Eddie Johnson did a lot of good things on the court during his 17 years as one of the NBA’s premier sharpshooters.
Now he’s focused on making his mark off it.
The longtime guard and current Phoenix Suns commentator is in the midst of a three-day charity event to help low-income single moms get to college.
Johnson had a celebrity golf round on Thursday morning at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, and will host a poker game on Friday evening, followed by a gala on Saturday evening.
“There is no U-Haul behind the hearse,” Johnson told Heavy. “You’ve got to leave as much behind as you can. I want people to miss me. The only way to do that is to be a good person and give back as much as you can.”
Celebrities such as Larry Fitzgerald, Julius Erving, Byron Scott and others are slated to attend, and all the proceeds will go to a cause that is near and dear to Johnson’s heart.
“I come from a single-parent household,” Johnson said. “My mom raised seven kids. She’s 97 right now, so God is rewarding her for all the things she had to give up in her life to raise us. What we’re doing is trying to make sure that these moms have the opportunity to be the hero in their life. Not be restricted from going to school. We’re trying to build things around them that will help them get up in the morning to go to school. It’s helping them with their cars or whatever it is so they can become that hero.
“My mom loved art. She would have loved to have gone to art school, and she wasn’t able to do it. She had to get up every morning and go to the post office. I’d rather have parents and moms be idolized in their home than Eddie Johnson being the idol, or Dr. J, Julius Erving, who is here today, being the idol. We want the parent to be the idol.”
Johnson said he has raised more than $3 million during the 12 years he has been hosting these events, and said 2026 is the biggest one yet.
Former NBA Stars Happy To Help Worthy Cause
Scott, who played for the Showtime Lakers and coached several NBA teams, says he’s gotten to know Johnson closely over the past few years and was eager to lend his name to the cause.
“It’s an extremely cool thing,” Scott told Heavy. “There are so many kids, especially in our community, so many African-American kids who grow up without a father. What Eddie is doing to help single mothers is admirable. We’re all here behind him 110 percent to try to help him as much as possible.”
Longtime NBA veteran Tyrone Corbin said the cause means a lot to him, as he was raised by a single mother.
“To see the work he’s doing to give these families an opportunity touches my heart,” Corbin said. “It’s exciting to be a part of it.”
Ex-NBA players Scott, Corbin, Erving, Tim Kempton and Mark West were among those who participated in the golf round on Thursday, as did ex-Arizona Cardinals receiver Frank Sanders.
Johnson said he was not surprised to see such support.
“They’re friends of mine, and that’s what friends do,” Johnson said. “It’s a fraternity in sports, in basketball. We understand what we had to go through to get all the good things we have gotten.”
Ex-Suns Star Raises Funds to Send Single Moms to College