Edward Lee "Fast Eddie" Johnson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. A guard from Auburn University, Johnson played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association, mainly as a member of the Atlanta Hawks. Johnson's younger brotherFrank played and coached in the NBA, also being a guard. He represented the Hawks in two NBA All-Star Games and scored 10,163 points in his career. As a player, he was known for his great speed and slashing ability, with a capable outside shot. However, Johnson is known today for how his life spiraled out of control, beginning with his expulsion from the NBA.
Playing career
A product of Auburn University, Johnson joined the Atlanta Hawks as a relatively unsung prospect; 48 players were chosen before the Hawks selected him in the third round of the 1977 NBA draft. Johnson spent his first season sharing time in the backcourt with 5-foot-8 Charlie Criss. Averaging 10.5 points, the rookie helped the Hawks return to the playoffs after a four-year absence, a feat repeated in six of Johnson's eight full years with the club. With Criss injured the following year, Johnson became a starter in 1978–79. During that season, Johnson advanced as far as he ever would in pursuit of an NBA championship, losing in the conference semifinals to the Washington Bullets. He was a starter four consecutive seasons, averaging at least 16 points each season. In only his third year in the league, fans voted Johnson into a starting spot in the NBA All-Star Game. He scored 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting in the 1980 midseason classic and 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting as a starter one year later. During that latter regular season, Johnson ranked second on the Hawks in scoring, with a career-high 19.1 points per game. Injuries and drug problems had begun to slow Johnson by 1982; he played in no more than 73 games per year from that point on. Still, he managed to score 16 or more points per game in two of his final three seasons playing with the Hawks. With Johnson, Glenn "Doc" Rivers, Johnny Davis, Rory Sparrow and Anthony "Spud" Webb, Atlanta boasted arguably some of the best backcourt talent in the league. Although one of the more popular Hawks during his tenure, Johnson was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers midway through the 1985–86 season. He would finish his career with the Seattle SuperSonics a year later. Johnson battled a cocaine addiction for many years. After several suspensions, he finally checked himself into rehab in 1986. After he failed to follow through on mandatory counseling, the NBA banned him for life in 1987. In 675 NBA games, Johnson scored 10,163 points, with a career average of 15.1 points per game, reaching double figures in scoring in 9 of his 10 years in the NBA.
Off-court issues and imprisonment
Johnson's life continued to spiral out of control following his banishment from the NBA. He was arrested and convicted for a litany of crimes over the years, including burglary, robbery, assault on a police officer, and shoplifting. He admitted that he had frequent drug problems which had initially cost him his career. Johnson's rap sheet numbered about 100 arrests and five stints in and out of the Florida prison system when in 2006, he was arrested for burglary and sexual battery and molestation of an 8-year-old girl, while awaiting trial on charges of raping another woman. The arrest created additional controversy when, in multiple publications, the picture of another NBA player named Eddie Johnson was used in articles covering the arrest. The former Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, and Houston Rocketsforward considered suing for defamation and negligence, due to the damage to his reputation that occurred following the reports. In 2008, Johnson was convicted of sexual battery of a minor under 12, lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12, and trespassing. The sex crimes carried a mandatory life sentence without parole. Johnson is currently incarcerated at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution.
