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Edward Lee Johnson Jr.’s Background

Edward Lee Johnson Jr. was born on February 24, 1955, in Ocala, Florida. He was eldest of five children, and he quickly took an interest in basketball. He would obsessively work on his game on a homemade goal outside his family home. By the time he was 14 years old, he was an elite player and was good enough to start all four years at Lake Weir High School.

After high school, he played basketball at Auburn University, where he averaged 21.8 points per game as a freshman. He also started doing cocaine during his time in college.

After his freshman season, his scoring dipped each year. Some attributed this to conflicts he had with his coach, Bob Davis, who said he had a “bad attitude”.

NBA Career

Professional scouts were worried he might bring that bad attitude to the NBA, and he slipped in the draft. He was picked in the 3rd round of the 1977 draft, 49th overall.

He had a solid first season, averaging 10.5 points per game and helping his team make the playoffs. The next season, he became a starter and increased his scoring average to 16 points per game. He would eventually become an NBA all-star in 1980 and 1981.

Even though he was performing well on the court, things were not going so well behind the scenes. In 1979, he passed out at a function at Auburn. Rumors spread about him being a drug user, but he denied the rumors stating “The whole idea of me abusing drugs is outlandish.”

In 1980, he jumped from a 2nd-floor apartment and ran away unharmed as two men fired shots at him. Police believed the incident was a drug deal gone wrong. Johnson said he was at a girl’s house, and some guys busted in. He insisted it wasn’t drug-related. The two men were arrested, but Johnson declined to cooperate, and the men were never charged.

Three weeks later, he was arrested for cocaine possession while driving a rental car in Atlanta. After his arrest, he was moved to a psych facility where he was diagnosed with manic depression and given medication. The possession charges were eventually dropped after it was ruled the search of his vehicle was illegal.

The same day he was released from the psych facility, he was arrested for stealing a Porsche from a car dealer. He had taken the vehicle out for a test drive and took too long to return. Eventually, those charges were also dropped.
Johnson took the medication prescribed to him throughout the 1980-1981 season and played great. He was an all-star and averaged 19.1 points per game. For no apparent reason, he stopped taking his medication during the off-season.

Moving forward, his behavior became very erratic and disruptive. In the fall of 1981, he was taken by two policemen from the practice floor in front of his teammates and committed to Grady Memorial Hospital for a week.
After getting back on his medication, he was allowed to rejoin the team a few weeks later.

Despite his issues with drugs, breaking the law, and mental health, he played in the NBA until 1987 when he was banned for life from the NBA for excessive drug use. During his 10-year career, he played for 3 teams, and he averaged 15.1 points per game.

Life After Basketball

His life continued to go downhill after his basketball career ended. He broke into two homes and stole over $9,000 worth of goods. He also broke into a home and stole a VCR and sold it for $20. He stole $100 worth of goods from Target and assaulted a deputy during a drug arrest. He racked up over 100 arrests for various offenses.

His crimes escalated in 2006 when he was arrested for burglary and violating the 8-year-old girl of a woman he knew. This was weeks after he was arrested for violating a 25-year-old woman in a Ocala, Florida hotel room.

He denied the charges against him, but in 2008, he was convicted of sexual battery, sexual molestation, and trespassing after a two-day trial. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

On October 26th, 2020, the former NBA star and career criminal died in prison at the age of 65, making him one of the biggest falls from grace in NBA history.