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Dakari Johnson

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Dakari Johnson
Johnson in Kentucky's Blue-White scrimmage in 2013
Free agent
PositionCenter
Personal information
Born (1995-09-22) September 22, 1995 (age 29)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeKentucky (2013–2015)
NBA draft2015: 2nd round, 48th overall pick
Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2017Oklahoma City Blue
2017–2018Oklahoma City Thunder
2018–2022Qingdao Eagles
2019Anhui Wenyi
2023Anhui Wenyi
2023–2024Qingdao Eagles
2024Anhui Wenyi
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA World U17 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2012 Lithuania National team

Dakari Naeem Johnson (born September 22, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Anhui Wenyi of the NBL, the Second tier of professional basketball in China. He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky.

High school career

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Johnson at the 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

Johnson first attended St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After the 2010–11 school year, when 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] His senior year he garnered USA Today All-American Second-Team for his success. 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 recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dakari Johnson
C 		Brooklyn, NY Montverde Academy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (110 kg) Jan 5, 2013 
Star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 10   Rivals: 9  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:

College career

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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

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Oklahoma City Blue (2015–2017)

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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]

Johnson returned to the Blue for the 2016–17 season, and on February 6, 2017, he was named in the Western Conference All-Star team for the 2017 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[12]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2017–2018)

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Johnson at the 2018 NBA Summer League.

On July 22, 2017, Johnson signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.[13] He scored four points in his NBA debut on October 19, 2017, in the Thunder's 105–84 win over the New York Knicks.[14] During his only season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he started six games for the team where he replaced Steven Adams. As the starting center for the team they went 5–1 in those games. Johnson was a plus-26 in point differential in those six games, including a plus-26 in rout to a victory against the Los Angeles Clippers when Johnson held his own against DeAndre Jordan. Johnson's averages for those six games: 15 minutes, 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.3 turnovers, 64.7 percent shooting and 60 percent foul shooting.[15]

On July 20, 2018, Johnson was traded to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Rodney Purvis. Cash considerations were also sent to the Magic.[16] On July 23, 2018, Johnson and the draft rights to Tyler Harvey were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Jarell Martin and cash considerations.[17] On August 31, 2018, Johnson was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies.[18]

Qingdao Eagles (2018–2019)

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On September 11, 2018, Johnson was reported to have signed with Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).[19]

Anuyi Wenyi (2019)

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On August 23, 2019, Johnson was reported to have played for Anhui Wenyi of the National Basketball League (NBL) and returned with a championship and most valuable player honors.[20]

Return to the Eagles (2019–2022)

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In the 2019–20 season, Johnson averaged 23.7 points, 14.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.[21]

On September 9, 2020, Johnson re-signed with Qingdao.[22]

NBA career statistics

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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

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Oklahoma City 31 6 5.2 .564 – .550 1.1 .3 .2 .3 1.8
Career 31 6 5.2 .564 – .550 1.1 .3 .2 .3 1.8

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018 Oklahoma City 2 0 1.6 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 2 0 1.6 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Personal life

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Dakari comes from a basketball family in Brooklyn, New York, where he is a third-generation basketball player. His family's basketball legacy started with his grandfather Leslie R. Campbell, best known as Jitu Weusi, who played college basketball at Long Island University. His mother Makini Campbell also played at Long Island University, and his uncle Kojo Campbell played basketball at Stony Brook University.[23] His brother Kamani Johnson played basketball at Arkansas-Little Rock before transferring to Arkansas.[24][25] His cousin Michael Murray played college basketball at Coppin State University, where he was selected all-MEAC his senior year. Most recently, Michael played professionally in Spain.[23]

Dakari is married to his long-term girlfriend Mercedes Johnson from Las Vegas, Nevada, who has been by his side since 2015. The couple got engaged in 2020 and have one child together.

References

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  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". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  4. ^ "Dakari Johnson Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  5. ^ Feldman, Dan (April 8, 2015). "Kentucky's Dakari Johnson declares for NBA draft". NBCsports. Retrieved April 10, 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. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  8. ^ "Oklahoma City Blue Announces Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. November 3, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. 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. Archived from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  12. ^ "Rosters for 2017 NBA Development League All-Star Game Presented By Kumho Tire". NBA.com. February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  13. ^ "Oklahoma City Thunder sign center Dakari Johnson". NBA.com. July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  14. ^ "Thunder top Knicks 105–84 in OKC debuts for George, Anthony". ESPN.com. October 19, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  15. ^ Brett Dawson (May 21, 2018). "Johnson's NBA education continues". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 14. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  16. ^ "Thunder Acquires Rodney Purvis". NBA.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  17. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies complete trade with Orlando Magic". NBA.com. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  18. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies waive Dakari Johnson". NBA.com. August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  19. ^ "Qingdao Eagles sign Dakari Johnson and Jonathan Gibson". Sportando. September 11, 2018. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  20. ^ Lindsey, Eric (August 25, 2019). "Dakari Johnson Helps Anhui Wenyi to China NBL Championship". ukathletics.com. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  21. ^ Varney, Dennis (March 26, 2020). "Catch up with 36 ex-Cats playing pro basketball in leagues outside the NBA". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  22. ^ "Eagles keep Johnson for another season". asia-basket.com. September 9, 2020.
  23. ^ a b Barshad, Amos (January 27, 2018). "A Brooklyn Family's Journey Finally Reaches the N.B.A." The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  24. ^ "Kamani Johnson – 2019–20 – Men's Basketball". Little Rock Athletics.
  25. ^ Cawood, Mike (October 26, 2020). "Kamani Johnson Signs With Arkansas". ArkansasRazorbacks.com. University of Arkansas Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
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