Keldon Johnson

Keldon Johnson

Johnson with Kentucky in 2018
No. 0 – San Antonio Spurs
Position	Small forward / shooting guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1999-10-11) October 11, 1999 (age 25) Chesterfield, Virginia, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school	Park View (South Hill, Virginia) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
College	Kentucky (2018–2019)
NBA draft	2019: 1st round, 29th overall pick
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
Playing career	2019–present
Career history
2019–present	San Antonio Spurs
2019–2020	→Austin Spurs
Career highlights and awards
SEC Freshman of the Year – Coaches (2019) McDonald's All-American (2018)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Men's basketball Representing the  United States Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo Team

Keldon Wilder Johnson (born October 11, 1999)^[1] is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Johnson attended Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. In 2021, he won an Olympic gold medal in basketball as a member of the United States national team.

High school career

Johnson was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the 13th best player in the 2018 class by 247Sports.com.^[2] He committed to University of Kentucky to play college basketball, being joined by fellow recruits Immanuel Quickley, E. J. Montgomery, Ashton Hagans, and Tyler Herro.^[3][4]

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Keldon Johnson SG/SF	South Hill, VA	Oak Hill Academy (VA)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Nov 11, 2017
	Star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 94
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 15  247Sports: 18  ESPN: 7
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kentucky 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018. "2018 Kentucky Wildcats Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.

College career

As a freshman, Johnson averaged 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from behind the arc. He scored 19 points in a win over top-ranked Tennessee on February 16, 2019. Johnson pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds in a victory over Auburn. Following the season he declared for the NBA draft.^[5]

Professional career

San Antonio Spurs (2019–present)

On June 20, 2019, Johnson was selected with the 29th overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2019 NBA draft.^[6] The Spurs obtained the draft pick used to draft Johnson in a 2018 trade; in that trade, Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard was sent to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, center Jakob Pöltl, and a draft choice.^[7] Johnson was later listed in the roster of San Antonio Spurs for 2019 NBA Summer League hosted at Vivint Arena.^[8] Johnson signed with the Spurs on July 1, 2019.^[9] On October 30, 2019, Johnson received his first assignment to the Austin Spurs, the Spurs’ affiliate team in the NBA G League.^[10]

Johnson made his NBA debut on November 22, 2019, playing two minutes in a 115–104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On August 11, 2020, Johnson scored a season-high 24 points in a 123–105 win over the Houston Rockets with eleven rebounds and three assists.^[11]

On January 17, 2023, Johnson scored a career high 36 points along with 11 rebounds and 1 assist in a 106–98 win against the Brooklyn Nets.^[12] On July 18, 2022, Johnson signed a four-year, $80 million rookie scale contract extension with the Spurs.^[13][14]

On October 31, 2023, Johnson put up 27 points alongside a key steal on Kevin Durant that led to a game-winner in a 115–114 win over the Phoenix Suns.^[15]

National team career

Johnson had spent time as a member of the USA Select team and trained with the 2020 U.S. Olympic team. On July 16, 2021, Johnson and center JaVale McGee were named to the Olympic roster in place of the injured Kevin Love and Bradley Beal, who was kept from traveling to Tokyo for health and safety protocols.^[16]

Personal life

Johnson majored in undeclared/exploratory studies in agriculture during his college time.^[17] He enjoys fishing, hunting, and the outdoors.^[18] Johnson's brother Kaleb also played college basketball, for Georgetown University during 2015–2019, and was drafted 34th overall by the Austin Spurs in the January 2021 NBA G League draft.^[19] Kaleb is now currently a player for the Valley Suns following a trade the Austin Spurs made.^[20]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2019–20	San Antonio	17	1	17.7	.596	.591	.795	3.4	.9	.8	.1	9.1
2020–21	San Antonio	69	67	28.5	.479	.331	.740	6.0	1.8	.6	.3	12.8
2021–22	San Antonio	75	74	31.9	.466	.398	.756	6.1	2.1	.8	.2	17.0
2022–23	San Antonio	63	63	32.8	.452	.329	.749	5.0	2.9	.7	.2	22.0
2023–24	San Antonio	69	27	29.5	.454	.346	.792	5.5	2.8	.7	.3	15.7
Career		293	232	29.9	.465	.358	.760	5.5	2.3	.7	.2	16.3

Play-in

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2021	San Antonio	1	1	30.7	.455	.500	–	11.0	1.0	.0	.0	11.0
2022	San Antonio	1	1	39.6	.300	.000	.600	5.0	4.0	.0	.0	15.0
Career		2	2	35.2	.355	.143	.600	8.0	2.5	.0	.0	13.0

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018–19	Kentucky	37	36	30.7	.461	.381	.703	5.9	1.6	.8	.2	13.5

References

1. "Keldon Wilder JOHNSON". fiba.basketball. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
2. "Westtown star Cameron Reddish ascends to No. 1 in recruiting service's rankings". PennLive.com. Retrieved December 27, 2017.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
3. "Keldon Johnson "same level" as great players Steve Smith has coached at Oak Hill". Vaughts Views. May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
4. "Choose your own Kentucky basketball adventure: Build 2018–19 Cats roster from available options". SEC Country. May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
5. Fisher, Chris (April 10, 2019). "Keldon Johnson declares for 2019 NBA Draft". 247 Sports. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
6. Orsborn, Tom (June 20, 2019). "Spurs select Kentucky's Keldon Johnson with 29th overall pick". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
7. "San Antonio Spurs: Keldon Johnson proving he's the prize of Kawhi trade". August 11, 2020.
8. "SPURS ANNOUNCE 2019 SALT LAKE CITY SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER". NBA.com. June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
9. "SPURS SIGN 2019 FIRST ROUND PICK KELDON JOHNSON". NBA.com. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
10. "SPURS ASSIGN LUKA SAMANIC AND KELDON JOHNSON TO AUSTIN SPURS". NBA.com. October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
11. "Spurs keep playoff hopes alive with 123–105 win over Rockets". ESPN.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
12. "Minnesota Timberwolves vs San Antonio Spurs Mar 14, 2022 Box Scores". NBA.com.
13. "SPURS SIGN KELDON JOHNSON TO CONTRACT EXTENSION". NBA. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
14. "San Antonio Spurs' Keldon Johnson agrees to 4-year, $80M extension". ESPN. July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
15. Pagaduan, Jedd (October 31, 2023). "Spurs: Victor Wembanyama sets stage for Kevin Durant choke, Keldon Johnson heroics". ClutchPoints. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
16. "Kevin Love out of Olympics; JaVale McGee, Keldon Johnson joining Team USA, sources say". ESPN. July 16, 2021.
17. "Keldon Johnson – Men's Basketball – University of Kentucky Athletics". ukathletics.com. June 6, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
18. Spears, Marc J. (February 9, 2022). "'It's OK to be different': Spurs forward Keldon Johnson feels at home outdoors". Andscape. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
19. "Austin Spurs select Jonathan Kasibabu, Anthony Mathis and Kaleb Johnson in 2021 NBA G League draft". NBA.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
20. https://arizonasports.com/story/3558787/valley-suns-kaleb-johnson-spurs/

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com  and Basketball Reference 
• Kentucky Wildcats bio
• Keldon Johnson at USA Basketball
• Keldon Johnson at Team USA (archive April 8, 2023)
• Keldon Johnson at Olympedia (archive)
• Keldon Johnson at Olympics.com