Marques Johnson is a living, breathing legend who has seen and experienced so many moments of greatness that his story could be part of a museum exhibit dedicated to telling LA basketball history from the 1970s to the 21st century.
From becoming the City Section Player of the Year at Crenshaw High in 1973 to playing on John Wooden’s last UCLA championship team in 1975 to being a five-time All-Star with the Milwaukee Bucks to shouting “Yes, baby!” As the radio announcer during Tyler Edney’s wonder buzzer-beater for UCLA in the 1995 NCAA tournament, Johnson is an LA sports institution.
Then there is his family. Son Kris was the City Player of the Year at Crenshaw in 1993 and a member of UCLA’s 1995 national championship team. Another son, Josiah, played for Montclair Prep, then attended UCLA and became a successful TV writer and star on social media. Another son, Joshua, is an actor.
The Johnsons are LA’s first basketball family and now a new era has begun as the first Johnson woman has made her high school debut.
“A new generation,” said Kris Johnson as he sat next to his father Marques. They watch the Windward debut of freshman Shiloh Johnson, Marques’ daughter. pic.twitter.com/gtBAs91a1H
— Eric Sondheimer (@latsondheimer) November 21, 2024
Shiloh Johnson, Marques’ 15-year-old daughter who paints her fingernails white and has a ponytail, is a 6-foot-4 freshman at Windward, and all her brothers claim that at her age she is more advanced than any of the boys before her.
Marques, 68, an Emmy-winning announcer with the Milwaukee Bucks, said his daughter has the same passion for basketball. She gets up at 5am for Kris’ lessons before going to school. She listens intently as he reminds her of all the great LA stars over the years, taking her to Crenshaw to work out in the gym and looking up at former coach Willie West’s sixteen championship banners. Marquest took her to a park in Inglewood where people like Reggie Theus, Paul Pierce and Byron Scott hung out.
“I’ve always considered myself the basketball storyteller who lived through 50 years of history,” Marques said. ‘I made sure she followed tradition. I want her to understand what this history of LA basketball greatness is about. She works hard to try to achieve her goal.”
Shiloh said she wasn’t serious about basketball growing up, playing at a Westchester recreation center while also trying tennis, golf and ballet. It was during the pandemic in 2020 when she started training with another brother, Cyrus, and her love for basketball took over.
“I feel it when I play. I have the drive to get better every day,” she says. “Watching my father and knowing his legacy is also part of it.”
Marques has shot Shiloh with Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo annually for the past seven years, showing her growth along the way. Shiloh said she didn’t realize early on what it meant to be around one of the NBA’s best players, but now understands how lucky she is.
“When I was younger I didn’t realize how big it was,” she said. “It was normal, a tradition every year, to go to the practice facility in Milwaukee. As I got older and especially when they won the championship in 2021, it was, ‘Wow, I have a big advantage.’ It’s really cool and useful to learn things and be involved. It’s cool to see my evolution.”
At Windward, Shiloh is one of six promising freshmen on the varsity team. Coach Rachel Shrout said her size and potential are numerous.
“I am proud of her progress and her work ethic,” she said.
Shiloh said this season is about adjusting to the high school game and focusing on her strengths: hustle and rebounding. She is someone who ‘locks herself up’ during games, but is also strict with herself. Kris helped her with the mental game. She is aware of the changes taking place in women’s football and the new opportunities that arise.
“I was involved in men’s sports when I was younger, but I always loved Candace Parker and followed JuJu Watkins through her high school career and saw her in the newspaper,” she said.
Kris and Marques were in the stands for Shiloh’s high school debut against Sage Hill last month. She started and played extensively, but did not score. Her focus was on fighting for rebounds, defending and hustling.
The Johnson family always has good timing. Marques was 6-foot-4 and was known as a swingman at a time when his size made him a defensive mismatch for guards and forwards. He got to play for Wooden’s last NCAA championship team. He was an announcer for UCLA’s last championship team under coach Jim Harrick and was present for Edney’s memorable full-court drive and basket to beat Missouri.
And now he has his first basketball-playing daughter in high school, at a time when the popularity of women’s basketball is skyrocketing.
Marques was asked what Wooden would say if he was around to see Shiloh.
“He thought women were fundamentally healthier than men,” Marques said. “He loved it. Coach Wooden would be pink. He loved Ann Meyers.”
One tradition Marques has is dipping every birthday. Since Shiloh says she’s still growing, could she join him for a father-daughter dunk one day?
“I hope so,” she said.
The Johnson family will support Shiloh on her basketball journey. It’s an LA story shared by so many over 50 who saw family members perform.
“I’m super honored,” Shiloh said. “I love my family.”
Sign up for the LA Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and an inside look at what makes prep sports so popular.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
