fbpx
Close

Uh oh...

It appears that you're using a severely outdated version of Safari on Windows. Many features won't work correctly, and functionality can't be guaranteed. Please try viewing this website in Edge, Mozilla, Chrome, or another modern browser. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused!

Read More about this safari issue.
Sports 2

Joe Johnson Top Scoring NBA Arkansan Of All Time

T

The NBA playoffs have started, and as is usual this time of year Little Rock native Joe Johnson takes center stage among all NBA Arkansans. The Little Rock native arrived in South Beach a couple months ago after struggling for much of the last year in Brooklyn. The former Razorback has provided much needed offensive boost for the No. 3 seed Heat in place of their injured perennial All-Star Chris Bosh. After routing Charlotte 123-91 on Sunday, this Heat team appears to be just as offensively potent as the LeBron James era championship teams.

joe johnson heat 650 pixels copy

James, of course, returned to Cleveland and earlier this year Johnson had the opportunity to join him there. In 15 seasons Johnson has never played in an NBA Finals and choosing Cleveland, the Eastern Conference front-runner, likely would have put him in the driver’s seat for his first.

But he wanted something that would last longer than a single off-season. “It’s late in my career, man. I’ll be 35 this year,” Johnson told the Sun Sentinel. “And I just was looking more for some type of security, not necessarily a verbal commitment or anything like that, but somewhere where I could really play and still come out and enjoy the game.”

Enjoy the game, Joe most certainly has.

CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 11: Joe Johnson #2 of the Miami Heat shoots against the Chicago Bulls on March 11, 2016 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Johnson no longer must constantly create his own and shots for others as he did for years in Atlanta and Brooklyn. He now benefits from the wide-open looks teammates like Dwayne Wade create. The result: Through his first 24 games in Miami Johnson had been shooting at the best overall clip of his career. He connected on 41.7% of three-pointers, up from 37% with Brooklyn. In overall field goals, he’s at 51.8%, the best mark of his career, after shooting only 40.6% in the previous 57 games with Brooklyn.

CHICAGO - APRIL 24: Scottie Pippen #33 of the Chicago Bulls shoots a layup against Anthony Bonner #4 of the New York Knicks at United Center on April 24, 1994 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1994 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

These last few months were unusually Jekyll and Hyde for Johnson. But for the most part, his career has been defined by a steadiness reflecting his own extremely low-key demeanor. That consistency helped Johnson surpass Scottie Pippen this season as the top-scoring NBA Arkansan of all time.

Below are the top native Arkansans in terms of points scored during an NBA career:

points 1000 pixels wide

When it comes to career assists, Johnson still falls short of Pippen. And at this rate, he probably won’t take top billing unless he plays another five years.

Fayetteville native Mike Conley, meanwhile, would be on track to surpass Pippen were he not so injury prone. In early March, Achilles tendonitis knocked the former Ohio State Buckeye out for at least five weeks. Without Conley, a borderline All-Star point guard, the Grizzlies lost their first game in a first-round matchup with the San Antonio Spurs by 32 points. Without Conley and All-Star Marc Gasol, also injured, they will continue to resemble shark chum.

Assists 1000 pixels wide

In rebounding, Johnson recently surpassed Fat Lever for No. 8 on the all-time list. Lever, who moved to Arizona in his youth, is a former Denver Nuggets star who ranks with Jason Kidd and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to record 15 points, rebounds and assists in a single playoff game.

Rebounds NEW VERSION 1000 pixels wide

Two player on this list — Paul Silas and Glen Rice — are not typically perceived as Arkansans. Silas, a three-time NBA champion who became LeBron James’ first NBA coach, moved early in life to Oakland, Calif. Glen Rice, who joined Derek Fisher to win a championship with the Lakers, spent much of his childhood in Benton before moving to Flint, Mich.

MIAMI - MAY 3: Glen Rice #41 of the Miami Heat shoots a jumper against the Atlanta Hawks in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 1994 NBA Playoffs at Miami Arena on May 3, 1994 in Miami, Florida. The Heat won 90-86. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1994 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Conley and Johnson are the only Arkansans in this season’s playoffs, but at least four native Arkansans are currently listed on NBA rosters. Little Rock native Archie Goodwin completed his third season as a backup point guard with the Phoenix Suns, averaging nine points a game, but shot only 42% from the field and 23.5% from the three-point line. His spot on next year’s roster isn’t guaranteed.

For much of the season, Goodwin teamed with West Memphis native Sonny Weems. Weems, though, struggled and was waived by Phoenix and later by Philadelphia.

After a year out of the league, El Dorado native James Anderson played 14 minutes a game this year for the Sacramento Kings. Meanwhile, Little Rock native Bobby Portis got regular minutes in the Chicago Bulls’ rotation in the latter half of the season after struggling to see floor time in the first part of his rookie year.  After the All-Star break, he averaged 7.1 points and 6.3 rebounds a game but shot only 40.5% from the field.

Fort Smith native Jahlil Okafor, meanwhile, had perhaps the most statistically impressive rookie year ever for a big man Arkansan. The former Duke star was putting up 17.5 points, 7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a game for the abysmal 76ers when a shin injury cut his season short in March.

Wonder where the likes of Corliss Williamson ranks on the all-time scoring list, along with other former Hogs like Todd Day? See an expanded version at BestOfArkansasSports.com.
Cover photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Meet the
author.

Learn more about .

A little about .

Little Rock native Evin Demirel is the author of African-American Athletes in Arkansas: Muhammad Ali’s Tour, Black Razorbacks and Other Forgotten Stories. Follow him on Twitter @evindemirel.

Read more stories by Evin Demirel

 

Visit Evin Demirel’s Website

Like this story? Read more from Evin Demirel

0
0
0
0
0
0

Join the Conversation

Leave a Comment

2 responses to “Joe Johnson Top Scoring NBA Arkansan Of All Time”

  1. […] Monk keeps playing like this in college and beyond, Joe Johnson had better enjoy his all-time NBA Arkansan scoring lead while he […]

  2. […] Triplets are led by Joe Johnson, who joins Moncrief and Scottie Pippen as one of the three best NBA Arkansans of all time. Johnson, […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Submit a photo

We select one featured photo per week, but we show many more in our gallery. Be sure to fill out all the fields in order to have yours selected.

  • Accepted file types: jpg, png, Max. file size: 5 MB.

Regions Topics
Social

What are you looking for?

Explore Arkansas

Central Arkansas

Little Rock, Conway, Searcy, Benton, Heber Springs

Northwest Arkansas

Fayetteville, Bentonville, Springdale, Fort Smith

South Arkansas

Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, Texarkana, Arkadelphia

Explore by Topic