Growing up, Larry Johnson had dreams of playing in the NBA. That dream would come true for the Texas native. Before he started his NBA career, he had a successful college career. He was a part of the 1990 UNLV national championship team.

When Johnson started his NBA career, he immediately had success. While Johnson enjoyed a nice playing career, he had his fair share of children, including multiple women.

Larry Johnson’s NBA career

The Charlotte Hornets selected Johnson with the first overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft. Johnson had a strong season as a rookie with the Hornets. He was a very physical player, and he had leaping abilities that separated him from a lot of other players in the league. Johnson competed in the 1992 Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie. At the end of his first season, he averaged 19.2 points, 11 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. His performance throughout the season allowed him to be named the Rookie of the Year.

Johnson established himself as one of the top young players in the league. In his second season, he made his first all-star team and was voted to start in the game. He was the first Hornets player in team history to star in an all-star game. In his second season, he averaged the most points of his career at 22.1 points per game. Johnson was also named to the All-NBA Second Team. In his first two seasons, Johnson was a double-double machine, and he became one of the top power forwards in the game.

He continued to be a dominant player for the Hornets. Johnson made his second and final all-star team in 1995. That season he finished averaging 18.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. After his time in Charlotte, Johnson was sent to the New York Knicks. In his first season with the Knicks, his production decreased, and he averaged 12.8 points, which was a career-low for him at the time. Though he did not have the same numbers that he did in Charlotte, he played a vital role with the Knicks’ 1999 Eastern Conference championship team.

Larry Johnson has five children by four different women

Johnson spent his final five seasons playing for the Knicks and would retire early due to chronic back problems he had faced throughout his career. He finished averaging 16.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.

Johnson had quite the romantic experience during his time in the NBA. With a total of five children, he can put together a starting lineup on the basketball court. One of his kids followed in the shadow of their father and pursued a basketball career. Johnson’s son, Larry Johnson Jr., played basketball at Clarion University, a Division II school in Pennsylvania.

Johnson had multiple children with different women, and that did not put him in a good situation financially. Johnson should have played in the league a little longer with the amount of child support that he had to play.

Larry Johnson went from No. 1 overall pick to filing for bankrupt

Johnson was once a top player coming into the NBA. There was a reason why he was the first overall pick in the NBA. He was the Naismith Player of the Year in college and won other awards after his college career.

In 2015, it was reported that Johnson filed for bankruptcy because of the child support payments he had with his children’s mothers. A lot changed for Johnson from the time he got into the NBA until the time he retired.