Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 15 draft picks in franchise history
156. . Small Forward. University of Iowa. John Johnson. 14. player
John Johnson was drafted by the Cavaliers with the seventh overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft.
Johnson played just three seasons with the Cavaliers, but those three seasons were most certainly the best of his career. Johnson averaged 16.6 points per game as a rookie then 17.0 and 14.4 in the following seasons.
Outside of just his scoring, Johnson was a swiss army knife for the Cavaliers. He averaged over six boards and over three assists in all three seasons. The majority of Johnson’s career took place before the NBA implemented a three-point line, so it’s hard to predict how good of a shooter he was.
From Johnson’s rookie season to his last season in Cleveland, he helped the team more than double their wins, going from 15 his rookie year to 32 his last year. Johnson, just like Bagley, never led the Cavaliers to even a winning season, but also just like Bagley, Johnson was the team’s star player during a rather forgettable era, allowing him to end up at the back-end of our rankings.
He was selected to two All-Star games throughout his career.
Johnson could have soared on this list had he stayed in Cleveland instead of taking his talents out West to Portland, where his production dipped significantly.