Larry Bird often said that Dennis Johnson was the best teammate he ever had. It’s a compliment that would have been hard to imagine early in his career.
Johnson started off with the Seattle Supersonics, where he played for Bird’s Boston predecessor, Bill Russell. At this point in his career, he was a high-flying shooting guard who moonlighted as a shotblocker, and blocking seven shots in a 1978 Finals game.
Lenny Wilkens, who coached after Russell and Bob Hopkins, eventually got fed up with Johnson being difficult and Seattle shipped him off to Phoenix.
With the Suns, Johnson also got into a conflict with his coach.
Red Auerbach took a chance on Johnson because of his defensive talents and he turned out to be a huge asset with Boston.
He and Bird developed a tremendous chemistry. If you’ve ever seen the Bird steal against Detroit, when he’s teetering on the baseline, Johnson is the guy who cuts to the basket and gets the winning layup.
His reputation completely changed in Boston. Johnson is now remembered as one of the cornerstones of Boston and the point guard of the 1986 team, widely regarded as the greatest team ever.
Sadly, he died in 2007 of a heart attack while coaching the Austin Toros, the G-League affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs. His number is retired by the Celtics.