Dennis Johnson dead at 52 (one of the Celtics greats)

[Hawkeye-X]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2775430

AUSTIN, Texas -- Former NBA star Dennis Johnson died Thursday, the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office said. He was 52.

Johnson, who was part of three NBA champions, two with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics, had been coaching the Austin Toros of the NBA Developmental League.

The cause of death is not known.

[sniffa]

1. noooooooooooooo

:cry:

great pLayer. probabLy the most freckLed ever, too.

[flamingyouth]

2. *sniff*

This is very sad news. I remember him so fondly from the '79 Sonics championship season. RIP. :cry:

[Phredicles]

5. Rest in Peace and Thanks, Dennis:

[Howardx]

12. that was a great year!

n/t

[PDittie]

27. 1979 was the year he was drafted, right?

Sonics won the Finals and DJ was MVP IIRC. Not bad for a rookie.

[graywarrior]

3. Oh, man!

That is sad.

[brentspeak]

4. A great player

DJ was tough as nails, and as clutch a late-gamer as ever played the game. RIP.

[newscott]

6. Thank you for the joy you brought DJ!

My thoughts go out to his family. So sad, so young.

[MadHound]

7. As a lifelong Lakers fan, possessing an undying hatred of all things Celtic

I tip my hat and bow my head in respect for a fine player, a great foe, and an all around great player. RIP Dennis, you helped make eighties basketball into a Golden Age.

[edbermac]

8. Holy shit!

Mid-eighties Celtics were one of the best teams in NBA history. Parrish, Bird, McHale, DJ, Maxwell...

Anyone have a clue how he died? Was he ill recently?

[H2O Man]

9. From AP ....

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Dennis Johnson, the star NBA guard who was part of three championship teams and combined with Larry Bird in one of the great postseason plays, died Thursday after collapsing at the end of practice while coaching a developmental team. He was 52.

Johnson, coach of the Austin Toros, was unconscious and in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived at Austin Convention Center, said Warren Hassinger, spokesman for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for 23 minutes before he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, Hassinger added. Mayra Freeman, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, said there will be autopsy. ....


Sad news. As a long-time NY Knick fan, I always respected and admired him.

[MaineDem]

10. Those were great teams

RIP, DJ!

[malmapus]

19. Man I even remember that lineup from my childhood

Rest In Peace, thanks for the memories

[Mabus]

23. The first game my husband and I watched on ESPN Classics

was the 1987 Laker-Celtics play-off game. DJ played a big role in that game. He guarded Magic. That was a great team.

[Howardx]

11. oh man!

i remember him from the sonics! damn

[mikeargo]

13. RIP DJ

You played the game with such joy

[BootinUp]

14. One of my favorite Celtics

and I hate the Celtics.

RIP DJ, now you're in really in the big game.

[OhioChick]

15. Wow...

What a surprise. RIP DJ.

[hadrons]

16. His best years were with the Suns, but he had a bigger impact with the Celtics

RIP

[cureautismnow]

17. So Young. So Sad.

As a huge Dr. J/76ers fan, I loathed the day the Celtics hoodwinked the Suns into exchanging Rick Robey for DJ. That was one of the ABSOLUTE worst trades in NBA history - at least for all non-Celtic fans! RIP, DJ. You were one helluva competitor. O8)

[Skink]

18. Yeah then we got Parish and McHale in one swoop suckers.

[Forkboy]

20. Like most atheletes I have no idea what kind of person he really was

But he always struck me a good guy,and I sure as hell enjoyed his years here in Beantown.

Sad news,and my best wishes to his family.

[DemoTex]

21. RIP DJ!

Strip heavens' nets, when you get there.

[oasis]

22. I remember when Celtic's Larry Bird stole an inbounds pass and fed it to DJ for

the winning score at the buzzer. The Celtics went on to defeat the Detroit Pistons and advance to the championship round.

Rest in peace Dennis.

[PDittie]

26. 1987, game 5

"Bird stole the ball! Bird stole the ball!" -- Johnny Most

One of the most played-and-replayed highlights in NBA annals. Very few would remember who won the game that day with his bucket if he hadn't passed away yesterday.

[Gman]

24. DJ was a thorn in the Spurs' side when the Spurs were in the Eastern Conference

some great games with Boston back then.

[jobycom]

25. Shockingly sad. Great player, reportedly a good person, too. RIP, DJ.

[ItNerd4life]

28. Was that the year they had DJ and VJ?

Don't remember exactly. I remember Downtown and Sikma. I remember attending the parade downtown, skipping part of school. Best part, it was SUNNY that day! Don't tell my parents I skipped part of school. :)