This former North Carolina Tar Heels star has been struggling mightily.
Few programs across the country have placed as many stars into the NBA as the North Carolina Tar Heels, and overall, North Carolina actually may be No. 1 in that department. After all, the Tar Heels gave us Michael Jordan.
However, in recent years, the talent pool from UNC has dipped just a bit, thanks much in part to NIL evening the playing field — at least among big-name schools — when it comes to recruiting.
In fact, there isn't a single North Carolina alum currently in the NBA that has made an All-Star team, which is truly astounding given how many great players have walked through the doors of Chapel Hill.
Regardless, there are still some solid UNC talents in the pros right now, and one of the most notable is Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson.
The Nuggets acquired Johnson in an offseason trade with the Brooklyn Nets, sending Michael Porter Jr. back to the Nets in the deal as they hoped to improve their defense and shake up a roster that has experienced some playoff disappointments since winning the NBA title in 2023.
However, the trade has not exactly panned out for Denver thus far.
Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson. Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images.In 11 games this season, Johnson is averaging just 7.2 points and 2.6 rebounds over 24.5 minutes a night on 37.2/21.1/81.3 shooting splits. To make matters worse, Johnson left the Nuggets' Wednesday night win over the Los Angeles Clippers with an arm injury.
Denver is 9-2 on the year thus far, so it's not like Johnson has affected the Nuggets negatively ... yet. But this has been absolutely miserable start for the 29-year-old, who registered 18.8 points per game while posting a true-shooting percentage of 63.2 percent last season.
Also, while Denver was hoping to improve its defense by swapping out Porter for Johnson, it's not like Johnson is known as an elite defender. He is passable; he's just quite a bit better than Porter, whose effort level on that end of the floor has always been dubious.
The point is it's not like Johnson is some all-world defender putting clamps on everyone where you can allow his pitiful offense to slide. Johnson's scoring ability is the most notable part of his game, and he has been horrendous in that department thus far.
Perhaps Johnson is just adjusting to his new team. It's not like he hasn't played meaningful basketball before, as he was part of a Phoenix Suns squad that made a run to the finals in 2021.
Whatever the case may be, Johnson — who led the nation in three-point percentage during his final season at UNC in 2018-19 — needs to get himself fixed, and fast.