Johnson won a version of national player of the year at the high school, junior college, and NCAA Division I levels.

Johnson originally made a verbal commitment to play for Dave Bliss at Southern Methodist University,[1] but he instead enrolled at Odessa College in Texas following a dispute with the SMU administration about the legitimacy of one of his SAT scores.

[3] Johnson eventually transferred to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to play under head coach Jerry Tarkanian.

Alongside future NBA players Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony, Johnson faced the Duke Blue Devils in the title game of the 1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

[citation needed] Johnson and the Runnin' Rebels responded with a perfect regular season record of 27–0,[5] with an average scoring margin of 26.7 points per game; this total included a 112–105 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks, ranked second in the country at the time.

He also competed in the 1992 Slam Dunk Contest at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Orlando, finishing second to Cedric Ceballos of the Phoenix Suns.

Along with Alonzo Mourning, Muggsy Bogues and Dell Curry, Johnson played with the Hornets at the height of their popularity in the early to mid-1990s.

In October 1993, Johnson signed what was at the time the most lucrative contract in NBA history, a 12-year, $84 million deal with the Hornets.

[9] Friction between Johnson and Mourning forced the organization to make a change, and the resulting moves made by the Hornets left both players on other teams.

Johnson took on a lesser role as the Knicks turned to Allan Houston and later Latrell Sprewell as the team's top scorers.

During Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, he was involved in a critical play in which he was fouled by Antonio Davis of the Indiana Pacers.

Johnson made the shot and converted the free throw following the basket for a four-point play, which turned out to be the winning margin in a 92–91 Knicks victory.

In Game 5 of the 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Johnson was one of several players who left the Knicks bench during a brawl involving teammate Charlie Ward and Miami's P. J.

He was one of the NBA stars who had their basketball abilities stolen alongside Muggsy Bogues, Shawn Bradley, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing.