Avery Johnson
From Hoopedia
| Avery Johnson |
|---|
 |
| Born March 25, 1965 in New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Coach |
| League NBA |
| Team |
| Coaching Career 2005 - 2008 |
| Best Record 67-15 (2006-07 season |
| Championship(s) 0 |
| Former Teams Dallas Mavericks (2005-2008) |
| Player |
| Position Point Guard |
| League NBA |
| Height 5 ft 10 |
| Weight 175 lbs |
| College Southern Jaguars |
| Drafted undrafted in 1988 |
| Pro Career 1988 - 2005 |
| Former Teams Seattle SuperSonics (1988 - 1990) Denver Nuggets {1990 - 1991 |
Avery Johnson (born March 25,1965) is a retired NBA player and former head coach of Dallas Mavericks. On March 19, 2005, Don Nelson resigned as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks and Johnson was named the eighth coach in the history of the franchise. Johnson finished the season with a 16-2 mark and was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for April after guiding the Mavericks to their highest win total for that month in team history (10-1 mark).
He was also named Western Conference Coach of the Month in November 2005, becoming the first coach in league history to win the award in his first two full months of coaching. Johnson picked up the award again in January 2006 and was later named NBA Coach of the Year for 2005-06.
Johnson won 66 of his first 82 games, which was four more wins than any other coach in league history had through 82 games. He was also the fastest coach to reach the 50-win mark (62 games) and coached the Western Conference in the 2006 All-Star game. Last season, Johnson guided Dallas to a franchise-high tying 60 wins and its first appearance in the NBA Finals.
On April 30, 2008 the Mavericks fired Johnson after they were eliminated in the First Round of the playoffs.
Playing Career
As a high school senior in 1983, Johnson led New Orleans' St. Augustine High School to a 35-0 record and the Class 4A Louisiana State Championship.
Johnson matriculated at New Mexico Junior College before moving on to Cameron University, and finally Southern University, with whom in his senior season in 1988 he led the NCAA with 13.3 assists per game, an all-time record that still stands.
Upon graduation in 1988 Johnson was not selected in the 1988 NBA Draft. After a summer season with the United States Basketball League's Palm Beach Stingrays, however, Johnson was signed by the Seattle SuperSonics and managed to spend the next 16 years playing in the NBA, including stints with the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, and Dallas Mavericks. A true journeyman as a player, occasionally traded, or even waived, mid-season, Johnson is most well-known for his time with the San Antonio Spurs (1991, 1992-1993, 1994-2001), particularly his integral role on the 1999 Spurs team that won the NBA championship against the New York Knicks in which he hit the championship-clinching shot in Game 5. The Spurs retired Avery Johnson's number 6 on December 22, 2007 in a home game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
