Larry Johnson was drafted first overall out of UNLV in the 1991 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets.

He lived up to the hype from the off, winning Rookie of the Year in his first season and coming second in the 1992 Slam Dunk Contest.

Johnson was a dominant force early in his careerCredit: Getty

The first Hornets player ever to make an All-Star game, he went by the nickname ‘Grandmama’ after appearing in a series of commercials for Converse.

Johnson was a 6ft 7in, 235-pound power forward and a matchup nightmare which earned him a then-record 12-year, $84 million contract in 1993.

The day he signed — October 6, 1993 — is famously the first time Michael Jordan announced his retirement from the NBA.

“That was a great surprise,” Johnson said. “Mike is a better person than he is a basketball player.

“By Mike retiring now, I can honestly come out and say he was always the idol of mine—the best player to ever play this game.

“If I can have half as much success as he has had, I’ll be all right. The contract I got would not have been possible without Michael Jordan.

“I have a lot to thank that guy for, and if he were here today, I would thank him for everything he has done for the NBA.”

Johnson missed 31 games after spraining his back in December 1993, forcing him to try and develop an all-round game and improve his outside shooting.

He made 81 3-pointers in the 1994-95 season — 60 more than in his first three combined — to make his second, and final, All-Star Game.

After being traded to the New York Knicks in 1995, his form trailed off but Johnson managed to play an important role in the team’s run to the NBA Finals in 1999 — the last time the franchise made it to that stage — which included an iconic four-point play on the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals.

Back injuries forced him to change his gameCredit: Getty

Johnson helped the Knicks into the NBA FinalsCredit: AFP

The Texan hooper retired as a Knick in 2001 after years of chronic back pain.

Alongside his career on the court, he made successful forays into TV, appearing on the Grandmama episode of the sitcom Family Matters in 1993, where he became Steve Urkel’s teammate for a basketball tournament.

Johnson was one of the players who had their abilities stolen by aliens in the 1996 Hollywood hit Space Jam.

In 2024, he shared a brilliant anecdote about working with Jordan on the film on the All the Smoke podcast.

After Johnson was given a bowl cut instead of a fade by a rogue barber, fellow star Muggsy Bogues saw him in his trailer and went to get the rest of the cast.

“I ain’t ever seen Michael Jordan like this before, he was on the floor laughing,” recalled Johnson.

The former NBA star filed for bankruptcy in 2015 with TMZ reporting that he cited $300,000 in debts.

In 2017, the New York Post reported that Manhattan dentist Sheldon Nadler sued Johnson over an unpaid $2,700 bill dating to 2015.

Nadler’s attorney, David Jaroslawicz, claimed that Knicks fans could step up to help him pay.

“I’m sure the fans, if they knew he was broke, would probably take up a collection,” Jaroslawicz said.

Per court records, Johnson emerged from bankruptcy in January 2016 with $7,500 in the bank having sold a mansion he owned in California.

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He still works for the Knicks having been appointed as a Basketball and Business Operations Representative.

And now he will watch the team trying to return to the Finals some 26 years after his 4-1 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

New York — led by Jalen Brunson, whose dad played for the Knicks in 1999 — will face off against the Pacers.