Bio
Clay Johnson III was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, but has made Kansas City, Missouri his home since he was young. While attending Kansas City Manual High School, Johnson was named the top prep player in the Kansas City area and was presented the James A. Direana Award.
Johnson was a two-time NJCAA All-American selection while playing for the MCC-Penn Valley Scouts from 1974-76. He still stands in the top ten in the NJCAA record book for rebounds in a season and rebounds for a career. After his career in the NJCAA, Johnson started two seasons for the University of Missouri Tigers as a guard. He was named to the All-Big Eight men's basketball team his senior season. He was the leading scorer for the Mizzou Tigers in the 1977-78 season with 515 total points and 17.2 average points per game.
His professional career took him to a number of stops in the CBA and NBA. Originally drafted by the Portland Trailblazers he started playing professionally in the CBA with the Utah Pros and Hawaii Volcanos from 1979-1982 and then played in the NBA for three seasons. Johnson played on the 1982 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers team with superstar teammates Kareem Abdul Jabar and Magic Johnson. Another NBA season was spent playing for the Seattle Supersonics. Johnson finished his professional career playing for the Kansas City Sizzlers.
Since his professional career, Johnson has resided in the Kansas City area and has started the Clay Johnson Foundation which focuses on youth mentorship. Clay and his wife Vedia have four children.