Dakari Johnson

Dakari Johnson

Johnson in Kentucky's Blue-White scrimmage in 2013
No. 44 Oklahoma City Blue
Position Center
League NBA Development League
Personal information
Born (1995-09-22) September 22, 1995
Brooklyn, New York
Nationality American
Listed height 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight 255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school Montverde Academy
(Montverde, Florida)
College Kentucky (2013–2015)
NBA draft 2015 / Round: 2 / Pick: 48th overall
Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder
Playing career 2015–present
Career history
2015–present Oklahoma City Blue
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com

Dakari Naeem Johnson (born September 22, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League. He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky.

High school career

Johnson attended St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. During the 2010–11 school year, once coach Kevin Boyle left for Montverde Academy, Johnson followed his coach, where he had to sit out the 2011–12 season due to the transfer. Because of his excellent grades, Johnson decided to reclassify, thus making the 2012–13 season his final and senior season at the high school level. He ended up averaging 17.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game as a senior.[1] He subsequently earned selection to the 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game and Jordan Brand Classic.

Considered a five-star recruit by ESPN.com, Johnson was ranked as the No. 2 center in the nation in 2013.[2]

College career

As a freshman at Kentucky in 2013–14, Johnson spent the season backing up teammate Julius Randle and averaged 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 39 games. As a sophomore the following season, he again played back-up, this time to freshman big man Karl-Anthony Towns and junior Willie Cauley-Stein.[3] He again appeared in 39 games in 2014–15 and averaged slightly higher numbers with 6.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.[4]

On April 9, 2015, Johnson declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility. He was joined alongside fellow Kentucky teammates in Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles and Devin Booker.[5]

Professional career

Oklahoma City Blue (2015–present)

On June 25, 2015, Johnson was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 48th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.[6] He later joined the Thunder for the 2015 NBA Summer League where he averaged 7.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in five games.[7] On November 3, 2015, he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League, the affiliate team of the Thunder.[8] On November 14, he made his professional debut in a 110–104 loss to the Austin Spurs, recording 16 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 33 minutes.[9] Johnson appeared in all 50 games for the Blue in 2015–16, averaging 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.[10] He subsequently earned NBA D-League All-Rookie Team honors.[11]

References

  1. Rubin, Roger (April 4, 2014). "NCAA Tournament: Brooklyn native Dakari Johnson showing NBA potential with Kentucky". NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  2. "Dakari Johnson Recruiting Profile". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  3. Tracy, Marc (June 24, 2015). "Ahead of the N.B.A. Draft, a Place for Dakari Johnson to Hone His Fine Art". NYTimes.com. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  4. "Dakari Johnson Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  5. Feldman, Dan. "Kentucky's Dakari Johnson declares for NBA draft". NBCsports. NBCsports. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  6. "Thunder Selects Cameron Payne and Dakari Johnson in the 2015 NBA Draft". NBA.com. June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  7. "Summer League Player Profile – Dakari Johnson". NBA.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  8. "Oklahoma City Blue Announces Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  9. "Oklahoma City Falls To Austin In Season Opener". NBA.com. November 14, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  10. "Dakari Johnson D-League Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  11. "NBA Development League Announces 2015-16 All-NBA D-League Teams". NBA.com. April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
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