American basketball player (born 1999)
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 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 Denver Nuggets ' 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]
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
Play-in
College
References
^ "Keldon Wilder JOHNSON" . fiba.basketball . Retrieved July 24, 2021 .
^ "Westtown star Cameron Reddish ascends to No. 1 in recruiting service's rankings" . PennLive.com . Retrieved December 27, 2017 .[permanent dead link ]
^ "Keldon Johnson "same level" as great players Steve Smith has coached at Oak Hill" . Vaughts Views . May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018 .
^ "Choose your own Kentucky basketball adventure: Build 2018–19 Cats roster from available options" . SEC Country . May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018 .
^ Fisher, Chris (April 10, 2019). "Keldon Johnson declares for 2019 NBA Draft" . 247 Sports . Retrieved June 26, 2019 .
^ Orsborn, Tom (June 20, 2019). "Spurs select Kentucky's Keldon Johnson with 29th overall pick" . Houston Chronicle . Retrieved June 26, 2019 .
^ "San Antonio Spurs: Keldon Johnson proving he's the prize of Kawhi trade" . August 11, 2020.
^ "SPURS ANNOUNCE 2019 SALT LAKE CITY SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER" . NBA.com . June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019 .
^ "SPURS SIGN 2019 FIRST ROUND PICK KELDON JOHNSON" . NBA.com . Retrieved July 1, 2019 .
^ "SPURS ASSIGN LUKA SAMANIC AND KELDON JOHNSON TO AUSTIN SPURS" . NBA.com . October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019 .
^ "Spurs keep playoff hopes alive with 123–105 win over Rockets" . ESPN.com . August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020 .
^ "Minnesota Timberwolves vs San Antonio Spurs Mar 14, 2022 Box Scores" . NBA.com .
^ "SPURS SIGN KELDON JOHNSON TO CONTRACT EXTENSION" . NBA . Retrieved July 18, 2022 .
^ "San Antonio Spurs' Keldon Johnson agrees to 4-year, $80M extension" . ESPN . July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022 .
^ Pagaduan, Jedd (October 31, 2023). "Spurs: Victor Wembanyama sets stage for Kevin Durant choke, Keldon Johnson heroics" . ClutchPoints . Retrieved November 3, 2023 .
^ "Kevin Love out of Olympics; JaVale McGee, Keldon Johnson joining Team USA, sources say" . ESPN . July 16, 2021.
^ "Keldon Johnson – Men's Basketball – University of Kentucky Athletics" . ukathletics.com . June 6, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2019 .
^ 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 .
^ "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 .
External links