According to the Associated Press on Tuesday, former NBA All-Star shooting guard Eddie Johnson of Ocala, Florida, has passed away at the age of 65 of an undisclosed illness. At the time of his death, Johnson was serving time for a life sentence at the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton, Florida. He had been in prison since 2008 for sexually assaulting an eight year old girl.
There is no doubt that Johnson’s time in the NBA was controversial. At the age of 32 Johnson was banned by the NBA for a cocaine addiction. After the ban, he was also arrested for burglary, robbery, assaulting a police officer and shoplifting.
In all, Johnson played 10 seasons in the NBA with the Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Seattle SuperSonics. He averaged 15.1 points per game, 5.1 assists per game and 2.3 rebounds per game. The seasons when Johnson were an all-star, and in fact was the starting shooting guard for the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star Game came in 1980 and 1981. In 1979-80, he averaged 18.5 points per game, and in 1980-81, he averaged a career-high 19.1 points per game.
Johnson was initially drafted in the third round, 49th overall, in the 1977 NBA Draft by the Hawks. He played his high school basketball at Lake Weir High School in Summerfield, Florida, and his college basketball at Auburn University, which historically has been known for their great football teams. Johnson actually had a phenomenal career in the National Collegiate Athletics Association. As a freshman in Auburn in 1973-74, he led the Southeastern Conference with 21. 8 points per game. It should be noted that the Eddie Johnson who played for the Hawks, Supersonics and Cavaliers, cannot be confused with the small forward Eddie Johnson of Chicago, Illinois, who played in the NBA from 1981 to 1999 with the Kansas City Kings, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets.
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