A former NBA lottery pick is heading overseas.
Anadolu Efes, a Turkish professional basketball team, announced the signing of forward Stanley Johnson on a one-year deal.
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Johnson, 28, was selected with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. The University of Arizona product spent three and a half seasons with the Pistons, averaging 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals across 22.1 minutes per game.
At the 2019 trade deadline, Johnson was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in a three-team deal that also involved the Milwaukee Bucks. He appeared in just 18 games with the Pelicans before they declined his qualifying offer and he entered unrestricted free agency.
Johnson then signed with the Toronto Raptors, where he spent two seasons, averaging a combined 3.8 points per game. In Dec. 2021, Johnson signed a 10-day contract with the Chicago Bulls, but would never play a game for them. He then signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and ended up signing two more 10-day contracts before getting a two-year deal. Johnson would only play for the Lakers during the 2021-22 campaign, though, averaging 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
In the 2022-23 season, Johnson appeared in 30 games for the San Antonio Spurs. Last year, he was in the G League with the Stockton Kings.
Johnson is now heading to Turkey, where he’ll continue his basketball career. Across 449 games in the NBA, Johnson averaged 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 39.1 percent from the field, 30.5 percent from deep, and 74.8 percent from the free throw line.
Johnson has one career 30-point game, which came when he was with the Raptors at the end of the 2020-21 season. Johnson scored a career-high 35 points in that game to go along with 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
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Johnson is originally from Los Angeles, California. He went to Mater Dei High School and then to the University of Arizona, where he was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team member and a 2014-15 All-Pac-12 honoree. He was also the 2014-15 Pac-12 Rookie of the Year.
Johnson will now head to Turkey for a year, and potentially impress enough to earn a spot back in the NBA. Johnson is a great defender but has struggled to develop his shot, which has limited his playing time in the NBA.
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