Charles Johnson (basketball, born 1949)

Charles Johnson (March 31, 1949 – June 1, 2007) was an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors and the Washington Bullets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an alumnus of Sequoia High School and then scored 1,000 points in three years playing college basketball for the California Golden Bears.

Charles Johnson
Personal information
Born(1949-03-31)March 31, 1949
Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
DiedJune 1, 2007(2007-06-01) (aged 58)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolSequoia (Redwood City, California)
CollegeCalifornia (1968–1971)
NBA draft1971: 6th round, 93rd overall pick
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Playing career1972–1979
PositionPoint guard
Number10, 15
Career history
19721978Golden State Warriors
19781979Washington Bullets
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points4,241 (8.1 ppg)
Rebounds1,318 (2.5 rpg)
Assists973 (1.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

The San Francisco Warriors drafted Johnson in the 6th round of the 1971 NBA draft. The 6-foot-0, 170-pound point guard played with the Warriors for five seasons and part of a sixth until he was waived in early January 1978. Johnson was a member of the 1974–75 Warriors NBA championship team.

After his release, Johnson was signed by the Washington Bullets in January, 1978, after a season-ending injury to Phil Chenier. Johnson averaged 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a member of the 1977–78 NBA Championship team.

Elvin Hayes attributed the Bullets championship run to the acquisition of Johnson.[1] In the last four games of the 1978 NBA finals against the Seattle SuperSonics, Johnson scored 80 points and helped Washington win the series 4 games to 3. The Bullets topped the Atlanta Hawks, San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers to reach the championship round.

Johnson died of cancer on June 1, 2007, aged 58.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "'Fat Lady' Sings Victorious Tune for Bullets". NBA.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
  2. ^ Former Sequoia great Johnson dies
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