Dennis Johnson was a favorite in Boston where he played on two NBA championship teams. He was respected in Texas as coach and mentor to players aspiring to reach the levels he did. Former teammates and opponents remembered him as someone who gave everything to the game he loved. Johnson died Thursday, collapsing after his developmental team's practice. He was 52.
"Dennis was just an awesome player," his former Celtics coach K.C. Jones said. "He played hard and he took the big shots."
Johnson, coach of the Austin Toros, was talking with a team staff member when he collapsed outside the Austin Convention Center. He was unconscious and in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived, said Warren Hassinger, spokesman for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for 23 minutes before he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, Hassinger added. Mayra Freeman, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, said there will be an autopsy.
The Toros postponed home games Friday and Saturday nights, the NBA Development League said.
A five-time All-Star and one of the NBA's top defensive guards, Johnson was part of the last Boston dynasty. He spent 14 seasons in the league and retired after the 1989-90 season. He played on title teams with the Celtics in 1984 and 1986 and with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979, when he was the NBA finals MVP. (read the rest)
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