Johnson, Larry D.
Basketball
b. March 14, 1969, Tyler, TX
After averaging 26.0 points a game in two seasons at Odessa, Texas, Junior College, Johnson entered the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 1989. He won the 1991 Wooden and Naismith Awards as college player of the year, and was also named player of the year by The Sporting News and the Basketball Writers Association of America.
Johnson averaged 22.7 points a game as a senior and 20.6 for his two year career at UNLV. A forward, the 6-foot-7, 250-pounder was made the first choice in the 1991 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He was named the league's rookie of the year in 1992 after averaging 19.2 points a game, and he raised that to 22.1 in the 1992-93 season, when he was an All-Star starter.
The Hornets signed him to the richest contract in NBA history, but he missed 31 games with a back injury during the 1993-94 season and was below par in many of the games he did play. Johnson came back strong, playing 81 games and more than 3200 minures in each of the next two seasons.
Charlotte traded him to the New York Knicks for Anthony Mason and Brad Lohaus in the summer of 1996. Johnson was never quite the same player with New York, whose offense was built around Patrick Ewing. Recurring back problems also limited his effectiveness and, eventually, his playing time.
After the 2000-2001 season, the Knicks bought out Johnson's contract and he retired from basketball.