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Chris Johnson, famous Big3 shot-blocker

Many segments of play attract spectators to come to see one basketball game. Blocks are one of those areas of individual performance. Do you remember guys like Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul – Jabbar, and Dikembe Mutombo? Those are the players who were leaders in made blocks in the history of the most entertaining national 5×5 league on the planet.

Chris Johnson is not on the level of previously mentioned players, but he is certainly a guy who was remembered as a good blocker in NBA and Big3. This story will provide you with the biggest breaking points in his road to fame.

What did Johnson’s high school days look like?

Chris was taking part in Colonial Beach High School in Virginia averaging 22.2 points and grabbing 12.5 rebounds per game in the final campaign.

After that experience, Johnson attended Laurinburg Institute’s prep school national competition while being under the charge of coach Chris Chaney. During the first half of 2005, our today’s star scored 8.6 points, made 3.9 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per fixture with 42% of accuracy when shooting for three points.

Many pundits saw his performances and the coaching staff of many clubs were interested already in bringing this player.

What kind of performances did Chris provide in his college career?

Following his high school career, Johnson began playing for the college team LSU Tigers in 2005. Throughout 85 games, Chris was a starter 59 times averaging 7.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 20.4 minutes per game. Best Johnson’s season came in his junior year in 2007/2008 scoring 11.6 points per game.

Four-year period spent in the Tigers team was considered good as Chris Johnson made 172 blocks, which put him in second place in the segment of most blocked shots in the history of LSU. Legendary center Shakil O’Neal was only better in that category than a hero of our today’s story.

Which club was first for Johnson in the most prestigious national basketball league in the world?

Chris ended undrafted during the NBA 2009 Draft and decided to play overseas to fill the gap. At the beginning of the 2010/2011 campaign, Johnson became a member of team Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League where he scored 16.2 points and grabbed 9.2 rebounds per game.

After playing in Development League, the LSU product signed the deal with Portland on January 24, 2011. The agreement was not so lucrative for Trail Blazers as Chris ended that campaign with an average of 2.7 points throughout only 10 games.

Which was the second team Chris represented in NBA?

Between two short tenures with Portland in 2010/2011, Johnson performed for Boston. 

In February of 2011, this center made a 10-day deal with Celtics to fill the gap caused by the departure of centers Semih Erden and Kendrick Perkins. Shaquille O’Neal, Boston’s prime solution in the center position, was injured so the signing was a necessary help for depleted Boston’s roster.

After only 4 games for Celtics and scoring 1.5 points per game, the power forward re-signed with Portland to be their player until the end of the 2010/2011 season.

What was the next station in Johnson’s NBA path?

Following the first season in Portland, this backup power forward remained a member of the Trail Blazers roster. LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, and Jamal Crawford were some of the big names that were playing in the roster of Oregon’s team.

Finishing his second season with 1.6 points and 0.9 rebounds per fixture didn’t convince the coaching staff to keep him in the squad. He was still missing the physical strength to contribute more to Portland’s results and performances who finished in 11th place in the Western Conference standings.

Where did Chris decide to play after Portland?

NBA lockout in 2011 stopped the usual rhythm of the season, so the guys trained at home to stay in needed condition. Re-signing with Portland and a brief spell with them was followed by New Orleans picking Chris on March 20, 2012. Former Boston’s center got new big names as teammates among whom were Chris Kaman, Emeka Okafor, and Marco Belinelli.

Monty Williams was happy with the numbers in personal Johnson’s statistics raised compared to the 2010/2011 campaign. Chris Johnson scored 3.3 points and grabbed 3.1 rebounds per game, but those records didn’t help New Orleans to avoid last place in Western Conference.

How did Chris react to disappointment in New Orleans?

After leaving New Orleans and representing Minnesota in the 2012/2013 preseason, Johnson put a signature on a deal with them in September 2012. He was waived after one month by the Timberwolves, so the former college star was forced to settle for playing in the NBA Development league.

At the beginning of 2013, Johnson returned to the Minneapolis team signing a 10-day contract. Joining rosters full of stars like Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, and Andrei Kirilenko was the accomplishment of Chris’s dreams. Re-signing the contract for the remainder of the season scoring 3.9 points per game was a kind of improvement in his career.

What was Johnson’s beginning in Big3?

The NBA career didn’t meet Johnson’s expectations, so everything he got left to do was to try something else. The Big3 prospect appeared as a reasonable solution providing a high dynamic of the play and competing with ex-teammates and rival players from the most popular national league in the world.

It was clear that Chris’s services were needed on Fireball’s market when Triplets picked him in round 1of the 2019 Draft Pool. Getting a chance to play with legend Joe Johnson in the same roster looked desirable, but Triplets sent Johnson to the Ghost Ballers as part of the exchange.

Eventually, Ghost Ballers ended the regular season with a score of 4-4 not making it to the playoff.

How did Chris Johnson continue to carry the pressure of winning?

The former New Orleans star stayed part of the Ghost Ballers roster for the next campaign playing with teammates Mike Taylor and Ricky Davis. Besides those three players, reinforcements Craig Smith and Cheyne Gadson were brought from the 2021 Draft Pool.

After a solid start and a 4-1 score, the form of the team dropped drastically suffering three defeats in a row.  Chris Johnson still retained hope about lifting the Big3 trophy soon because the potential of the roster was big.

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How good was Chris’s team in his third season in Fireball?

As expected, this center remained a member of the Ghost Ballers for the third season in a row. The roster was strengthened additionally by the arrivals of Jermaine Taylor and Darnell Jackson believing the 2022 season could be a new chapter in the club’s history. Coach George Gervin wanted to improve the shooting and jumping skills of the team with new acquisitions.

However, things didn’t go well for the Ballers losing as they missed qualifying for the Final Four.

Running in transition is a good characteristic of Johnson’s play which coaches like to use in their tactics. Despite the amazing shot-blocking skills which Chris possesses, his teams couldn’t win any major trophy. Good defense by Johnson doesn’t win crucial games for the team.

What is the reason that he constantly fails to fill his treasury of trophies? Is that a bad choice of teams that Chris represents? Or strategy of play doesn’t suit his traits? Confusion in solving the puzzle is big. Many potential answers are in play, but it seems that the player himself didn’t figure it out. We hope that will happen.

About the author

Marjan Nikolic

Passionate sports guy, coming from the eastern Europe where best basketball is played (yeah, I know you will not agree!). Dynamic 3x3 basket has special place in my heart.

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