The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the “New Jersey Americans”.
Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today.
To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise’s jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. The 21st of those 52 different numbers is jersey No. 20, which has has had a total of 28 players wear the number in the history of the team.
The fourth of those players wearing No. 20 played in the (then) New York (now, Brooklyn) Nets era, big man alum Ed Johnson. After ending his college career at Tennessee State, Johnson was picked up with the 34th overall selection of the 1968 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics.
The Atlanta, Georgia native would play the first season of his pro career with the (defunct) Los Angeles Stars in the ABA, and was dealt to New York in 1969. His stay with the team would span parts of two seasons, coming to an end when he was traded again, this time to the (also defunct) Texas Chaparrals in 1972.
During his time suiting up for the Nets, Johnson wore only jersey No. 20 and put up 13.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets jersey history No. 20 – Ed Johnson (1969-72)