# Tyler Johnson (basketball)
**Tyler Johnson** (born 1992) is an American former professional basketball player, a 6-foot-3 (1.91 m), 186-pound guard who played nine professional seasons, most of them with the [Miami Heat](https://www.edgepedia.org/miami-heat) and [Phoenix Suns](https://www.edgepedia.org/phoenix-suns), and who is now an assistant coach at his alma mater, Fresno State.[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/204020/advanced) • [2](https://gobulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/tyler-johnson/4757) Undrafted out of Fresno State in 2014, he reached the NBA through the G League and a 10-day contract and became one of the league's better-paid role players of the late 2010s.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1992, Grand Forks, North Dakota[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/204020/advanced) |
| Physical | 6'3" (1.91 m), 186 lb (84 kg)[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/204020/advanced) |
| Draft status | Undrafted, 2014; signed with Miami after a strong 2014 Summer League[3](https://www.nba.com/news/suns-heat-johnson-anderson-ellington-trade) • [4](https://gobulldogs.com/news/2020/12/22/mens-basketball-three-dogs-on-2020-21-nba-rosters) |
| NBA debut | January 14, 2015, after a 10-day contract signed January 12, 2015[3](https://www.nba.com/news/suns-heat-johnson-anderson-ellington-trade) • [5](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsty01.html) |
| Career averages | 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists per game[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/204020/advanced) |
| Career earnings | At least $53,443,130[5](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsty01.html) |
| Teams | Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs[2](https://gobulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/tyler-johnson/4757) |
| Current role | Assistant coach, Fresno State men's basketball, under head coach Vance Walberg[2](https://gobulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/tyler-johnson/4757) |
## College career at Fresno State
Johnson played four seasons at Fresno State from 2010 to 2014 and emerged as a key leader for the Bulldogs, earning two All-Mountain West selections and finishing among the program's top performers in scoring, assists, and steals.[2](https://gobulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/tyler-johnson/4757) He scored 1,346 points in his four-year career; Fresno State's 2020 news release ranks him No. 17 on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list, while the program's coaching-staff biography places him 20th.[4](https://gobulldogs.com/news/2020/12/22/mens-basketball-three-dogs-on-2020-21-nba-rosters) • [2](https://gobulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/tyler-johnson/4757) He was a two-star high school recruit out of a mid-conference major, a background that shaped the skepticism he faced from NBA evaluators.[6](https://basketball.realgm.com/analysis/237402/Tyler-Johnson-Reveals-NBA-Promise-Shedding-Overseas-Label)
## Path to the NBA
Johnson went undrafted in 2014 and participated in training camp with the Miami Heat after a strong showing in that summer's [NBA Summer League](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-summer-league).[3](https://www.nba.com/news/suns-heat-johnson-anderson-ellington-trade) • [4](https://gobulldogs.com/news/2020/12/22/mens-basketball-three-dogs-on-2020-21-nba-rosters) He then played 15 games with the [Sioux Falls Skyforce](https://www.edgepedia.org/sioux-falls-skyforce) of the [NBA G League](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-g-league) (then the Development League) before Miami signed him to a 10-day contract on January 12, 2015; his NBA debut followed on January 14, 2015.[3](https://www.nba.com/news/suns-heat-johnson-anderson-ellington-trade) • [5](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsty01.html) A year earlier, a series of representation pitches and NBA advisory evaluation meetings had carried a persistent message that he was an overseas-level player; he converted a shuttle between Orlando and Las Vegas for Miami's 2014 summer league entry into the free-agent contract that started his NBA career.[6](https://basketball.realgm.com/analysis/237402/Tyler-Johnson-Reveals-NBA-Promise-Shedding-Overseas-Label)
## Miami Heat years
Johnson spent the first four and a half seasons of his career in Miami, where he became one of the grittier sixth men in the league, providing scoring punch off the bench.[7](https://www.nba.com/suns/features/tyler-johnson-embraces-sixthman-role-team-first-approach) When the February 2019 deal took place, Johnson had averaged 11.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game over his Miami career, converting 43.7 percent of his field-goal attempts and 36.7 percent from beyond the arc across 257 appearances, 56 of them starts; his 19 career bench performances of 20 or more points stood second in Heat franchise history.[3](https://www.nba.com/news/suns-heat-johnson-anderson-ellington-trade) His single-game peak came against Orlando on December 20, 2016, when he scored a career-high 32 points; on December 30, 2017, he scored 31 at Orlando and set a Heat record with 10 field goals in a single quarter.[3](https://www.nba.com/news/suns-heat-johnson-anderson-ellington-trade)
