Daniel Johnson (basketball)

Daniel Johnson
No. 21 – Adelaide 36ers
Position Centre / Power forward
League NBL
Personal information
Born (1988-04-03) 3 April 1988
Carnarvon, Western Australia
Nationality Australian
Listed height 212 cm (6 ft 11 in)
Listed weight 108 kg (238 lb)
Career information
High school Willetton (Perth, Western Australia)
College Pepperdine (2007–2008)
Playing career 2006–present
Career history
2006–2007 Australian Institute of Sport
2008–2009 Melbourne Tigers
2008–2010 Melbourne Tigers
2010 Willetton Tigers
2010–2014 Adelaide 36ers
2011 South Adelaide Panthers
2013 West Adelaide Bearcats
2014 Piratas de Quebradillas
2014 West Adelaide Bearcats
2014–2015 Stelmet Zielona Góra
2015–present Adelaide 36ers
2015 Wellington Saints
2016 Santeros de Aguada
2017 Petrochimi Bandar Imam
2018 Forestville Eagles
2018 Ferro Carril Oeste
Career highlights and awards

Daniel Johnson (born 3 April 1988) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League (NBL). Standing 6'11½" (212 cm) tall, Johnson's primary position is centre, but with a strong mid and long range shooting ability, he is equally effective at playing power forward. Johnson, a three-time Adelaide 36ers Club MVP (2012–14), has previously had stints in Puerto Rico, Poland, New Zealand and Iran.

Early life

Born in Carnarvon, Western Australia[1] to parents Craig and Carolyn, Johnson moved to Perth as a youth with his family (he has three siblings: Josh, Courtnee and Jess) where he attended Willetton Senior High School, graduating in 2005. From there, he accepted a two-year scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport, where in 2006, he helped the program's basketball team win the inaugural King Club International Cup,[2][3] en route to being voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 22 points, six rebounds, one assist, two blocks and a steal over five games.[4] He represented Australia at the 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Serbia where he helped the Emus to a fifth-place finish with an 8–1 tournament record, as he averaged 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in nine games.

In the fall of 2007, Johnson moved to the United States to play college basketball for Pepperdine University. In 2007–08, he played in 21 games for the Waves, averaging 9.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.[5]

Professional career

Melbourne Tigers

Johnson returned to Australia in 2008 and signed with the Melbourne Tigers for the 2008–09 NBL season. He played in 48 games over two seasons for the Tigers as backup centre behind Chris Anstey. Johnson averaged 7.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in limited court time with the Tigers and missed out on an NBL championship when the Tigers went down three games to two in the 2009 NBL Grand Final series against cross-town rivals the South Dragons. During his time with the Tigers, he also played for their Big V affiliate team.

Adelaide 36ers

After first returning to Perth and helping the Willetton Tigers win the 2010 SBL championship, Johnson joined the Adelaide 36ers for the 2010–11 NBL season. Johnson appeared in all 28 games for the 36ers in 2010–11, averaging 9.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. In the third last game of the season, Johnson scored a career-high 31 points with 13 rebounds and 3 steals against the Melbourne Tigers. Johnson subsequently finished runner-up in the 36ers Club MVP voting for the season behind captain Adam Ballinger.

In November 2011, Johnson won Adelaide's first NBL Player of the Week award since Ballinger in December 2009.[6] At the end of the 2011–12 season, Johnson averaged 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 blocks in 30.8 minutes per game, numbers that were almost double his career averages in every category. He was subsequently named the NBL's Most Improved Player and earned All-NBL Third Team honours. Johnson became the fourth 36ers player to win the league's Most Improved Player award following Mark Bradtke (1988), Scott Ninnis (1993) and Chris Blakemore (1994). He also won the Mark Davis Trophy for the being named the 36ers Club MVP.[7]

On 28 March 2012, Johnson re-signed with the 36ers on a three-year deal.[7]

Following the off-season signing of centre Luke Schenscher,[8] Johnson moved primarily to power forward. However, a mid-season injury to Schenscher saw Johnson rotate through the centre position again. Johnson was the NBL's leading rebounder in 2012–13 with 8.1 per game. He was fifth in the league in scoring with 16.2 points per game and was rewarded for his efforts by being selected to the All-NBL Second Team. On 28 March 2013, Johnson won his second straight Mark Davis Trophy as the 36ers Club MVP.

