Earlier this month, I joined other basketball fans at the iconic Gramercy Theater in New York City to watch Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson host Larry Johnson for a live taping of their All The Smoke podcast.
Knicks fans were eager to listen to LJ, who became a team hero with the famous “4-point play” and LJ arm salute during his five seasons with the team.
But what we got was more than we all expected.
Many forget just how good Johnson was coming out of UNLV. He was a national champion, tournament MVP, John Wooden Award winner and unanimous first-team All-American during his tenure with the Running Rebels.
He’s also, according to the university site, “The only UNLV player ever chosen No. 1 overall in a professional league draft.”
Johnson was the number one overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1991 NBA Draft and won Rookie of the Year that season. He was a 2x All-Star with the Hornets, averaging 19.6 ppg and 9.2 rpg during his five seasons with the team. Back problems plagued him during the rest of his career but he still played for ten years in the NBA.
Fans loved LJ in both Charlotte and NY. That love was evident in the Gramercy Theater as fans joked with the former power forward as he told us stories about his career, many of which no one knew about previously.
