04 Nov 2025 501 Hometown Hall of Famers: Joe Johnson

By David Grimes

Joe Johnson is one of the most talented basketball players to ever come out of the state of Arkansas, and he parlayed those gifts into a 17-year NBA All-Star career.

Johnson was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) in 2021 as part of the 63rd class, along with Lisa Cornwell, Lance Harter, Tim Horton, Kevin Kelley, Jesse Mason, Billy Joe Murray, Lawson Pilgrim and Johnny Ray.

Born in Little Rock in 1981, Johnson played at Dunbar Junior High School before moving on to Little Rock Central. In 1997, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette named him their sophomore of the year as he helped the Tigers finish as state runner-up. 

As a senior in 1999, the Democrat-Gazette again named him their player of the year after he averaged 18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He led Central to the 1999 AAAAA state championship, defeating North Little Rock, 97-52, sharing the state playoffs MVP trophy with teammate Jarrett Hart.

When it came to college, he could have gone anywhere he wanted, but he wanted to be an Arkansas Razorback. Coached by fellow ASHOF inductee Nolan Richardson, Johnson had an outstanding freshman season in 1999-2000. He averaged 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Johnson helped Arkansas win the 2000 SEC men’s basketball tournament championship, the first in school history, earning the Hogs a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

In his sophomore season of 2000–01, he was named to the All-SEC second team and SEC All-Tournament team, while also receiving an All-American honorable mention. Still just 19 years old, Johnson decided he was ready to turn pro and declared for the 2021 NBA draft. On June 27, 2001, two days before his 20th birthday, he was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 10th overall pick.

During his rookie season, Boston traded him to the Phoenix Suns, where he remained until 2005, when he was traded to Atlanta. With the Hawks, Johnson developed into an NBA star.

Following the 2010 season, he re-signed with the Hawks to a six-year, ^$123.7 million contract, making him the highest-paid NBA player at the time. All told, Johnson made more than ^$200 million during his NBA career.

The Hawks traded him after the 2012 season to the Brooklyn Nets, where he was still a very effective player for several years. He later had stops at Miami, Utah and Houston. He then went on to excel at professional 3-on-3 basketball for several years.

I would argue that Joe Johnson is the most talented basketball player to ever wear a Razorback uniform. I won’t go quite so far as to say he is the greatest Hog baller ever, although he’d be near the top of that list, but as far as talent, I do not think there has been anyone who can match him. Standing 6 feet 7 inches tall and eventually weighing up to 240 pounds, Johnson was a physical specimen. He was a shooting guard/small forward who could handle the ball and play defense.

Johnson has an impressive list of NBA accomplishments. He was named to the All-Rookie second-team in 2001-02. Very durable, he played all 82 games in five different seasons, and he led the league in minutes played during the 2003-04 season. He was a seven-time All-Star and was named to the All-NBA third team in 2009-10.

Seven different times he was named NBA Player of the Week. He was named NBA Player of the Month for March 2008. For his career, Johnson shot 80% from the free-throw line. His 1,978 three-pointers made are 21st in NBA history.

Nicknamed “Iso Joe” for his ability to score in isolation matchups, he scored plenty. Johnson finished his NBA career with 20,407 points. The NBA has been in existence for almost 80 years with approximately 5,000 players having appeared in the league. Only 56 players surpassed the 20,000-point mark.

Johnson also had 5,059 rebounds, 5,001 assists and 1,071 steals, making him one of just 12 players to surpass 20,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists and 1,000 steals. Some of the other names on that short list include Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.