Why Clay Johnson relished in Michael Porter Jr. joining him as NBA champs from Mizzou

Clay Johnson vividly remembers taking one solitary moment just for himself.

On June 8, 1982, in The Forum's locker rooms, Johnson stood on a stool and overlooked the spraying champagne, the jubilee and the basketball history made.

"I just looked over the whole locker room and I was just thinking, 'Oh my God, I can't believe I am here,'" Johnson told the Tribune. "This is the world championship."

Johnson was an NBA world champion with the 1982 Los Angeles Lakers, a part of the "Showtime Lakers" dynasty. He, along with Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and others, had defeated Julius Erving's Philadelphia 76ers in six games.

That was the last time a former Missouri men's basketball player had reached the peak of professional basketball. Until June 12, 2023, when former Missouri men's basketball player Michael Porter Jr. won the 2023 NBA title with the Denver Nuggets last Monday.

Johnson was glad and happy to see Porter join him as former MU players to reach that peak.

Porter is the first former Missouri men's basketball player to win an NBA championship as a player since Johnson won his with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982. Other former MU players Med Park and Win Wilfong won an NBA championship in 1958 with the then-St. Louis Hawks, when the NBA was just an eight-team league. The St. Louis Hawks eventually became the Atlanta Hawks.

There was a 41-year gap between the moments when a former Tiger reached basketball's mountain top. Johnson was rooting for Porter.

"I was really pulling for Michael Porter since he's from Mizzou," Johnson said. "Of course, I was a Denver fan anyway going into the game, but then it made it a little extra that he was on the team."

Johnson was a Tiger for two seasons from 1976 to 1978. Before that, he played in junior college for the MCC-Penn Valley Scouts from 1974-76. Johnson still holds top-ten spots in the NJCAA record book for rebounds in a season and career rebounds.

Following his time as a Scout, he transferred to MU. In the 1977-78 season, Johnson was the Tigers' leading scorer with 515 total points, averaging 17.2 points per game.

The memories came back to Johnson as the TV broadcasts mentioned Porter's journey. From Porter's time at Missouri to the struggles with injuries and, finally, to the championship stage, Johnson began reminiscing about his own journey.

"I pulled out my pictures and I saw the trophy presentation when Kareem had the trophy," Johnson said. "I was standing right next to him and we got a picture of that. I'm standing right next to Kareem, holding the trophy up, and there I am right there next to him, coming from Mizzou."

Every player that's won an NBA championship has their own journey to get there, and Johnson holds on to his own journey fondly.

He was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers in 1978 but didn't make the team. He played in the Continental Basketball Association for three years before arriving with the Lakers. On a team headlined by Hall of Famers and All-Stars, Johnson's journey had satisfaction written all over it because all the work he put in throughout his lifetime had paid off.

"You gotta pay your dues, you gotta put in that work," Johnson said. "You gotta go through trials and tribulations. That's what an NBA championship drive is all about."

Johnson saw all those trials and tribulations validated when he looked over that championship locker room while standing on his stool back in 1982. Now, he's found joy in seeing another Missouri player reach that same height.

Johnson also enjoys the company that Porter brings now as a world champion.

Johnson said Paul Distefano, a basketball coach in the Kansas City area who coached basketball with Johnson at Park Hills South High School, called him up and asked a trivia question he had seen on social media: which former Missouri Tigers have won an NBA Championship.

Distefano knew of Porter, he had just won it days earlier. He couldn't remember Johnson was another.

"He's like, 'I knew it was him,'" Johnson said. "'But I couldn't think of you.'"

Now, Johnson has company, not just in trivia games but in the basketball brotherhood of players who have won an NBA championship.

The feeling of winning a championship has never left Johnson, but it's still difficult to completely describe.

"You say you are the best in the world," Johnson said. "The rings say world champs, not just district champs or high school champs."

It takes a different meaning when it's a world championship, however. Johnson is now elated he can share that with another Missouri Tiger.

"You're on top of the world," Johnson said.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Why Clay Johnson relished in Michael Porter Jr. joining him as NBA champs from Mizzou