FILE – Joe Johnson #24 of the Detroit Pistons plays against Orlando Magic during a preseason game at Little Caesars Arena on October 07, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP
Joe Johnson reunited Wednesday with his first NBA team, the Boston Celtics.
ESPN said the 40-year-old swingman agreed to a 10-day contract with the Celtics. He played two minutes and scored two points in Wednesday night’s 111-101 win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
Boston has seven players in COVID-19 health and safety protocols and needs depth.
"Iso Joe doing his thing" to close out the @celtics win! pic.twitter.com/z88AhLEzfy
— NBA (@NBA) December 23, 2021
“It’s great to be back here 20 years later.”@TheJoeJohnson7 on his first game back in Boston. pic.twitter.com/3Nv8h2CMPP
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 23, 2021
Teams across the league have scrambled to sign players as COVID cases have climbed, but few share Johnson’s lofty credentials. He is a seven-time All-Star who has scored more than 20,000 career points in 17 seasons.
The Celtics drafted Johnson out of Arkansas with the No. 10 overall pick in 2001. He appeared in 48 games with Boston before he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in a deal that sent Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers back to Boston.
Johnson went on to garner six All-Star selections with the Atlanta Hawks and one more with the Brooklyn Nets.
In 1,276 career games (1,091 starts), Johnson has averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He last played in the NBA in October 2019 as a member of the Detroit Pistons.
The next year, Johnson began playing in the BIG3 league that was founded by Ice Cube.