**The Brooklyn offer sheet.** On July 7, 2016, Johnson signed a four-year, $50 million offer sheet with the [Brooklyn Nets](https://www.edgepedia.org/brooklyn-nets).[8](https://www.shamsports.com/players/tyler-johnson/1)
## Phoenix and Brooklyn
On February 7, 2019, the Suns acquired Johnson and guard [Wayne Ellington](https://www.edgepedia.org/wayne-ellington) from Miami in exchange for forward Ryan Anderson.[3](https://www.nba.com/news/suns-heat-johnson-anderson-ellington-trade) In the 2018-19 season before the trade, Johnson averaged 10.8 points on 42.6 percent shooting from the field and 35.3 percent from three-point range, and in December 2018 he shot 50 percent (27 of 54) from three, the third-highest mark in the NBA for that month.[3](https://www.nba.com/news/suns-heat-johnson-anderson-ellington-trade) He moved into a starting role in Phoenix, then returned to the bench for the 2019-20 season and publicly embraced the sixth-man role on the revamped Suns roster.[7](https://www.nba.com/suns/features/tyler-johnson-embraces-sixthman-role-team-first-approach)
The Suns waived him in February 2020, and he signed with Brooklyn, where he fortified the Nets' guard depth with the ability to create, shoot from three-point range, and play either backcourt position.[9](https://www.nba.com/nets/news/feature/2020/07/16/tyler-johnson-is-a-brooklyn-net-after-a-winding-road) His career three-point percentage stood at 35.8 at that point.[9](https://www.nba.com/nets/news/feature/2020/07/16/tyler-johnson-is-a-brooklyn-net-after-a-winding-road) After a successful showing in the [2020 NBA Bubble](https://www.edgepedia.org/2020-nba-bubble), Brooklyn re-signed him, and he entered the 2020-21 season in his seventh NBA year.[4](https://gobulldogs.com/news/2020/12/22/mens-basketball-three-dogs-on-2020-21-nba-rosters) He later had stints with the [Philadelphia 76ers](https://www.edgepedia.org/philadelphia-76ers) and [San Antonio Spurs](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-antonio-spurs), and also competed overseas in the NBL, closing out a nine-year professional career.[2](https://gobulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/tyler-johnson/4757)
## Playing profile
Johnson was an athletic, two-way guard whose strengths were getting to the rim, playing off the ball within a team structure, and defending; scouting of his early career noted his aptitude for cutting at the right time and moving into space to receive the ball.[10](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/miami-heat-player-preview-tyler-johnson) • [9](https://www.nba.com/nets/news/feature/2020/07/16/tyler-johnson-is-a-brooklyn-net-after-a-winding-road) Brooklyn coach [Jacque Vaughn](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacque-vaughn) highlighted his ability to transfer knowledge between teams, from timely cutting to multiple efforts on the offensive end.[9](https://www.nba.com/nets/news/feature/2020/07/16/tyler-johnson-is-a-brooklyn-net-after-a-winding-road) His career NBA totals were 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/204020/advanced)
## Coaching career
Fresno State head coach Vance Walberg added Johnson to the Bulldogs' staff as an assistant coach, bringing him back to his alma mater with experience from his nine-year professional career.[2](https://gobulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/tyler-johnson/4757) "As a former Bulldog and a proven professional, Tyler brings tremendous knowledge, passion, and a deep connection to this program," Walberg said in the announcement; Johnson said he looked forward to being part of the program's transformation.[2](https://gobulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/tyler-johnson/4757)
## References
1. [Tyler Johnson | Guard | NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/204020/advanced)
2. [Tyler Johnson - Men's Basketball Coach - Fresno State](https://gobulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/tyler-johnson/4757)
3. [Suns acquire Tyler Johnson, Wayne Ellington from Heat | NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/suns-heat-johnson-anderson-ellington-trade)
4. [Three 'Dogs on 2020-21 NBA rosters - Fresno State](https://gobulldogs.com/news/2020/12/22/mens-basketball-three-dogs-on-2020-21-nba-rosters)
5. [Tyler Johnson Stats | Basketball-Reference.com](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsty01.html)
6. [Tyler Johnson Reveals NBA Promise Shedding Overseas Label - RealGM Analysis](https://basketball.realgm.com/analysis/237402/Tyler-Johnson-Reveals-NBA-Promise-Shedding-Overseas-Label)
7. [Tyler Johnson Embraces Sixthman Role with Team-First Approach | Phoenix Suns](https://www.nba.com/suns/features/tyler-johnson-embraces-sixthman-role-team-first-approach)
8. [ShamSports | Tyler Johnson Player Profile](https://www.shamsports.com/players/tyler-johnson/1)
9. [Tyler Johnson is a Brooklyn Net After a Winding Road | Brooklyn Nets](https://www.nba.com/nets/news/feature/2020/07/16/tyler-johnson-is-a-brooklyn-net-after-a-winding-road)
10. [Miami Heat player preview: Tyler Johnson | FOX Sports](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/miami-heat-player-preview-tyler-johnson)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › Basketball players and coaches (biographies) › NBA players, 2011–2018 › NBA guards, 2011–2018*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license