Throughout his NBA career, Cameron Johnson has maintained a solid reputation for being a good contributor and teammate. That has been the norm ever since he was a kid because he needed to learn how to be a good teammate to the rest of the team.
When Cam was growing up, he had to play with kids older than him, which meant he had to learn his role. He was not a big kid, so he worked on leveling the playing field through perimeter shooting.
"There came a point when everybody else was maturing, going through puberty, developing. And I just remained a little pipsqueak," Cam said on his days as a young basketball player.
"That really challenged me because I wasn't able to get in the lane and score as much… So what did I do? I'm gonna shoot a lot of threes. So I started to work on shooting."
Cam knew he could contribute with his shooting
In the mid-2000s, shooting was not as prevalent because the isolation play was still king. Names like Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady thrived with the ball in their hands as they broke down defenders. Shooters sat in their spots and waited for the ball to come to them.
As the years passed and basketball developed, players like Cam became much more valuable. The Pennsylvania native kept working on his shot, and that stayed with him ever since.
Johnson was a solid shooter throughout his days as an amateur player, but he shined in his final year in college at North Carolina when he scored 16.9 points per game on 45.7% from distance. That production drew NBA scouts' interest, with Cam ending up with the Phoenix Suns where he played several productive years before getting traded to the Nets.
Cam earned the respect of defenders
Since Cam entered the league in the 2019/20 season, he has been a respectable shooter. Johnson's worst shooting campaign was his sophomore year at 34.9% from distance, a touch under the league average of 35%.
In the current campaign, Cam is shooting 41.6% from beyond the arc, which makes defenses adjust to him. Coach Jacque Vaughn has made him a reliable tertiary scorer who thrives on kick-out passes, but he can also create shots for himself now.
Johnson has a four-year contract with the Nets until after the 2026/27 season. The 27-year-old is looking to make his mark on the organization as he embraces the city more and contributes to the team's success with his shooting.
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