Dennis (D.J.) Johnson 1954-2007, R.I.P.
22 February 2007 | lecollye
“And there’s a steal by Bird, underneath to DJ, he lays it in.”
According to the Boston Globe:
Dennis Johnson, the star NBA guard who was part of three championship teams, died Thursday after collapsing at the end of practice. He was 52. Johnson, coach of the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, died at a hospital, D-League spokesman Kent Partridge said.
Johnson, a five-time All-Star and one of the great defensive guards, played 14 seasons and retired after the 1989-90 season. He played on title teams with the Boston Celtics in 1984 and 1986 and with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979 when he was the NBA finals MVP.
Wow, does this one hurt. It is kind of weird to feel sad about the death of someone I have never met, but I suppose that is the testament to the player that he was. The player Bird once referred to as, “the best I’ve ever played with,” Dennis Johnson, or as he was know to Celtic loyal, “DJ,” was the best true guard to play for the C’s in my lifetime. He was an integral part of my all-time favorite sports team, the 85-86 C’s championship team and at the receiving end of most famous steal in Celtics history (sorry Hondo). Though he never had a signature move, or was accused of rape, or cut an album of bad music, DJ was a really big deal to anyone who grew up worshiping the C’s in the 1980’s.
Long before the days of Rivers, Scalabrine and Olowokandi, I grew up worshiping everything about the 80’s Celtics. Larry Bird was by far my favorite celebrity of any sort (Christ, I even named my female cat after him), but DJ and Kevin McHale were always close seconds. I can remember my father reading the Sunday Globe at one point during that 85-86 season and mentioning to me that Dennis Johnson had counted the freckles on his face, and although I don’t remember how many he had, I’m still shocked that I both remember this conversation and secondly that this bit of trivia was something that was even printed in the Globe’s Sunday sports section. That’s how big of a deal he was to Celtics fans. We cared how many freckles were on his face. Goodbye DJ, you will be missed.
