Stanley Johnson (basketball)

Stanley Johnson
Stanley Johnson
Born	Stanley Herbert Johnson Jr.; May 29, 1996 (age 30); Anaheim, California, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2014–present

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Stanley Johnson (basketball), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 28 November 2025

Stanley Herbert Johnson Jr. (born May 29, 1996) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States currently playing for Nagasaki Velca in Japan's B.League. After spending one season with the Arizona Wildcats, he was chosen eighth overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2015 NBA draft. Johnson's NBA career also includes stints with the New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs.

High school career

Hailing from Fullerton, California, Johnson was recognized as a leading high school prospect in 2014 by outlets such as Rivals.com, Scout.com, and ESPN. During his time at Mater Dei High School, he helped secure four CIF State championships. Johnson participated in prestigious events like the 2014 McDonald's All-American Boys Game, the 2014 Jordan Brand Classic, and the 2014 Nike Hoop Summit. His performance earned him a spot on the 2014 USA Today first team All-USA Boys Basketball Team. Over his high school career, he amassed 2,285 points at Mater Dei, placing him third in the school's scoring records behind Taylor King and Tom Lewis.

College career

During his freshman year at Arizona in the 2014–15 season, Johnson was honored with first-team selections on the All-Pac-12 squad and received the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award. He started in 37 out of 38 games, averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 steals across 28.4 minutes per game.

On April 23, 2015, Johnson declared for the NBA draft, opting to leave behind three remaining years of college eligibility. At that time, ESPN ranked him 11th on their Top 100 draft prospects list.

Detroit Pistons (2015–2019)

Johnson was picked eighth overall by the Pistons on June 25, 2015, during the 2015 NBA draft. In his first NBA appearance on October 27, he contributed seven points, four rebounds, and three assists off the bench in a 106–94 victory against the Atlanta Hawks. On November 9, despite a 109–95 loss to the Golden State Warriors, he scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Filling in as starting shooting guard for an injured Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on February 4, Johnson achieved a season-best 22 points in a 111–105 win over the New York Knicks.

Johnson faced a one-game suspension without pay on November 25, 2016, due to violation of team policies. On December 10 of that year, he was briefly assigned to the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League before being recalled the following day. He recorded a season-high of 17 points on March 8, 2017, during a 115–98 defeat to the Indiana Pacers. On January 30, 2018, Johnson posted what was then his career-high with 26 points in a 125–114 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On November 9, 2018, he matched a season-high by scoring 22 points in a commanding 124–109 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

New Orleans Pelicans (2019)

Johnson was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans on February 7, 2019, as part of a three-team deal involving both the Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pelicans opted not to extend a $4.5 million qualifying offer on June 26, thereby making him an unrestricted free agent.

Toronto Raptors (2019–2021)

Johnson joined the Toronto Raptors on July 11, 2019. During the 2019–20 NBA season, he delivered his first game-winning basket on August 12, 2020, against the Philadelphia 76ers. Shortly after, on August 14, he achieved a season-best 23 points off the bench in a victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Raptors advanced to the second round of the 2020 NBA playoffs, marking Johnson's debut at this stage, where they extended the series against the Boston Celtics to seven games before being eliminated.

On May 13, 2021, Johnson recorded a personal best by scoring 35 points despite the team's defeat to the Chicago Bulls.

South Bay Lakers (2021)

After signing with the Chicago Bulls on September 8, 2021, Johnson was waived on October 16 following participation in four preseason matches. He subsequently joined the South Bay Lakers on November 15, where across six games he averaged 15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.17 steals per contest.

Los Angeles Lakers (2021–2022)

Johnson inked a 10-day contract with the Chicago Bulls on December 9, 2021; however, he did not appear in any games due to entering NBA health and safety protocols.

On December 24, 2021, he signed a hardship exemption 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. This was followed by two additional consecutive 10-day contracts on January 6 and January 17, 2022. Ultimately, on January 26, Johnson secured a two-year deal with the Lakers.

On August 25, 2022, Johnson was traded alongside Talen Horton-Tucker to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Patrick Beverley. The Jazz waived him on October 15, 2022.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2022)

Johnson signed with the Sioux Falls Skyforce on December 8, 2022.

San Antonio Spurs (2022–2023)

Four days later, on December 12, 2022, Johnson agreed to a one-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He was released by the Spurs on February 12, 2023.

He returned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce two days later, on February 14, 2023.

Stockton Kings (2023–2024)

Johnson was acquired by the Stockton Kings on December 6, 2023.

