| Avery Johnson always knew he would get his chance. With his team trailing by one point and time winding down in game five of the 1999 NBA finals, Johnson got the opportunity every player has dreamed about since childhood: The shot to clinch the league championship. Johnson's jumper in the game's final seconds hit the bottom of the net, lifting San Antonio, his former team, over the New York Knicks.
"I'm humbled by that experience," said Johnson. "God could've assigned anybody to be in the corner at 19 feet away from the basketball to make that shot. I think He chose me for a reason."
NBA fans will long remember Johnson for that clutch shot that earned the Spurs their first-ever league title. But there was a long period of time when the scrappy point guard nicknamed "Little General" was anything but a household name.
Avery in his early years in the NBA were difficult and looked anything but promising. Despite setting several NCAA Division I records for assists while playing for Southern University, Johnson went untaken in the NBA draft. He finally got his opportunity to play in the NBA in 1989 when he landed in Seattle.
Over the next five seasons, Avery would get limited opportunities to play, getting cut three times and bouncing back and forth between eight teams. In 1994, the six-foot guard got another opportunity in San Antonio. There he found his niche, settling in as the Spurs floor leader. As a free agent Johnson now plays for Golden State.
"Even though it was a hard road, I continued to believe God," said Johnson. "It's not that things can work out, it's that they will work out."
And work out they have. Johnson has earned the reputation as one of the NBA's top play makers and has the utmost respect of those in the league. The veteran guard is a former winner of the NBA'S Sportsman Of The Year Award.
"I think a lot of your blessings come from the way you talk," said Johnson. "I always said, 'I'm going to be wealthy and prosperous, financially, mentally, with my family, professionally.' I always spoke it."
Johnson is always ready to back up whatever he says. "After you talk it, you have to put yourself in positions by making good decisions, especially how it applies to your Christian walk," he added.
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