Alex Johnson (basketball)

Alex "Superman" Johnson (born January 18, 1988) is a Canadian professional basketball player who is currently a member of the London Lightning of the National Basketball League of Canada

Not to be confused with the American basketball player, Alexander Johnson.
Alex Johnson
Johnson with the St. John's Edge in 2017
Free agent
PositionGuard
Personal information
Born (1988-01-18) January 18, 1988
Toronto, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolVaughan Road Academy
(Toronto, Ontario)
College
NBA draft2012 / Undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2013Timba Timișoara
2013–2014Mississauga Power
2014Hamilton Huskies
2014–2015Saint John Mill Rats
2015–2016Halifax Hurricanes
2016Windsor Express
2016–2017Grand Rapids Drive
2017–2018St. John's Edge
2018Leones de Riobamba
2019CEB Puerto Montt
Career highlights and awards

He played college basketball at Cal State Bakersfield and then NC State. Johnson attended high school at Vaughan Road Academy in Toronto, Ontario. As a professional, he was named an NBL Canada All-Star with the Mississauga Power. Johnson was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2013 NBL Canada draft by the Ottawa SkyHawks.

High school career

Johnson attended Vaughan Road Academy in Toronto, Ontario, where he was considered one of the top perimeter players of his class in Canada. As a senior at Vaughan, he averaged 18.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists. He was also an honor roll student and an Academic All-Star.[1]

Collegiate career

Johnson started out his college basketball career with the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners, while attending the California State University at Bakersfield. He appeared in 26 games as a freshman and was named a starter in 17 of them. Despite having an injury interfere with his playing time towards the end of the season, Johnson had the 17th-best three-point field goal percentage in school history, shooting .416 from beyond the arc. He finished his freshman year averaging 8.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.4 three-pointers per game.[2] Johnson transferred to North Carolina State to compete in his senior season.[3]

Professional career

Johnson was the first Canadian to ever be drafted first overall in the National Basketball League of Canada draft.[4] Johnson was acquired from the now inactive Ottawa Skyhawks for Bol Kong on November 19, 2014.[5] In his first season playing professionally in Canada, Johnson was nominated to become an NBL Canada All-Star along with teammate, Morgan Lewis. [6] After leading the Mississauga Power franchise to its first playoff appearance in their inaugural season, Johnson returned for a second year to continue the momentum. In the 2014–15 season, Johnson had additional help with the re-signing of NBL Canada All-Star Morgan Lewis and re-acquirement of Tut Ruach.[7][8] On December 29, 2014, he signed with the Saint John Mill Rats.[9] On December 16, 2015, Johnson signed with the newly formed Halifax Hurricanes in the NBL Canada.[10][11] Johnson signed with the Windsor Express a few days after the Hurricanes released him.[12]

On October 30, 2016, Johnson was acquired by the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League.[13] On January 4, 2017, he was waived by Grand Rapids.[14] In 10 games, he averaged 2.1 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 7.9 minutes.[15] In the 2018-19 season, Johnson played for the London Lightning and averaged 9.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He was named to the All-Canadian Third Team.[16]

Personal life

On October 2, 2014, the Mississauga Power announced their partnership with BioSteel Sports Supplements Inc. and Peak Sports Canada. Johnson was selected to be the featured player to display the new Peak Sports Canada jersey and the BioSteel Sports Supplements product.[17] That summer, BioSteel also became the exclusive sports drink provider for Canada Basketball.[18] On April 16, 2014, the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) unveiled their new commercial to showcase their new marketing campaign, We The North. Johnson was allowed to make a cameo appearance.[19] Johnson also runs his own basketball clinic called the Alex "Superman" Johnson Skills Academy.[20][21] He is currently married to former Johnson C. Smith University college basketball player Brey Dorsett. Inspired by the movie Love & Basketball, he proposed to Dorsett after acting as if he had gotten injured while playing basketball. The video received over 3 million views and was commented on by multiple actors from the movie.[22][23]

References
  1. "Alex Johnson 2011 Bio". GoRunners.com. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  2. "ALEX JOHNSON". TycoonSportsInc.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  3. "Alex Johnson bio". GoPack.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  4. "Alex Johnson Drafted No. 1 In Canada Pro Draft - NC State University Official Athletic Site". Gopack.com. 2013-08-20. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  5. Baines, Tim (2013-11-19). "Kong back with Ottawa SkyHawks | basketball | Basketball | Sports". Ottawasun.com. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  6. "NBL CANADA ANNOUNCES 2013-2014 AWARD WINNERS". Rainmenbasketball.ca. 2014-04-19. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  7. "Mississauga Power Building Blocks: New Team, New Culture". Northpolehoops.com. 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  8. "Mississauga Power Building Blocks: New Team, New Culture". Northpolehoops.com. 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  9. McCarthy, Tiffany (December 29, 2014). "Mill Rats Acquire Canadian All Star Superman Johnson". NBL Canada. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  10. "Alex Johnson is a newcomer at Halifax Hurricanes". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  11. Mosher, Monty (January 4, 2016). "Hurricanes make change, alter Canadian content". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  12. Mosher, Monty (January 7, 2016). "Another win for Hurricanes". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  13. "Drive Selects Six Players in 2016 NBA D-League Draft". OurSportsCentral.com. October 30, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  14. "Drive Re-Acquire Ismael Romero". OurSportsCentral.com. January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  15. "Alex Johnson D-League Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  16. "NBLC Awards". NBL Canada. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  17. "Power Partner with Two Canadian Companies". Powerbasketball.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  18. "BioSteel Sports Supplements Secures Partnership With Canada Basketball". Forbes.com. 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  19. "New NBA Toronto Raptors Commercial features Mississauga Power, Alex "Superman" Johnson!". Powerbasketball.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  20. "Alex "Superman" Johnson's Point Guard Skills Academy Saturday July 5th & Sunday July 6th, 2014 | On Point". Onpointbasketball.com. 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  21. Ball, Can (2014-07-05). "Three Point Play – Alex Johnson". Canballreport.com. Archived from the original on 2014-09-28. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  22. Kirpalani, Sanjay. "The Story Behind the Real-Life 'Love & Basketball' Proposal 3 Million People Saw". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  23. Heigl, Alex. "Basketball Player's Mid-Game Proposal Goes Viral (VIDEO)". People. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
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