[3] Apart from his reputation as a defensive stopper, Johnson was known as a clutch player who made several decisive plays in NBA playoffs history.

[5][6][7] Dennis Wayne Johnson was born the eighth of sixteen children, to a social worker and a bricklayer who lived in Compton, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.

During this period, Johnson grew to a height of 6'3",[2] and developed what some later described as "rocket launcher legs", which enabled him to jump high to grab rebounds against taller opponents.

[2] Johnson gave up his jobs and developed into a promising young guard, averaging 18.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and leading Harbor to a college junior state title.

[1] Johnson chose the latter, and in his only year there, he averaged 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game,[3] and developed a reputation for tough defense.

[citation needed] The Seattle SuperSonics took Johnson in the second round of the 1976 draft with the 29th pick and gave him a four-year contract; he earned a salary of $45,000 in the first year and $90,000 in the last.

[8] In his rookie year, the 1976–77 NBA season, Johnson, playing backup to the experienced Sonics backcourt tandem of Slick Watts and Fred Brown, averaged 9.2 points and 1.5 assists per game.

[3] The Sonics finished with a 40–42 record[9] and missed the 1977 NBA Playoffs, leading head coach Bill Russell to resign.

[1] In the following season, the team lost 17 of the first 22 games under Russell's replacement Bob Hopkins, who was replaced by Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens, who gave Johnson a starting spot and paired him with free-agent acquisition Gus Williams, a prolific scorer, with whom he formed a dynamic backcourt duo.

After eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers, the defending champion Portland Trail Blazers, and the Denver Nuggets, they almost defeated the Washington Bullets by taking a 3–2 lead in the 1978 NBA Finals.

[3] The Sonics, however, lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Lakers, who had Hall of Famers Jamaal Wilkes, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

[3] In this period Johnson, like in Seattle, played shooting guard and became the main scorer on the team, as opposed to being the second or third option as a Sonic.

Like in Seattle, he often clashed with his coach, John MacLeod, and finally was traded by general manager, Jerry Colangelo, to the Boston Celtics for Rick Robey and draft picks.

[22] In the 1984–85 season, Johnson continued playing smothering defense, earning his next All-Defensive Second Team call-up while averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 assists per game.

Johnson played strong defense again, earning yet another appearance on the All-Defensive First Team,[3] and the Celtics embarked on a nail-biting playoff campaign.

The series was described as a grudge match between two intense rivals, featuring a great level of personal animosity, sharp rhetoric, and several physical altercations.

[24] In Game 5 Johnson was involved in a crucial play: down 107–106, Larry Bird stole the in-bounds pass by Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas with 5 seconds left and passed it to a sprinting Johnson, who converted a difficult layup with 1 second left in the game.

In the 1987–88 season, Johnson averaged 12.6 points and 7.8 assists,[3] but in the 1988 Playoffs, the Celtics were unable to beat the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.

[23] In the next season, Johnson (who statistically declined to 10.0 points and 6.6 assists per game)[3] and his team made the 1989 NBA Playoffs on a meager 42–40 record (largely due to the absence of star forward Larry Bird for almost the entire season), but were immediately eliminated in the first round (again, largely due to the absence of the injured Larry Bird).

[27][28] In that season, Johnson started in 65 of his 75 games, averaging 7.1 points and 6.5 assists,[3] but the Celtics failed to get past the first round of the 1990 NBA Playoffs.

[30] During his retirement ceremony, his perennial Los Angeles Lakers opponent Magic Johnson telegraphed him lauding him as "the best backcourt defender of all-time".

[27] In addition Celtics colleague and triple NBA Most Valuable Player award winner Larry Bird called Johnson the best teammate he ever had.

Johnson became head coach of the NBA Development League's Austin Toros the following season, holding the position until his death two years later.

[3] NBA legend George Gervin said in a podcast with journalist Bill Simmons that Johnson was the hardest defender he ever played against.

[2] However, Johnson did not live to see an induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a fact that has been a considerable point of debate with sports journalists.

[8] Contemporary Boston Celtics Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird gave Johnson ultimate praise, calling him the best teammate he ever had in his autobiography Drive,[1] which is especially significant considering Bird's teammates included Hall of Famers Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Bill Walton, and Tiny Archibald.

Johnson's family, Danny Ainge, Carr, and members of the YMCA and local community were present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

[42] On October 20, 1997, Johnson was arrested and detained overnight for allegedly holding a knife to his wife's throat and threatening his 17-year-old son.