BIO: Bijan Johnson was born in Houston, Texas (USA).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Bijan Johnson made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 21 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

After falling one win short of the NBL championship the previous season, Adelaide rebuilt following the departures of Mitch Creek (to Long Island Nets), Shannon Shorter (to Japan), Josh Childress (retired) and Matthew Hodgson (to Brisbane). Jacob Wiley (via Germany), Adris De León, Harry Froling (via Marquette) and Jack McVeigh (via Nebraska) were added, while Bijan Johnson (via Logan) joined the 36ers as a development player.

Johnson first saw court time against New Zealand on October 28, playing 1:06 off the bench and finishing with 0 points as Adelaide lost 114-94. Wiley (23 points) and Froling (20 points and 9 rebounds) led the 36ers, while Finn Delany (27 points and 5 rebounds) led New Zealand.

Johnson (0.8 points across 5 games) saw only brief opportunities as a development player and no injury was reported during the season.

Johnson’s best game came against Cairns on November 23, where he played three minutes and finished with 2 points and 1 rebound as Adelaide defeated the Taipans 109-95. Wiley (30 points and 4 rebounds) and Drmic (18 points and 7 rebounds) led Adelaide, while Trimble (23 points and 2 steals) led Cairns.

Johnson matched his season-high against New Zealand on December 30, scoring 2 points in 50 seconds as Adelaide defeated the Breakers 109-98. Daniel Johnson (28 points and 7 rebounds) and Sobey (21 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals) led the 36ers, while Shea Ili (19 points and 4 steals) was New Zealand’s leading scorer.

Johnson’s final appearance came against Melbourne on January 28, where he finished with 0 points in 1:17 as United defeated Adelaide 114-91. Sobey (24 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and Daniel Johnson (15 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led Adelaide, while Josh Boone (19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks) led Melbourne. Following incidents with DJ Kennedy and Mitch McCarron at the conclusion of the game, Bijan Johnson was charged with unduly rough play and unsportsmanlike behaviour by the NBL Game Review Panel.

Daniel Johnson (17 points and 6.8 rebounds across 28 games) and Sobey (16.1 points, 5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists across 28 games) led Adelaide and were both selected to the All-NBL Second Team. Wiley (12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds across 28 games), Conger (11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds across 19 games), Drmic (9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds across 28 games), Moore (9.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists across 19 games), Froling (7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds across 28 games) and Deng (7.6 points across 28 games) were the team’s other major contributors, with Froling named NBL Rookie of the Year.

Johnson did not play when Adelaide travelled to Perth for its final game on February 15 needing a win to guarantee a playoff berth. The 36ers led by as many as 16 points during the first half before Perth recovered to win 93-85, leaving Adelaide fifth with a 14-14 record after Brisbane advanced to the playoffs on points percentage.

2019/20
After finishing 14-14 and missing the playoffs on points percentage the previous season, Adelaide reshaped its roster following the departures of Nathan Sobey (to Brisbane), Jacob Wiley (to Spain), Majok Deng (to Cairns), Demitrius Conger (to Spain) and Shaun Bruce (to Sydney). Jerome Randle (via Sydney), Eric Griffin (via Israel), Kevin White (via Illawarra), Daniel Dillon (via Paris) and Obi Kyei (via Spain) were among the additions.

Bijan Johnson returned for his third season as a development player after appearing five times for Adelaide the previous year. Johnson had recovered from an ACL injury before the 2018/19 season and entered 2019/20 healthy after averaging 15.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists for North Adelaide during the offseason. “He’s probably one of the fastest players in the league,” Wright said while outlining Johnson’s development as a point guard.

Johnson (1 point across 4 games) remained outside Adelaide’s regular rotation and did not miss time because of a new injury, with his limited opportunities coming as a development player. He collected 2 steals in his first appearance against New Zealand on November 24 and scored in two of his four games.

Johnson’s best game of the season came against Cairns at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on February 8, where Johnson (2 points and 1 rebound) played two minutes. Daniel Johnson (14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists) and McVeigh (13 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led Adelaide, while Oliver (31 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) led Cairns to a 99-80 win which confirmed the Taipans’ place in the playoffs.

Randle (19.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists), Daniel Johnson (18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds), Griffin (14 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) and Drmic (10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds) carried most of Adelaide’s offence as the 36ers fell out of playoff contention.

Johnson did not play in Adelaide’s final game against Perth at RAC Arena on February 15, where Daniel Johnson (18 points and 11 rebounds) and McVeigh (16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led Adelaide and Kay (23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) led Perth to a 94-79 win as the 36ers finished seventh with a 12-16 record.

Bijan Johnson played two seasons with the Adelaide 36ers.