Johnson helped the 36ers climb the ladder in 2013–14, as they finished the regular season in second place before reaching their first NBL Grand Final since 2002, where they lost 2–1 to the Perth Wildcats. Johnson again led the 36ers in scoring with 19.6 points per game and rebounding with 7.0 per game, thus earning selection as a All-NBL First Team honouree for the first time. He went on to win his third straight Mark Davis Trophy as Club MVP for the 2013–14 season.[9]

During the 2014 off-season, Johnson played for Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.[10][11]

Stelmet Zielona Góra

On 24 July 2014, Johnson signed a two-year deal with Stelmet Zielona Góra of the Polish Basketball League.[12][13] However, on 18 January 2015, he parted ways with the club.[14] In 16 games for Zielona Góra, he averaged 5.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Second stint with Adelaide

On 21 January 2015, Johnson returned to the Adelaide 36ers, re-signing with the club for the rest of the 2014–15 NBL season.[15][16] He played in seven regular season games to finish the home and away schedule, before playing in the 36ers' 2–0 semi-final series defeat at the hands of the eventual champions, the New Zealand Breakers. In nine games, he averaged 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.[17]

During the 2015 off-season, Johnson played for the Wellington Saints of the New Zealand NBL. He helped the Saints reach the final, where they lost to the Southland Sharks. In 11 games for the Saints, he averaged 16.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.[18]

On 15 May 2015, Johnson re-signed with the 36ers on a three-year deal.[19] In 2015–16, he averaged 15.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 28 games. His 9.3 rebounds per game were enough to see him lead the NBL in rebounding for a second time.

In March 2016, Johnson joined Santeros de Aguada of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, returning to Puerto Rico for a second stint before returning to Adelaide in time for the 2016–17 NBL season.[20] Johnson helped the 36ers win the minor premiership in 2016–17 and subsequently earned All-NBL First Team honours for the second time in his career. In March 2017, Johnson signed with Petrochimi Bandar Imam of the Iranian Basketball Super League.[21]

In 2017–18, Johnson once again earned All-NBL First Team honours and helped the 36ers reach the 2018 NBL Grand Final series, where they lost 3–2 to Melbourne United.

On 13 April 2018, Johnson re-signed with the 36ers on a three-year deal.[22] Later that month, after a two-game stint with the Forestville Eagles, Johnson signed with Ferro Carril Oeste of the Liga Nacional de Básquet.[23]

In October 2018, Johnson was named captain of the 36ers.[24]

National team career

Johnson's form for the 36ers in winning the NBL's Most Improved Player award in 2011–12 saw him selected to the Australian Boomers training camp for the 2012 London Olympic Games, though he ultimately missed a spot on the team with the selectors and coaches (who also included his then Adelaide 36ers coach Marty Clarke as one of the Boomers assistants) preferring the more experienced Aleks Marić and David Andersen.

References

  1. ↑ Daniel Johnson's profile – FIBA.com
  2. ↑ Top action at King Club cup
  3. ↑ Young stars shine in Cup action
  4. ↑ JOHNSON SIGNS LOI TO PLAY BASKETBALL AT PEPPERDINE
  5. ↑ NBL Player Spotlight – Daniel Johnson
  6. ↑ Nagy, Boti (2 November 2011). "Daniel Johnson ends Sixer's award drought". adelaidenow.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013.
  7. 1 2 ADELAIDE THE TEAM FOR JOHNSON
  8. ↑ Luke Schenscher returns to old team
  9. ↑ 2013/14 Club Award Winners
  10. ↑ Piratas de Quebradillas sign Daniel Johnson
  11. ↑ DJ Strawberry signs with Piratas de Quebradillas
  12. ↑ Stelmet Zielona Gora reaches Down Under for big man Johnson
  13. ↑ Stelmet Zielona Gora signs Daniel Johnson for two years
  14. ↑ Daniel Johnson and Stelmet Zielona Gora part ways
  15. ↑ Johnson Back In 36ers Blue
  16. ↑ Daniel Johnson returns to Adelaide
  17. ↑ Player statistics for Daniel Johnson – ANBL
  18. ↑ Player statistics for Daniel Johnson – NZNBL
  19. ↑ Johnson signs three-year deal with the 36ers
  20. ↑ SANTEROS FIRMAN A DANIEL JOHNSON... (in Spanish)
  21. ↑ Petrochimi tabs Daniel Johnson, ex 36ers
  22. ↑ Johnson signs three-year deal with 36ers
  23. ↑ Ferrocarril lands Daniel Johnson, ex Forestville E.
  24. ↑ "Daniel Johnson named captain of the Adelaide 36ers". Adelaide36ers.com. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
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