Credit: FIBA Media
Credit FIBA Media

As all the details for the interview with Chris Johnson you're about to read were arranged, the last thing that had to be settled was the time. That was the last hurdle, which turned out to be a tricky one. 

Free throws this season

76%
14,0
Points made: 14,0
Accuracy: 75,7%
Place in standings: 12
Record max: 29
Record min: 7
Most made FTs: Chris Johnson

The 2022 Israeli Winner League champion with Hapoel Holon took a couple of days to celebrate his team's historic triumph, and, next thing you know, he was off to Hawaii to have some much-needed rest. The problem for someone living in the other hemisphere is the time difference which in our case amounted to 13 hours. 

In fact, Johnson was the one who asked for the interview to take place at 4 a.m. local time. That's right, less than a couple of hours before dawn. 

"It's my second time in Hawaii, but first with my fiancée's family. It's amazing. I only realized how beautiful Hawaii is until I got here. I'm enjoying it a lot. I want to see my family as much as I can and relax my body," the 32-year-old forward tells BasketNews from his holiday resort. 

However, it would be a big mistake to assume that Johnson is the type of guy who will take as much time off as possible.

"For me, the off-season is the time to prepare yourself for the regular season and the post-season. Typically, it starts in September with some pre-season games," he reminds.

The 2022-23 campaign will find Hapoel Holon defending their championship crown, which they won two weeks ago against all odds. 

"Since we're the defending champs, let's repeat it and get another one," is Johnson's motto.  

The 2021-22 season was nothing short of spectacular for the Israeli side. The team reached the BCL Final Four for the second year in a row and won their second league title against another surprise team, Bnei Herzliya. Johnson has developed into a core player over the last two years, in which chemistry has been the most important element in Holon's success.

P.J. Tucker

P.J.  Tucker
Team: Miami Heat
Position: SF, SG
Age: 37
Height: 198 cm
Weight: 102 kg
Birth place: United States of America

"Any time, you need to have guys willing to buy-in. We had good chemistry in both of my years there. Last season, we played more small-ball, without a unique point guard and a unique center, but we still reached the TOP 8 and the BCL Final Four."

But last year was really special. The team had to split from coach Stefanos Dedas in the summer of 2021 to hand the reigns over to Maurizio Buscaglia and from there to Guy Goodes. It looked like a smooth transition, despite the different styles and philosophies these coaches stand for. 

"Stefanos played small-ball and was a smart coach. He knows the philosophy," Johnson comments on Dedas, who first moved to AEK Athens and then joined Dimitris Itoudis as an assistant at CSKA Moscow and - quite recently - at Fenerbahce Istanbul.

Former EuroCup Coach of the Year, Maurizio Buscaglia, was another case though. The Italian tactician, who Johson used to call 'Maserati', had never coached outside his native country and thus wasn't able to put the club in the right position.

Holon was struggling in all competitions and needed a narrow (74-68) win over Besiktas to make the BCL TOP 16. 

In early January, veteran Israeli play-caller Guy Goodes stepped in. That proved to be a major game-changer for the entire squad since it really turned their season around. 

"I felt the energy from day one. He has a mindset that I have, and I like. In terms of how he sees the game, he's amazing. He can adjust on the flight during the game. We all respected him from day one. We had a lot of ups and downs, but for the most part, he was able to get through it all," Johnson says. 

Throughout the season, Chris Johnson had been Holon's most consistent performer, something that's reflected in his numbers.

Holding averages of 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 54.3% from the field and 39.1% from the 3-point line in the BCL, the former NBA player was deservedly and predictably named to the Champions League First Team. He also made the All-Winner League First Team.

By winning the championship title, Holon became the only non-EuroLeague team to achieve that feat across all national leagues in the current season. 

"That says a lot," Johnson thinks. "We had some ups and downs throughout the season."

The crucial moment for Holon's season, according to the Dayton graduate, was their 71-78 loss to Lenovo Tenerife in the BCL Final Four semifinal.

"It gave us more experience because Tenerife is one hell of a team. We had a chance to beat them. I fouled out with less than two minutes remaining, and we lost. The whole experience of going to Bilbao gave us more experience ahead of the Israeli playoffs."

Holon, a manufacturing town in west central Israel, part of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa metropolitan area, got to celebrate its first Winner League trophy since 2008. The competition had been completely dominated by Maccabi Tel Aviv, who fell victim to Herzliya in the semis. 

Nevertheless, no matter how many domestic titles Holon will win, the EuroLeague is pretty much an enclosed space. The only competition whose champion has a secured spot is the Adriatic League.

