Kristaan Iman Johnson[1] (born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player.

He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, winning an NCAA championship his freshman year in 1995.

Johnson played eight years professionally in multiple countries, winning the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup in 2002 and being named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP).

[3][4] His father had told him that his best chance of playing for a big Division I college like UCLA was to attend a school like Crenshaw, where Marques had starred.

[6][note 1] Johnson won the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Division I championship with Crenshaw that season as well as in his senior year in 1994.

[1] Johnson caught UCLA's attention during recruiting with his ability to score and rebound in traffic.

[note 2][12] Marques had won the 1977 John R. Wooden Award as the college basketball player of the year.

After impressive preseason practices during the fall, UCLA coaches projected him as a major contributor.

Johnson returned 20 pounds (9.1 kg) heavier, but never regained his conditioning and was removed from UCLA's regular rotation.

He initially pouted on the bench and was thrown out of practice, but he later became supportive of the team's success and retained his teammates' respect.

"[17] His second season in 1995–96 ended with UCLA's 43–41 upset loss to Ivy League champion Princeton in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

[19] Johnson was suspended for 50 days in the 1997–98 season, reportedly violating the school's drug policy on marijuana.

[23] "I saw him work out in Seattle with (NBA draft picks) Felipe López, Corey Benjamin and Miles Simon, and he was as good or better than those guys," said Kings coach Paul Woopert.

[27][28] He next went to Qatar and played in 2001–2003 with Al Rayyan, winning the 2002 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup;[25] Johnson scored 32 points in the championship game and was named the MVP of the tournament.

[35] Johnson has a younger brother, Josiah, who also played basketball at Montclair Prep[4] and UCLA.

[36] Another younger brother, Moriah, enrolled at Tuskegee University in 2011 and joined its basketball team; he also co-starred on the reality television series, Baldwin Hills.