Few players have made as much of an impact in the Denver community as Ervin Johnson has over the years.
Although Johnson only played for the Nuggets for one season during his 13-year career in the NBA, he currently serves as a community ambassador for the team and can regularly be found hosting youth basketball clinics across the city and state of Colorado.
Johnson uses his platform as a community ambassador to spread the game of basketball to local communities, using clinics to help teach children the fundamentals of the sport, all while providing life advice for developing minds.
“I have known Ervin Johnson since he and his dear family moved to Denver,” said Lisa Johnson, the Nuggets’ VP of Basketball Administration. “He is one of the best human beings I know and one of my favorite people. He has taken his experiences of the NBA and his personal ones to share in the community on a regular basis. His impact is felt continuously throughout all of this city.”
Helping the community has long been a passion of Johnson, a graduate of the University of New Orleans.
Throughout his career, Johnson was involved with several NBA community initiatives. Most notably, he participated in a USO tour to Kuwait with fellow NBA players Troy Hudson and Mark Madsen in the summer of 2003. His commitment to the community also earned Johnson the NBA Community Assist Award in 2003.
Following the completion of his general studies degrees during the 1996-97 season, Johnson served as the school’s commencement speaker and later donated $100,000 to the school during that year toward the building of the Ervin Johnson Fitness Center.
“When Ervin speaks I am always moved by his motivation and his stories,” Johnson said. “It is a privilege to call him my friend.”