INDIANAPOLIS — James Johnson doesn't play much for the Indiana Pacers, but that's just fine for the team. His role is different.
The veteran forward is often the first player off the bench during a timeout. He walks right up to a younger teammate and tells them what they need to hear at that moment. Advice, encouragement, strategy — whatever is needed, Johnson provides it.
He's appeared in five games, too, which makes his voice more powerful. He goes through the day-to-day grind of being a player. Sure, he's only played for 33 seconds outside of fourth quarters this season. But being a part of practices and sitting on the bench as a player means more to his teammates.
"He's a great person, great vet," Pacers second-year wing Kendall Brown said of Johnson earlier this season. "He's going to bring a lot of energy and toughness to the team."
The Pacers brought in Johnson in mid-December of the ongoing campaign. He was on the roster in 2022-23 as well, and the team puts significant value in what he brings off the floor. Bringing him back was important.
Johnson recently sat in the crowd with his son during the NBA All-Star game, and they were present at the end of a recent Pacers practice. As the veteran forward ages and becomes an important voice for the blue and gold, his family gets to witness it all.
In fact, when Johnson had his only dunk of the season, Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton pointed out how cool it was that it was in front of his sons. Last season, Johnson's son Naymin delivered him the game ball after an impressive performance in Detroit.
Now, Johnson's son is back in the spotlight again for a drawing he recently completed that ended up on Haliburton's shirt during a press conference.
In a conversation with AllPacers, Johnson — who recently changed his hair color because he was "just being me" — shared where the picture came from and how it made it onto a shirt. He also discussed many other topics about the team and his season.
Some questions have been edited for brevity and clarity.
AllPacers: Your son's drawing on the shirt. Did he draw that a long time ago? Why did you decide to make it a shirt?
James Johnson: "He actually drew it during All-Star break. He has an app on his iPad where you can get artistic. Craziest thing, he had no visuals. There's no picture of me doing any of that stuff. Him just imagining dad and drawing a picture."
AP: Were you happy [Haliburton] took it with him to do his media availability?
Johnson: "Oh man, come on. They (his sons) love [Haliburton]. They pretend that they're him more than they're me when they shoot."
AP: You went through the two 10-day contracts and now you're back again. You've had six contracts with this franchise in the last 16 months. What does that mean to you about your relationship with this team, and what does it feel like to trust them to be able to do all that and still keep you around?
Johnson: "It's an incredible honor. Just to be able to do your job at a high level, whatever your role is and get appreciated for it in this kind of way. You know, it's been more than just the contracts. It's just how they've been handling me. You know, talking to me, keeping me in the loop. To have me back to keep helping these young guys get better is the biggest payment of all. But you know, when you get those contracts, it really shows how much they appreciate you.
AP: You had a game last year in Indianapolis, then in Sacramento this year, where you were between contracts just sat in the crowd. What's that like? Is it weird at all? How do you handle that?
Johnson: "It's good for me to be able to sit and watch the team reactions. See different characters step up, see guys holding other guys accountable. You see guys that don't take it personal, you know everybody's solution-based on the bench. When you look at that, you just have to understand that we're understanding and we really tied in as a unit."
AP: What have you thought about the growth of this team since you got here? They had a really great stretch in early January and have been a little wobbly since. How have you felt about that?
Johnson: "That's basketball. That's a basketball season. You know, sometimes you get complacent and it's about how fast you're going to get back on the right track, and understand we still have a long way to go no matter how much we've already accomplished."
The veteran forward is averaging 0.8 points and 1.0 assists per game this season.
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