Johnson is a seven-time NBA All-Star and has also played for the Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets, while having also represented the United States national team.

[1] Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Johnson was a member of the William E. Thrasher Boys & Girls Club as a youngster[2] and attended Little Rock Central High School, a school that had produced other athletes including Baseball Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson and Bill Dickey, as well as football player Fred Williams and collegiate football coach Houston Nutt.

He was later traded to the Phoenix Suns on February 20, 2002, along with Randy Brown, Milt Palacio and a first-round pick in exchange for Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk.

In the 2005 NBA playoffs, Johnson required surgery to repair a left orbital bone fracture sustained following a dunk attempt against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.

Johnson missed the remainder of the series against the Mavericks as well as the first two games of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

In the summer of 2005, Johnson became a highly touted restricted free agent and expressed a desire to leave the Suns to assume a larger role on the Atlanta Hawks.

[7] In his first season as a Hawk, Johnson led Atlanta in several categories: points (20.2 per game), assists (6.5), steals (1.26), three-point field goals made (128) and minutes (40.7).

He was one of only five players in the league to average at least 20 points and six assists in the 2005–06 season, along with Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Gilbert Arenas.

Johnson also shot a career-best 47.1% from the field and was subsequently named to the 2007 Eastern Conference All-Star team, replacing the injured Jason Kidd.

The following year, Johnson registered his second career triple-double on December 23, 2008, in a Hawks win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

[16] He eclipsed the 10,000-point plateau for his career with his first basket during a 110–107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on January 31, 2009, a bank shot assisted by Marvin Williams.

[18] On July 8, 2010, Johnson re-signed with the Hawks to a six-year, $123.7 million contract, which, at the time, made him the NBA's highest-paid player.

[19] The signing occurred during one of the most star-studded free agency summers in league history, highlighted by LeBron James’"Decision" TV special.

Among others who signed high-profile deals were Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Amar'e Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Dirk Nowitzki.

After scoring 33 points in a road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 2, he hit another game winner in double overtime two days later to beat the Washington Wizards.

In a 113–111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on February 19, Johnson made the game-tying three-pointer with just under three seconds to go in regulation and went on to hit the game-winning pull-up jump shot in overtime.

In just the second game of the 2014–15 season on November 1, Johnson scored a season-high 34 points on 14-of-23 shooting to help the Nets defeat the Detroit Pistons, 102–90.

[26] On November 14, 2015, in a loss to the Golden State Warriors, Johnson appeared in his 1,072nd NBA regular season game, matching Michael Jordan for 77th on the all-time list.

[42] He made his debut for the Jazz in their season opener on October 25, scoring a team-high 29 points in a 113–104 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

[45] On April 15, 2017, Johnson scored a team-high 21 points off the bench and hit a game-winning floater at the buzzer to give the Jazz a 97–95 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

[46] Eight days later in Game 4, Johnson again paced the Jazz with 28 points off the bench to give them a 105–98 victory and tie the series with the Clippers at 2–2.

[60] On December 22, 2021, Johnson signed a 10-day contract with the Boston Celtics to return to the franchise that drafted him after the team was granted a hardship exception.