Johnson thinks that national champions should be able to qualify and play against EuroLeague teams.

"I think Joe Ragland mentioned that the format used to be like that some years ago, and they changed it. It sucks because you want to compete with the best teams. But we're the champs, and that's what matters. You can't take it away from us."

In 2008, when Hapoel Holon won their first championship title, PJ Tucker was leading the team. The NBA veteran and champion with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 played six seasons in the Old Continent before finding a long-term place in the world's top league.

Chris Johnson, who suited up for Memphis, Boston, Philadelphia, Utah, and Milwaukee between 2013 and 2016, coincided with Tucker, while the experienced forward was with the Phoenix Suns. 

"I knew PJ before when we were in the NBA. He's a good guy," Johnson stresses.

"But I haven't talked to him during my time overseas or in Holon. I'm thinking about it now - it would have been nice to reach out to him and get a short video of him giving a shout-out to the fans."

Apart from leading the same team to success at different times, Tucker and Johnson have another thing in common - their playing style. Some of Johnson's features are his tenacity and hustle, which render him one of the top defenders wherever he's playing at.

Tucker, five years his senior, has a reputation for being a solid '3 & D' role player in the NBA.

"It's really special because everyone says, 'You're the PJ Tucker of the team, you do everything.' He won the Israeli league before, so it's crazy how that journey has happened," Johnson thinks.

It may have taken him two years, as opposed to Tucker's one, but ultimately, the American swingman managed to be mentioned in the same breath as his predecessor at Holon.

"Last year, they said me and PJ Tucker are the two best players in the history of Holon. But now they say I'm the best Holon player ever just because of the things I accomplished in two years," Johnson proudly mentions. 

A recent example of how the Orlando-born guard-forward can handle adversity came in the above-mentioned BCL semifinal against Tenerife in Bilbao. Johnson was injured early and had to play through his injury for almost 30 minutes. 

"You know what's funny? It still hurts sometimes, like the first day, whenever I get hit in a certain spot," he points out, smiling.

"But it was the Final Four, all or nothing. It's a big stage, a big moment for me, my club, and my teammates. I wanted to show toughness and that I'm willing to do anything to help my team win."

Johnson attended Brookhaven High School in Columbus, Ohio, where his family settled. That's also where he came to carve out an identity for himself as a basketball player. 

"When we played in the park, you couldn't be soft," he explains.

"You can't show signs of weakness. You get pushed and shoved a lot. That's part of basketball. I like physicality and people who talk and bang a little bit. Our mind is the most important thing. It's about how you're able to overcome things and get through adversity."

After his time in the NBA, a stop in France with Bourg was followed by one at Hapoel Jerusalem, where he was a key member of the team that won the Israel State Cup. Alas, Johnson missed the final due to another injury,

"I had a lot of injuries while in Jerusalem. The first time I got hurt, it was serious, and I had surgery. I wasn't really myself until last year. That was the most frustrating thing. I thought I could never be myself again. I kept working without knowing if I would feel any better. Physiotherapy helped me," he acknowledges. 

His efforts in the back end of the court paid off, as he was voted Defensive Player of the Year in the Winner League. As the title bestowed upon him would suggest, physicality is a term Johnson familiarized himself with long ago. 

"I think the level of physicality in the NBA is good, but Europe has that style with the flopping, the fouls, and the three seconds allowed in the paint. It's more physical, for sure," he says. 

However, at least one player who claims he has escaped Johnson's lockdown defense. It's his former teammate at Bourg and current AS Monaco shooting guard, Danilo Andjusic. 

Johnson takes some time to reflect on whether the name of Andjusic rings any bell before finally coming up with an answer.

"That's my guy! I call him 'Indo'. I'm not worried about him. I wasn't 100%, so he didn't get to see the full Chris Johnson. But he knows."

The 2021-22 campaign was Chris Johnson's tenth playing professional basketball. He spent five years in the States and another five in Europe. Looking back at how it started and how it's going, the veteran swingman calls his trajectory 'a journey.'

"Especially in the NBA, it wasn't easy, but I learned a lot - what professionalism is, how to be a basketball player, and how to take care of my body.

But the last five years in Europe have been delicate as well. I had never been overseas without my family, but I found a home in Holon. I accomplished a lot of things in Europe, and hopefully, I will accomplish more." 

Halfway through the season, on January 24, he signed a two-year extension with Hapoel Holon that will go through the 2023-24 season.

Some were surprised by that development since Israeli teams other than Maccabi aren't usually keen on investing in talent long-term. But Johnson maintains that the decision to commit to the same team "wasn't hard at all, it was easy."

