Inside the Making of Stanley Johnson, Detroit Pistons’ Superstar-in-Waiting

As a rising star at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, Stanley Johnson might have stood in front of a mirror and seen something similar to LeBron James: a tall, thick frame—strong but not stocky, built but still growing. He might have seen a hooper in a tight end’s body, with an effective but unrefined game and a confidence that the former trumped the latter.

Johnson had James on the mind throughout his teenage years. He would hear stories about James from Mike Brown, James’ former NBA coach, whose son, Elijah, was Johnson’s high school teammate. In 2014, Johnson earned an invitation to the LeBron James Skills Academy, where he went right at James as a rising college freshman.

Fast-forward two years when, in the crescendo of his first NBA season with the Detroit Pistons, Johnson fielded the assignment of a lifetime: guarding James in a playoff series.

Johnson made his share of noise—some of it bizarre. After a 106-101 Game 1 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Johnson complained publicly about the preferential treatment he felt James received from the referees. Following a 107-90 blowout loss in Game 2, he called out James for a “cheap-ass bump” and for only talking smack when Cleveland was winning, per MLive.com’s Aaron McMann. The spat turned into a national story and made Johnson a target for scrutiny.

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“I know Stanley, and there was no disrespect intended out of it, because he knows who LeBron is, he knows what LeBron has accomplished and what he will continue to accomplish,” Brown told Bleacher Report. “It was just his competitive nature and his belief in himself and him probably trying to get his team going for that series and trying to get a win. That’s why he said it.

“But I kind of chuckled and said to myself, ‘Stanley, just keep quiet a little bit now and go try to win a game or two before you say anything.'”

The Cavaliers went on to sweep the Pistons out of their first postseason in seven years. James averaged 22.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists for the series. Johnson’s numbers were more modest—8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game—but his confidence never wavered.

“No stage is too big for him,” Pistons assistant Bob Beyer said. “Some guys shy away from that. He does not.”

“I’m trying to be great,” Johnson said. “I know I can get by in the NBA just doing the stuff I was doing last year, but I’m trying to take myself to a new level.”

Johnson arrived in the NBA as the No. 8 pick in the 2015 draft after hitting 37.1 percent of his threes during his lone year at Arizona, but his wonky form was a concern. So was his left hand, which didn’t get much use in Tucson.

Warts and all, Johnson secured a spot in Stan Van Gundy’s …

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