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Larry Johnson (basketball, born 1954)

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For the American basketball player of the 1990s, see Larry Johnson (basketball, born 1969).

Larry Johnson
Personal information
Born(1954-11-28)November 28, 1954
Morganfield, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedApril 29, 2025(2025-04-29) (aged 70)
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolUnion County (Morganfield, Kentucky)
CollegeKentucky (1973–1977)
NBA draft1977: 2nd round, 24th overall pick
Drafted byBuffalo Braves
PositionShooting guard
Number10
Career history
1977Buffalo Braves
1979–1989Matsushita Denki
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Larry O'Neal Johnson Sr. (November 28, 1954 – April 29, 2025) was an American basketball player who had a brief career with the Buffalo Braves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Johnson was a 6'3" shooting guard and played competitively at Union County High School in Morganfield, Kentucky, before attending the University of Kentucky from 1973 to 1977. He was the first of three African-Americans from Union County recruited by UK.[1] At Kentucky, he was selected as All-SEC Third Team his senior season. He helped the Wildcats finish as runners-up in the 1975 NCAA Tournament to UCLA in coach John Wooden's last game, as well as becoming NIT champions in 1976 with a victory over UNC-Charlotte,[2] in which he scored 16 points.[3]

Johnson was selected in the second round of the 1977 NBA draft by the Buffalo Braves. He only played four games for them during the 1977–78 season, averaging 1.5 points per game.[1] Johnson would go on to play internationally for many years,[1] including in Japan for Matsushita Denki, which later became known as the Panasonic Corporation, from 1979 to 1989. After he retired as a player, he also coached that team.[4]

Johnson died April 29, 2025, at the age of 70.[5]

Career statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

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Source[6]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1977–78 Buffalo 4 9.5 .231 .000 1.3 1.8 1.3 .5 1.5

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Larry Johnson enters Hall of Fame, by Brandon Cole, Union County Advocate website, posted June 6, 2007 Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Geoghegan, Zack (May 2, 2025). "Former Kentucky MBB player Larry Johnson dies at 70". On3. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  3. ^ "Kentucky vs. UNC-Charlotte (March 21, 1976)". www.bigbluehistory.net. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  4. ^ Odeven, Ed (September 30, 2012). "Panasonic helped bring foreign players to Japan". The Japan Times. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  5. ^ Geoghegan, Zack (May 1, 2025). "Former Kentucky MBB player Larry Johnson dies at 70". on3.com. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
  6. ^ "Larry Johnson NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
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