UNC Basketball: Cameron Johnson finalist for Sixth Man of the Year Award

After a career year for the Phoenix Suns, former UNC basketball standout Cameron Johnson has been named a finalist for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.

When Cameron Johnson was selected as a lottery pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, many questioned the decision, believing that the former UNC basketball standout’s game wouldn’t translate to the professional level.

Now, three seasons into his NBA career, Johnson continues to prove all the doubters wrong.

Johnson has been named one of three finalists for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. The former Tar Heel is joined by Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat as well as Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers as this year’s finalists.

Over his time with the Phoenix Suns organization, Johnson has become a very valuable player in head coach Monty Williams’ rotation. Serving as the team’s sixth man this season, the Moon Township, Pennsylvania native played a big role in helping his team win a league-best 64 games.

Of course, we saw first-hand just how lethal of a shooter Johnson can be during his two years in Chapel Hill. After what he probably considers a “down year” during the 2020-2021 season in which he shot just 34.9 percent from three-point land, Johnson knocked down a career-high 42.5 percent of his attempts this season, which stands as the fourth-highest average in the entire league.

Johnson flat-out improved in essentially almost every statistical category. He set new career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, field goal percentage as well as free throw percentage.

If you’ve been able to watch the Suns play throughout the regular season, you most likely saw Johnson playing with that confidence he showcased during his UNC basketball days. As he continues to add NBA experience under his belt, the former Tar Heel continues to improve while helping the Suns continue their quest for a championship title.

It’s great to see Johnson representing the handful of former Tar Heels that are currently playing in the NBA. To think, there are some people out there that say the UNC basketball program doesn’t develop future NBA players!

We think Cam Johnson would like to have a word with those skeptics.

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