"We talked about other stuff, negotiated, and that was it. Israel as a country is amazing, but Holon is special. I felt that energy last year. You see the success we're having since I've been there."

Normally, a player with the kind of resume Johnson presents would become an obvious target for EuroLeague clubs. Considering that he's coming off of his most successful season to date and the lack of swingmen who are effective on both ends of the court, potentially any high-level team could set their eyes on him. 

Johnson explains that staying with the club that got the best out of him was a choice based on happiness, not financial incentives. 

"I've heard questions, like 'Why didn't you go for more money in the EuroLeague?' I was like, 'I'm comfortable here.' Money is one thing, and happiness is another. I could take more money and be in a crazy place. I know where my happiness and my heart is at," he holds.

"I've played at the highest level, NBA. EuroLeague is the second-biggest market in basketball. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to play EuroLeague."

Besides, there's a EuroLeague-out clause in his contract next summer in case suitors would be interested in acquiring his services. Johnson, like several other American players on Holon's and Herzliya's roster, put on impressive showings and raised his stock.

A few names would include Chinanu Onuaku, Michael Kyser, Chris Babb, and Joe Ragland, the Winner League Finals MVP.

Having completed his third season in Israel, Johnson is knowledgeable enough to explain why and how the Winner League can help a player improve and, possibly, land him a better contract with a higher-level team. 

"The Winner League is different from any other competition around Europe. You can tell it's a different, unique style. In Spain, they play a lot with back screens and pin downs. In the Winner League, there's more one-on-one, iso ball.

They bring in unique guys who can show their talent and play fancy basketball. It's a style without legit bigs. I'm playing '5' and I'm 6'5'' (1.98 m.). It's more small-ball and lots of ups and downs."

Johnson makes special reference to a couple of players who stood out and made a difference for their teams. His teammate, Joe Ragland, was Holon's undisputed leader.

The 32-year-old point guard recently cashed in an impressive campaign (13.7 points, 6.1 assists per game) with a new two-year contract with the Israeli side. 

"Playoffs is the most important stage, and those guys stepped up. They put the work in and adjusted to the playoffs that take your strength away. Especially Joe Ragland played amazing. He likes it in Holon."

The two will be playing together for the third season in a row. 

But the title of the league MVP went to another player, who put up monster numbers: 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 21.6 in PIR over 26 Winner League contests.

It's Bnei Herzliya's Chinanu Onuaku. The 26-year-old big man had a brief NBA stint but didn't stick around. Johnson has been closely following his trajectory and has a clear view of the great strides Onuaku has made over the last years. 

Following his outstanding showings, Onuaku is currently on the lookout for an NBA contract, having scheduled several tryouts and workouts in the States. 

"I met him six-seven years ago, and he wasn't mature enough to stay in the NBA. When you get to the NBA, you can't get comfortable.

I'm happy he has an opportunity again because he's come a long way. I want to give him praise. I hope it all works out for him because he deserves it. You can see his growth, the way he's been able to use his physicality and take control of the game. He's got a big potential because he's still young," Johnson comments on his former opponent in Israel. 

With a total of 147 NBA games under his belt, Johnson can see the grind in Onuaku as he recalls his own experience after going undrafted in 2012. 

"I knew it was going to be hard, but back then, when I was going through all the workouts and training camps, I just trusted my agent and myself," he says now.

"It's about work and grind. If I knew back then what I know now, I would have stuck around longer. But opportunities didn't present themselves and my agent at the time messed things up. The biggest thing is confidence."

After five seasons overseas, Johnson reflects on his time in the NBA with a sense of incredulity.

"I was living the dream, living in the moment. Now, I look back on it and say, 'Damn, you really were in the NBA! You were really guarding those players." Back then, I was just playing basketball. It's really special, like a brotherhood. It's a unique feeling."

He got to play 40 games with the Boston Celtics in 2013-14, but the current version of the NBA finalists got him fired up to such an extent that he would be willing to join them any time. 

"If I could choose one team I'd like to re-join, it would be Boston; play some defense and knock down some shots. One more good defender won't hurt. I can guard 1-5 without having a legit big man, but it does help when you have 4-5 guys who can guard multiple positions."

Even if Johnson isn't destined to return to the NBA, he can still bully the offensive schemes of any Holon's opponent in Israel and the BCL. That's no small feat by any standard.

Comments:
PB
Great article and Great Player!
2022-06-25
+1
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Chris Johnson

Chris  Johnson
Chris  Johnson
MIN: 28.14
PTS: 14.56 (60.17%)
REB: 5.39
As: 1.22
ST: 1.17
BL: 0.44
TO: 1.67
GM: 18