league
history to have such a streak over 30 and seven are in the Hall of Fame (Nate
Archibald, Wilt Chamberlain, John Havlicek, Neil Johnston, Oscar Robertson, Bill
Russell and Thurmond) • Tallied a season-high 31 points twice (Jan. 31, 2004 at
New York and March 23, 2004 at Cleveland) • Scored in double digits in
personal-best 42 consecutive games (Jan. 30 - April 11, 2004) and also recorded
career-long eight consecutive games with 20 or more points (Jan. 25 - Feb. 6) •
2002-03 (with Phoenix): Appeared in all 82 contests, and averaged 9.8 ppg, 3.2
rpg and 2.6 apg (.397 FG%, .366 3FG%, .774 FT%) • Started 34 games • Over the
final six games, put up 20.7 ppg, 4.3 apg and 4.0 rpg in 32.8 mpg, hitting .542
FG% • Made 41.4 percent of his three-point attempts over the final 29 games •
Scored 10-plus points 35 times • 2001-02 (with Boston, then Phoenix): Named NBA
All-Rookie Second Team in 2001-02, the first Sun so honored since Shawn Marion
in 1999-00 • Averaged 9.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 31.5 minutes in 29
games (27 starts) with Phoenix, higher than his averages with Boston in 2001-02
(6.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists in 20.9 minutes in 48 games) •
Participated in Rookie Challenge at the 2002 All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia
and had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists as Rookies posted a 103-97
win over Sophomores.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: Johnson has appeared in 15 career playoff contests,
averaging 13.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 2.5 apg (.438 FG%, .449 3FG%, .658 FT%) in 34.6
mpg • In one of the 2004-05 postseason's most horrific spills, he suffered a
displaced fracture of the orbital bone and a mild concussion with 19.7 seconds
left in the second quarter vs. Dallas in Game 2 of the Western Conference
Semifinals on May 11, and missed six games before returning for Games 3-5 of the
Conference Finals vs. San Antonio with the aid of a face mask • He missed his
first game ever since joining the Suns in a trade from Boston on 2/20/02 •
Johnson averaged 20.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and shot 53.7 percent
from the field (29-54 FG) in the Suns' first ever four-game playoff sweep, in
the first round over Memphis • PLAYOFF CAREER HIGHS: 26 pts @SA (5/30/05), 9
rebs v/SA (4/25/03), 6 assts v/Mem (4/24/05), 4 stls v/Dall (5/9/05), 2 blks @SA
(4/21/03), 45 mins v/Mem (4/27/05), 10 FGM @SA (5/30/05), 6 3FGM @SA (5/30/05),
9 FTM @Mem (5/1/05).
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: A member of the bronze medal winning, 2006 USA
Men’s World Championship team, Johnson averaged 7.3 points and 1.3 assists in
nine games (.393 FG%, .308 3FG%) • He started in two games and tallied a series
high of 18 points in a 113-73 win over Australia.
COLLEGIATE CAREER: Johnson played two seasons at University of Arkansas
(1999-01) and earned All-America honors as a sophomore and Southeastern
Conference Freshman of the Year honors • Averaged 14.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg and 2.6 apg
as a soph • He took home All-SEC accolades both years • Johnson achieved quite a
distinction as a freshman player at Arkansas when you consider the school’s
history – he was the first freshman in school history to lead team in scoring
(16.0) and rebounding (5.7) • After two seasons there, he averaged 15.0 points
and 6.1 rebounds • Grabbed career-high 14 rebounds and added 20 points in a win
over eighth-ranked Tennessee as a sophomore • Scored career-high 30 points vs.
Mississippi State to become the first freshman to score 30 points in SEC play in
six years • Was the first Razorback freshman to earn All-SEC honors since Scotty
Thurman in 1993.
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