Avery Johnson

Avery DeWitt Johnson (born March 25, 1965) is an American basketball television commentator and former player and coach who most recently served as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team.

He is currently an NBA and college basketball analyst for CBS Sports.

Johnson spent 16 years in the National Basketball Association as a player, and subsequently served as the head coach of two NBA teams: the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets.

He led the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance and to three consecutive 50+ win seasons.

During his playing days, Johnson was known as the "Little General" for his small stature (by NBA standards), his leadership skills as a point guard, and his close friendship with former San Antonio Spurs teammate David Robinson.

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 to New Mexico Junior College before moving on to Cameron University, and finally Southern University, at which in his senior season in 1988 he led NCAA Division I with 13.3 assists per game, an all-time record.

Upon graduation in 1988, Johnson was not selected in the NBA draft.

Johnson spent the summer of 1988 with the Palm Beach Stingrays of the United States Basketball League.

In 43 games, Johnson averaged 1.6 points and 1.7 assists as a reserve.

Johnson also played in six playoff games for the Stingrays.

In the 1989–90 season, Johnson played 53 games with 10 starts for the Seattle SuperSonics.

He made 18 assists on January 5, 1990, against the Miami Heat.

On October 24, 1990, the SuperSonics traded Johnson to the Denver Nuggets for a conditional pick in the 1997 NBA draft.

After playing 21 games, Johnson was waived from the Nuggets in December before signing with the San Antonio Spurs on January 17, 1991.

Johnson played 47 games with seven starts for the Spurs and averaged 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists.

In the beginning of the 1991–92 season, Johnson played 20 games and averaged 5.0 points and 6.8 assists for the Spurs before being waived in December.

On January 10, 1992, Johnson signed the first of several 10-day contracts with the Houston Rockets that preceded a longer-term contract.

Johnson scored a then-career-high 22 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 28.

Signed as an unrestricted free agent, Johnson returned to the Spurs on November 19, 1992.

Promoted to starter, Johnson averaged 8.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 7.5 assists and improved his field goal percentage to .502 in 75 games.

In the playoffs, Johnson averaged 8.2 points and 8.1 assists.

Johnson signed with the Golden State Warriors on October 25, 1993, and was named team captain just nine days into his signing.

Starting 70 of 82 games, Johnson reached a new career high 10.9 points per game along with 5.3 assists per game.

Johnson had played under Nelson from 1993 to 1994 and from 2002 to 2003, and it was understood from the beginning that he was being groomed to eventually succeed Nelson as head coach.

Johnson was with the Spurs from 1994 to 2001, and played an integral role on the 1998–99 Spurs team that won the NBA championship against the New York Knicks.

Johnson made the go-ahead, championship-clinching shot in Game 5 on a jumper with 47 seconds remaining in the game.

On July 19, 2001, Johnson signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets.

Johnson played 51 games (13 starts) with the Nuggets and averaged 9.4 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists.

The Nuggets traded Johnson, Nick Van Exel, Raef LaFrentz, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad to the Dallas Mavericks on February 21, 2002, for Donnell Harvey, Tim Hardaway, Juwan Howard, and draft considerations.

Johnson played 17 games all as a reserve with the Mavericks for the rest of the season.

In the 2002–03 season, Johnson played in 48 games as a reserve for the Mavericks, averaging 9.0 minutes per game.

During the 2003 offseason, the Mavericks traded Johnson, Van Exel, Popeye Jones, Antoine Rigaudeau, and Evan Eschmeyer to the Golden State Warriors for Antawn Jamison, Jiří Welsch, Chris Mills, and Danny Fortson.

Johnson ended his NBA career in the 2003–04 season in his second stint with the Warriors.

He played 46 games with one start and averaged 4.6 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.

On October 28, 2004, Johnson retired from playing and signed as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks under Don Nelson.

His transition from assistant to head coach came five months later on March 19, 2005, after Nelson resigned.

The Spurs retired Johnson's number 6 on December 22, 2007.

He was also inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame on February 20, 2009.

In that season, he also averaged 11.4 points per game, making him the first men's Division I player ever to average double figures in points and assists in the same season—a feat that was not duplicated until Jason Brickman of LIU Brooklyn did so in 2013–14.