When Paris signed Alize Johnson, they got a player who fits perfectly into the style of play the French club has been cultivating over the past few years – a style that Maxime Lefevre is expected to continue using next season.
Alize Johnson was selected by the Indiana Pacers as the 50th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Over the course of his career, he also suited up for the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans, and San Antonio Spurs, racking up 82 NBA appearances. In the years that followed, he played in South Korea, Japan, and China, and now, at 30 years old, he is finally ready to test himself in Europe.
His skillset aligns seamlessly with Paris’ basketball philosophy. An elite rebounder with top-tier athleticism, his high school years – when a pre-growth-spurt Johnson was forced to play point guard – have paid dividends throughout his career. Capable of pushing the transition break immediately after securing a rebound without waiting to defer to a traditional playmaker, he brings an instant, natural boost to the team’s tempo.
He doesn’t rebound, he attacks glass with ferocity
The 30-year-old’s primary strength is his rebounding ability. Alize Johnson has built a career on a relentless, high-effort style of play that consistently makes a positive impact on his team’s performance – a trait every coach values.
He possesses an extraordinary instinct on the offensive glass. Simply put, he doesn’t rebound; he attacks the glass with a ferocity rarely seen in today’s game.
The time he has invested in honing this skill is immediately evident in the way he tracks his teammates’ misses, consistently generating second-chance opportunities off offensive rebounds. That relentless drive is universally appreciated and will undoubtedly prove invaluable as he transitions to European basketball.
Last season, Paris ranked fourth in the EuroLeague in total offensive rebounds (511) and sixth in offensive rebound percentage (34.3%) – despite playing significantly fewer games than the teams ranked ahead of them.
Alize Johnson fits seamlessly into the crash-the-glass mentality Paris has cultivated, making this signing look like a potentially major addition.
Element of surprise
Building on the previous point, Alize Johnson experienced a late growth spurt as a teenager, which forced him to play as a point guard during his early high school days.
That positional background proved to be a massive asset for his development over the years.
Unlike most big men, the American power forward has the ability to grab a defensive rebound and push the break himself without waiting to defer to his guards, adding an immediate element of surprise.
He also possesses enough court vision to locate open teammates. Naturally, this isn’t as a primary ball-handler, but rather as a decision-maker out of the short roll or high post.
Pairing him with a guard like Nadir Hifi is a match made in heaven. They will be able to feed off each other seamlessly – the French guard gains a reliable passing outlet who can use his elite athleticism to finish at the rim or kick it out to an open shooter when the defense collapses.
A tweener who can follow the path of greats
What held him back in the past – and ultimately prevented him from carving out a longer career in the NBA – was his physical profile.
Standing at 2.06 meters without a reliable three-point shot, he couldn’t play power forward in the NBA because he couldn’t stretch the floor, yet he was too undersized to play center despite his athletic tools.
However, that limitation shouldn’t be nearly as magnified in the EuroLeague.
Tweeners often thrive in Europe, frequently slotting in at the center position due to the relative lack of dominant physical specimens compared to the NBA.
Even more undersized bigs like Kyle Hines and Mike Batiste achieved stardom in European basketball by anchoring their teams with aggressive defense, relentless rebounding, and dependable rim finishing – traits that align directly with what Alize Johnson brings to the floor.
Unreliable shot
The primary flaw in his game, as noted, is the lack of a sufficiently consistent three-point shot, along with a general absence of a face-up game against traditional bigs that could otherwise allow him to create advantages.
His highest-percentage shooting season came in 2023/24 while playing in Puerto Rico for Atleticos de San German, when he converted 34.6% of his attempts – though on just 52 total shots.
A much better benchmark for what to expect in Paris is his 2024/25 season in Japan’s B.League with the Kawasaki Brave Thunders, where he shot 30% on significant volume (57/190).
While he isn’t expected to carry that same shooting volume in Paris, he could still serve as a respectable stretch option – particularly against teams anchored by heavy rim-protectors who will have to be forced out to the perimeter, while opening up drives to the basket for his teammates.
Final verdict
As noted, Alize Johnson fits seamlessly into the style of play Paris wants to run. His relentless energy aligns perfectly with the high-tempo rotations that have become a staple of the club in recent seasons.
Maxime Lefevre will be able to utilize him at both power forward and center – a motor who remains perpetually active on the offensive glass, ready to clean up misses or capitalize on dump-off passes with powerful dunks.
He won’t be expected to carry the team on his own, as he isn’t that style of primary option, and his production will largely depend on how the group functions around him. But if Paris plays well, there is no doubt Alize Johnson will be one of the most visible barometers of their success on the floor.