Anadolu Efes (2024–2025)

On July 4, 2024, Johnson signed with Anadolu Efes, competing in Turkey's Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. In February 2025, he was granted permission to return to the United States due to family matters. Subsequently, on February 11, 2025, Johnson parted ways with Anadolu Efes and re-entered the NBA G League. Over his participation in seventeen EuroLeague contests, he averaged 1.9 points and grabbed 1.1 rebounds per game.

Nagasaki Velca (2025–present)

Johnson finalized a contract with Japan's Nagasaki Velca of the B.League on July 29, 2025.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit |73||6||23.1||.375||.307||.784||4.2||1.6||.8||.2||8.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit |77||1||17.8||.353||.292||.679||2.5||1.4||.7||.3||4.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit |69||50||27.4||.375||.286||.772||3.7||1.6||1.4||.2||8.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit |48||7||20.0||.381||.282||.804||3.6||1.3||1.0||.3||7.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans |18||0||13.7||.418||.324||.692||2.3||1.6||.7||.1||5.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto |25||0||6.0||.373||.292||.563||1.5||.8||.2||.2||2.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto |61||13||16.5||.382||.328||.800||2.5||1.5||.9|||.3 ||4.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers |48 ||27 ||22.8 || .466 || .314 || .716 ||3.2 ||1.7 || .9 || 0.3 ||6.7 |-

|style="text-align:left;" | 
|style="text-align:left;" |San Antonio 
|30 ||0 ||15.6 || .533 || .450 || .667 ||3.2 || 2.2 ||0 .5 ||0 .2 ||5 .8

|- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
|449 ||104 ||19 .8 || .391 || .305 || .748 ||3 .1 ||1 .5 ||0 .9 ||0 .2 ||6 .2

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2016 | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit | 4 || 0 || 20.3 || .522 || .600 || 1.000 || 4.0 || .0 || .3 || .0 || 8.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020 | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto | 3 || 0 || 6.7 || .445 || .400 || 1.000 || 1.3 || 2.0 || .0 || .0 || 4.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 7 || 0 || 14.4 || .500 || .533 || 1.000 || 2.9 || .9 || .1 || .0 || 6.4

EuroLeague

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2024–25 | style="text-align:left;"| Anadolu Efes | 17 || 5 || 7.5 || .314 || .133 || .692 || 1.1 || .3 || .4 || .1 || 1.9 || 1.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 17 || 5 || 7.5 || .314 || .133 || .692 || 1.1 || .3 || .4 || .1 || 1.9 || 1.2

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15 | style="text-align:left;"| Arizona | 38 || 38 || 28.4 || .446 || .371 || .742 || 6.5 || 1.7 || 1.5 || .4 || 13.8

Awards and honors

High school

Named First-team HS All-American by USA Today (2014)
Two-time CIF Division I state champion (2011–2012)
Two-time CIF Open Division state champion (2013–2014)
Awarded MaxPreps.com High School National Player of the Year (2014)
Earned California Mr. Basketball title (2014)
Selected to All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division I first team (2012)
ESPNHS Cal-Hi Sports California Sophomore of the Year recipient (2012)
Honorable mention for MaxPreps.com Freshman All-America (2011)
Included in CIF All-state first team (2011, 2012)
Chosen for CIF All-league first team (2012)

College

Recipient of the Julius Erving Award (2015)
Named to USBWA All-Freshman All-American Team (2015)
Member of Pac-12 Tournament All-Tournament Team (2015)
Included in District IX All-District Team by USBWA (2015)
Third-team USA Today All-American honoree (2015)
Selected first-team All-Pac-12 (2015)
Awarded Pac-12 Freshman Player of the Year (2015)
Named to All-Pac-12 Freshman team (2015)
MVP and All-Tournament Team member at the 2014 Maui Invitational
Twice honored as Pac-12 Player of the Week (December 1, 2014; January 19, 2015)
NCAA Player of the Week on January 19, 2015
Wayman Tisdale National Freshmen of the Week recipient (January 18, 2015)
Finalist for Wayman Tisdale National Freshmen of the Year Award

National team career

Johnson secured gold medals at the FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship in 2011, the FIBA Under-17 World Championship in 2012, and the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in 2014, where he served as team captain and earned MVP honors.

Personal life

Born in Anaheim, California to Karen Taylor and Stanley Johnson Sr., Johnson was raised primarily by his mother in Fullerton, California. His mother played collegiate basketball at Jackson State, where she was inducted into their Sports Hall of Fame in 2009, and also competed professionally overseas in Europe. Johnson is stepson to Easter Johnson and has two brothers along with two sisters. He practices Christianity as his faith.

External links