Joe Johnson, a 17-year NBA veteran, last suited up in the league for the Rockets during the 2017/18 campaign. Since then, the 38-year-old has grieved the passing of his mother, which cast doubt on his future as a professional basketball player.
In an exclusive interview with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, this year’s BIG3 Most Valuable Player opened up about his decision to join the league and how it’s helped him cope. Johnson, who is reportedly set to work out with several NBA teams, could become the second BIG3 player ever to land an NBA deal.
Check out some highlights below:
On why he chose to join the BIG3:
“I use it as therapy. My mom passed away in February, and being an only child, it was tough on me, so I just needed something to do to keep me busy. And the BIG3 was it.”
How Ice Cube helped facilitate his BIG3 jump:
“Cube knew my whole situation before I committed to it. I was telling him, ‘Man, I don’t know if I am going to do it, Cube, because I am going through this with my mom’s [death]. And he gave me as much time as I needed.”
On the BIG3 being a potential way to get back to the NBA:
“I am hopeful to get back, but I did not get in the BIG3 to get back to the ‘league.’ I had a great career. I enjoyed the process. The only thing that keeps the NBA fire in the belly is how it ended in Houston. That just does not sit well with me. So if an opportunity comes along and I feel that it is worth it, yeah, I take that chance.”
Who was the first to go from the big3 back to the nba?
According to the Marc Spears article, it was Xavier Silas but it was just a 10-day contract.
Ah that’s prolly why I don’t remember that
It only took 10 games for the Rockets to figure out that he could no longer play at an NBA-level after the Thunder stuck it out for an entire season.
Melo that is. It’s easy to confuse him with Joe Johnson.
The first player was actually josh Childress