Meet Josiah Johnson, the former UCLA benchwarmer who became an NBA meme king
LOS ANGELES — Slouched deep into one corner of a velvety couch in his spare bedroom, bare feet propped on a matching ottoman, Josiah Johnson is searching for his big moment, like a point guard probing a defense.
His gameday attire includes a faded Seattle SuperSonics T-shirt. His laptop rests comfortably on his thighs, iPhone clutched in his right hand. His more than 232,000 Twitter followers are waiting.
The possibilities unfurl on a large flat-screen television in the opener of the NBA's Eastern Conference finals. Maybe he'll tweet about a celebrity in the crowd doing something funny. If Jayson Tatum continues to pile up points, maybe the Boston Celtics scorer also will star on Johnson's timeline.
Having played for UCLA in the early 2000s when the retired John Wooden would watch practices, kidding the benchwarmer about dribbling two balls as part of an ambidexterity drill when he could play with only one, Johnson has learned to be quick but never hurry.
Finally, as the crowd roars after Miami overtakes the Celtics with a massive third-quarter run, Johnson's got it.
He posts an image of white nationalists hoisting tiki torches during their notorious 2017 march on the University of Virginia. Caption: "Celtics fans right now."
Johnson's laugh fills the room in his Woodland Hills home. He knows the racial overtones that will
