When L.J. Ruled the City

By Sam Perley, hornets.com

Few players have come through the Charlotte Hornets organization and left a bigger impact from both a basketball and cultural standpoint than the legendary Larry Johnson. Taken with the first overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft more than 25 years ago, Johnson’s tenacious scoring and rebounding abilities were invaluable to the Hornets in their early years, but his influence off the court was just as important in transforming Charlotte into a big-time basketball city.

A 1987 McDonald’s High School All-American, Johnson spent two years at Odessa College in Texas – where he became the first and still the only player ever to win NJCAA Division 1 Player of the Year honors…