It’s James Johnson Season In South Beach
Before the organization became the running joke of the league, before the front office downgraded from former head coach Tom Thibodeau to current head coach Fred Hoiberg, before Derrick Rose completely lost his mind… the Chicago Bulls were something to see.
And not in a trainwreck, “it’s-so-bad-I-can’t-look-away,” sort of manner either. They were really a force to be reckoned with. Which is why it broke my heart when the Bulls let go of James Johnson in 2011.
Not that he really got a fair shot in the first place. After Chicago drafted him 16th overall in 2009, he played an average of only 11.6 minutes in 65 games his rookie year, recording 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds a game. And as a sophomore, he saw 9.5 minutes in just 13 games, instead spending time in the Developmental League by way of the Iowa Energy.
Still, there was potential in the 6-foot-9 forward. Even when he bounced around between the Toronto Raptors (twice), Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies and Rio Grande Valley Vipers (another D-League team).
It seemed like he was always just on the brink of figuring things out like when he put up 20 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and swatted 4 blocks as a Raptor, against the 2011–12 Bulls.
As well as when he returned to Toronto and posted a career-high 27 points against the Houston Rockets in 2014–15.
The black belt had something special to offer. Unparalleled grit. Old-school swagger. Rawness in his game.
Fortunately, Miami Heat president Pat Riley obviously saw what I saw. Because when Johnson became available last summer, he quickly signed the Wyoming native to a one-year, $4 million contract.
A move that many scratched their heads over, but I had much hope in. Because if there was one franchise that could turn Johnson into a star, it was Miami.
Fast forward to Friday, March 31, with the 37–38 Heat this close to officially clinching a playoff berth… and the organization has managed to do just that.
(I think this is where I say “I told you so.”)
It’s true that Miami needed bodies. After losing both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, as well as failing to land a top free agent like Kevin Durant, the roster was depleted. But Riley’s selection of one and two-year contracts were more than mere bargains, handed out at random.
Johnson, Dion Waiters, Wayne Ellington… they all possessed a certain something that the front office was looking for. After all, the franchise’s legacy was not built out of throwing caution to the wind.
So, in Miami Heat Basketball fashion, management went to work right away on making sure all of its players could be the best version of themselves. The version Riley imagined them to be. Something that for Johnson, meant a major lifestyle change.
“I never had done a before-and-after,” Johnson said, in regards to Miami making his weight loss a priority. “We got in there and they told me I had to take off my shirt. We had to take a before picture. It was weird to me. It was really weird to me. I thought I was going to be the only one because I came in something huge. I thought they were going to show me progress or what I don’t want to get back to.”
It wasn’t just him though. It was all part of the Miami Heat culture.
“I ran through their iPad magazine. It was like a magazine, their iPad, their own accomplishments with other players and I saw it with my own eyes. And from the point I saw that iPad, I wanted to change myself.”
Arriving 37 pounds heavier, Johnson has gone from 14.5 percent body fat to 6.75 percent. A whopping difference, especially given the season is not even over yet.
“I’m not finished. I’m 238 [pounds] right now and 6.75 [percent body fat]. So, I’m just going to keep going, see how far it takes me. I feel like the more I lose, the more I unleash skills that I didn’t think I was capable of having or doing.”
Keep on keeping on, Bloodsport.
But Johnson has done so much more this year, than just shedding weight. He has finally found the groove I knew he had all along.
Averaging 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steal per contest, he is playing the best basketball of his seven-year NBA career. Between embarassing guys on a nightly basis with his dunks and making it nearly impossible for even the strongest of athletes to get past him, Johnson is a threat on both sides of the floor.
Making it look easy, to boot.
And he has bought into the one-of-a-kind culture, in every way imaginable.
(You better believe this is the wallpaper on my phone.)
From the discipline he has commanded within himself to finally reach his potential, to the leadership he has bestowed upon others to do so as well, within a year’s time Johnson has truly become the definition of #HeatLyfer.
An updated version of Udonis Haslem, if you will.
Seven years later and the time has come: it’s James Johnson season.
Hold on tight.
