Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 7 - Kevin Johnson, Lightning Point Guard

Why we ranked him here: The No. 7 pick of the 1987 NBA draft, KJ was a three-time All-Star point guard and four-time second-team All-NBA selection during his 12-year career. One of the fastest players in the NBA during his era, Johnson averaged at least 20 points in five different seasons and at least 10 assists four times. He had five career 40-point games, including a pair of 44-point efforts. He had seven outings of at least 20 assists, topped by 25 in a win over the San Antonio Spurs in 1994. Johnson helped lead Phoenix to the NBA Finals in 1993, averaging 17.2 points in a six-game loss to Michael Jordan (41.0 points) and the Chicago Bulls. At 6-foot-1,  Johnson famously dunked over the Houston Rockets’ 7-foot center Hakeem Olajuwon, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, in the 1994 Western Conference semifinals. KJ had at least one game of 30 points or more in 11 consecutive seasons. He retired after the 1999-00 season, having averaged 17.9 points and 9.1 assists — seventh-most in NBA history — for his career. In 105 career postseason games, he averaged 19.3 points, including games of 43 and 46 points against Houston in 1995.

At Cal: The state's scoring leader (32.5 points) as a senior at Sacramento High School, Johnson was four-year starter and one of Cal’s most popular players. KJ was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection as a junior and senior, finishing his career as the program’s all-time leader in points (1,655 points), assists (521) and steals (155). Johnson scored 14 points as the Bears beat UCLA 75-67 on Jan. 25, 1986 to snap a 52-game losing streak in the series in front of a capacity crowd at Harmon Gym. He averaged 17.2 points and 5.0 assists as a senior and was the first player in conference history to record a triple-double. He helped the Bears to NIT appearances his final two seasons, Cal’s first postseason bids since 1960. Johnson was elected to the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012 and the program's first player to have his jersey (No. 11) retired.

Other: After his playing days, Johnson served two terms (2008-16) as the first African American mayor of the California state capital and his hometown of Sacramento. As mayor, he helped make sure the Sacramento Kings did not move to Anaheim or Seattle . . . in 1991, President George H.W. Bush honored Johnson as the 411th Point of Light recipient in recognition for his concern for children and education . . . Johnson owns and operates a chain of restaurants called Fixins Soul Kitchen, with locations in Sacramento, Los Angeles and other cities . . . Johnson received the John R. Wooden Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and the NBA's Walter Kennedy Citizienship Award in 1991 . . . having briefly played baseball at Cal, Johnson was drafted in the 23rd round as a shortstop by the Oakland A’s in 1986.