Brooklyn Nets jersey history No. 52 - George Johnson (1978-80)
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the "New Jersey Americans". Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA, with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today. To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise's jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
And for today's article, we will continue with the first of four people to wear the No. 52 jersey, big man alum George Johnson. After ending his college career at Dillard, Johnson was picked up with the 79th overall selection (there were many more rounds in that era of the draft) of the 1970 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.
The George Johnson native played the first season of his pro career in another league after being cut, later signing with the Golden State Warriors in 1972. He would also play for the (then) Buffalo Braves (now, Boston Celtics - it's a long story ) before he was dealt to the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets in 1979. His first stay with the team lasted until he signed with the San Antonio Spurs in 1980, also playing for the Atlanta Hawks and in another league, later joining the Seattle SuperSonics after his final stint.
During his time suiting up for the Nets, Johnson wore only jersey Nos. 43 and 52 and put up 6. 3 points, 7.
2 rebounds, and 1. 3 assists per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.