“KJ”
∗ Born March 1, 1966 in Sacramento, California
∗ Graduated from Sacramento High School, where he played basketball (as well as baseball); during senior year, his 32.5 points per game scoring average was highest in the state; named Northern California Player of the Year
∗ Earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and played basketball at the University of California at Berkeley; named twice to All-PAC 10 Conference team; at the time was the school’s all-time leader in scoring, assists and steals; was first player in PAC-10 to post a triple-double in a game; first Berkeley men’s basketball player to have his jersey retired (#11)
∗ Drafted by Cleveland Cavaliers in 1987 (seventh pick overall); played limited minutes as backup point guard
∗ Traded to the Phoenix Suns midway through his first season; excelled as playing time increased; named NBA Rookie of the Month in April 1988; named Most Improved Player the following season
∗ Sparked the Suns‘ turnaround and launched a new era of winning; during his first seven full seasons Phoenix won the most regular season games of any NBA team and was the only club to win at least 50 each year; Suns made the playoffs every year of his 11 full seasons with the team
∗ Named to the NBA All-Star team in 1990, 1991, 1994; named to All-NBA Team five times
∗ Suffered a hernia while famously attempting to lift obese teammate Oliver Miller off the ground in 1992; injury went undiagnosed and led to a second undiagnosed hernia in 1995, which caused other muscle strains that hampered him the rest of his career
∗ Led “Dream Team II” in assists in 1994 FIBA World Championship, where the US won the gold medal
∗ Retired after 1997-1998 season, but returned to the Suns briefly in 2000 to replace injured Jason Kidd during the playoffs; remains the Suns’ all-time leader in free throws made, free throws attempted, assists in a season, assists average in a season, and assists in a game
∗ Inducted into the Phoenix Suns’ Ring of Honor in 2001, with his jersey (#7) retired
∗ Founded the Kevin Johnson Corporation, which includes real estate development and management, sports management, business acquisitions, and his own public speaking engagements
∗ Founded St. HOPE (Helping Others Pursue Excellence) in 1989, an after-school program for kids in his native Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento; expanded into a nonprofit community development organization to “revitalize communities through public education, civic leadership, economic development, and the arts”; projects include renovating historic properties and creating a charter school system (pre-kindergarten through 12th grade) that has expanded to Harlem; ultimately the group assumed control of his alma mater, Sacramento High, operating it as a charter school
∗ Honored as a Point Of Light recipient by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 for his concern and compassion for children and education; named one of the 15 Greatest Men on Earth by McCalls magazine; inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame
∗ Elected mayor of Sacramento, California in 2008, beating the two-term incumbent; launched major initiatives including education reform and reading programs, diversifying economic development, reducing energy consumption, reducing gang violence, ending homelessness
∗ Engaged in 2009 to well-known education reform activist Michelle Rhee; married in 2011; together they are national leaders in promoting charter schools
∗ Re-elected in 2012 with nearly 59% of the vote
∗ Led campaign to prevent the NBA’s Sacramento Kings from relocating by pushing through public funding for a new downtown arena in 2013; played significant role in negotiating the exit of Los Angeles Clippers controversial owner Donald Sterling in 2014
∗ Was founding chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Public Schools Task Force and co-chair of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s Mayoral Advisory Council
∗ Named in sexual assault allegations in 1995 (in Phoenix) and 2007 (in Sacramento), which were never prosecuted; involved in a 2007 settlement in which St. HOPE agreed to pay more than $400,000 to the federal government’s AmeriCorps program for spending irregularities
∗ Resigned as president of the National Conference of Black Mayors in 2013 following an internal power struggle; set up rival African American Mayors Association, becoming its president
∗ Elected president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2014
∗ Decided in 2014 that he would not seek a third term as Sacramento mayor after voters rejected his ballot measure to strengthen the powers of the mayor’s office; named in further sexual harassment allegations in 2015; left office when term expired in December 2016
∗ Continues to live in Sacramento