Coming into the 2016-17 season, James Johnson was one of the NBA's most versatile players, but also a journeyman of the league. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls, Johnson hadn't played more than two consecutive years with a single team in the league, jumping around from Chicago to Toronto, then to Sacramento, Memphis, and back to Toronto for a pair of years north of the border.
Johnson signed a one-year deal worth $4 million with the Miami Heat for the 2016-17 season, the team's first without star guard Dwyane Wade in 13 years. Johnson only started five games, but in the 76 total games that he played, he was apart of a core the Heat would've been mistaken not to bring back. After averaging 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game, Johnson helped the Heat to a 30-11 record after starting out the season 11-30, finishing up with a tie with the Bulls for the eighth seed.
Just a year later, Johnson has not only been re-signed to a three-year, $43 million deal with Miami, but also been named a captain of the team alongside longtime fan favorite Udonis Haslem. Head coach Erik Spoelstra praised Johnson soon after, calling his being named captain a no-brainer.
Via The Palm Beach Post:
“JJ was one the most special things that I’ve been a part of in my coaching career,” Spoelstra said about how Johnson transformed his career last season. “To people on the outside it might have been surprising but when we actually named him captain it was a no-brainer.
“He has that type of voice, purity, intention and leadership qualities to take on that role.”
So what does an opposing coach see when his team has to take on the James Johnson-led Heat team? LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers discussed with ClutchPoints the difficulties of taking on a guy with his kind of versatility.
“He's always been a good player, but I think in coming to Miami, number one: his conditioning,” said Rivers before his Clippers took on the Heat Sunday afternoon. “Like visually, you see his body, he's different and he's changed. He is as versatile [as anyone]… It's funny, he's one of those guys in the league that no one really knows about, except for when you ask a player on the other team. They'll tell you exactly who he is.
“I mean he's a hard guard, he's a point guard and whatever whatever position he's playing. The two (guard), the three (small forward), or the four (power forward), whatever position he's playing at. He's just a difficult guy to defend.”
Johnson played 29 minutes off the bench, scoring 14 points, including a pair of game-winning free throws. grabbing two rebounds, dishing five assists, and blocking one shot. On the year, he's averaging 12.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks, and just under one three-pointer per game for the team from South Beach.
Johnson has finally found a home with with Miami, and he'll continue to be an important figure in Heat culture as the team pursues a return to the postseason.
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