Marques Johnson

Marques Kevin Johnson (born February 8, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player and character actor who is a basketball analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Bally Sports Wisconsin.

Johnson was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana and raised in South Los Angeles, where he played high school basketball at Crenshaw High School in Crenshaw, Los Angeles, winning the Los Angeles City Section 4-A Division Player of the Year in 1973.

He later attended UCLA, and became an All-American player on its basketball teams, under Coach John Wooden and coach Gene Bartow.

In his sophomore season in 1974–75, Johnson helped to lead the Bruins to Coach John Wooden's 10th and final NCAA Division I men's basketball championship.

Wooden retired from coaching after the season, and Gene Bartow became the head coach.

He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and won a national championship in 1975.

In his senior year, he won multiple national player of the year awards.

Johnson continued to excel, earning the first of his two first-team All-Pac-8 selections as a junior in 1976.

He averaged 21.1 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in his senior season and won the inaugural John R. Wooden Award in addition to the USBWA College Player of the Year as the nation's top collegiate basketball player.

Johnson also majored in Theater Arts at UCLA.

He played as a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1977 to 1989, where he was a five-time All-Star.

He played the majority of his career with the Bucks.

Johnson was a Los Angeles City Section player of the year in high school before attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Johnson was the third overall pick in the 1977 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

He played seven seasons with Milwaukee before finishing his NBA career with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.

Johnson was selected third overall in the 1977 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, coached by Don Nelson.

Johnson averaged 19.5 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game in his first professional season.

It was getting there in 1977, 21 years old out of L.A., stars in my eyes, and thoughts of being a great NBA player was my goal.

He was named to the 1978 NBA All-Rookie Team, and placed second in NBA Rookie of the Year voting behind Walter Davis.

In his second season in 1978–79, Johnson was the NBA's third leading scorer (25.6 PPG), behind George Gervin (29.6) and Lloyd Free (28.8).

That season, in what was perhaps one of the best games of his career, on December 12, 1978, Johnson scored 40 points (on a remarkable 74% shooting percentage) and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 120–114 win against the Phoenix Suns.

He played in the 1979 NBA All-Star Game and was named to the All-NBA First Team.

The following season, on February 27, 1980, Johnson recorded a triple double with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 119–110 victory against the Phoenix Suns.

During that year's playoffs, Johnson averaged 19.9 points and 6.9 rebounds in 43.7 minutes a game, in a tightly contested 7-game series loss to the Seattle SuperSonics (it was the last season Milwaukee was in the Western Conference).

On November 2, 1980, Johnson scored 40 points, along with 7 rebounds and 7 assists, to lead the Bucks to a 135–121 victory against the Indiana Pacers.

The feat was especially impressive as key teammates Junior Bridgeman and Sidney Moncrief were limited with injuries.

Johnson helped lead Milwaukee to several division titles (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984).

On May 2, 1983, in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Johnson scored 33 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead the Bucks to a 4–0 sweep of Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.

Despite this, the Bucks would fall to the eventual champion Philadelphia 76ers, led by NBA MVP Moses Malone, during the next round in 5 games, in what were contested matchups.

It was the only series Philadelphia did not win in 4 games that postseason.

Johnson and the Bucks reached as far as the Eastern Conference Finals twice, in 1983 and again in 1984.

While on the Bucks, both Johnson and teammate Mickey Johnson were the first two players in NBA history to have their full first and last names displayed on their jerseys, as they both shared the same first initial and last name.

Johnson claims to have coined the term point forward, a position he played out of necessity in 1984.

During the 1984 playoffs, Milwaukee became short on point guards due to injuries.

Nelson instructed Johnson to set up the offense from his forward position.

Johnson responded, "OK, so instead of a point guard, I'm a point forward".

The Bruins retired his No. 54 jersey in 1996.

However, despite having the 6th highest offensive efficiency rating and 13th highest defensive rating of any team, the Bucks would miss the playoffs with a 38–44 record.

It would be the last time the Bucks missed the playoffs during Johnson's tenure.

When asked about his favorite experience on the Bucks upon the announcement of his jersey being retired in 2019, Johnson said “It was a compilation of everything.