Josiah Johnson: The Man Behind The Viral Tweets That Make You Laugh

Josiah Johnson is not your average Twitter user. He is a former UCLA basketball player who became an NBA meme king with his witty and humorous tweets about sports, culture and politics. He has over 246,000 followers and has worked with celebrities like LeBron James, Kevin Hart and Colin Kaepernick. He is also the co-founder of ANTI-, a rock band that has released two albums and toured with artists like The Lumineers and The Head and the Heart. In this article, we will explore how Johnson rose to fame, what he is working on now and why he loves making people laugh.

From Benchwarmer to NBA Star

Johnson was born in Seattle in 1981 and grew up playing basketball at his local park. He attended Westlake High School, where he led his team to three state championships. He then enrolled at UCLA in 1999, where he played for three seasons as a reserve guard. He was known for his hustle, defense and leadership skills, but not for his scoring ability. He averaged only 2.4 points per game in his career.

Johnson’s best moment came during a practice session in 2002, when he was jokingly told by legendary coach John Wooden to dribble two balls at once as part of an ambidexterity drill. Johnson could only play with one ball at a time, but he decided to have some fun with it anyway. He dribbled both balls simultaneously while making funny faces and gestures. Wooden was amused by his creativity and praised him for it.

Johnson’s joke caught the attention of ESPN’s SportsCenter reporter Chris Broussard, who featured him on air as an example of UCLA’s benchwarmers who could make their mark in the NBA with their humor and personality. Johnson’s tweet about it went viral and gained him thousands of new followers.

From Social Media Star to TV Producer

Johnson continued to tweet about basketball, pop culture and current events from his home in Woodland Hills, California. He often made jokes about celebrities like LeBron James (known as King James), Kevin Hart (known as King Kev) and Colin Kaepernick (known as Colin K). He also commented on social issues like racism, police brutality and politics.

Johnson’s tweets often sparked reactions from other NBA players, coaches and fans who either agreed or disagreed with him. Some of them even responded to him directly or retweeted his posts. Johnson enjoyed interacting with them and creating viral moments.

One of Johnson’s most famous tweets was posted on June 1st, 2022, during the NBA Eastern Conference finals between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics. He tweeted an image of white nationalists hoisting tiki torches during their notorious 2017 march on the University of Virginia with the caption: “Celtics fans right now.” The tweet went viral again as many Celtics fans expressed their outrage over it while many Heat fans defended it or found it funny.

Johnson said that he posted that tweet because he wanted to make fun of both sides of the controversy without taking sides himself. He said that he likes to play devil’s advocate sometimes because it makes people think differently or laugh at themselves.

Johnson also used Twitter to promote his other projects besides being a meme king. He hosted NBA podcasts called “The King Show” where he interviewed NBA players like Chris Paul, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler. He also wrote for Netflix’s series “Colin in Black & White” that depicted the rise of NFL star turned social justice crusader Colin Kaepernick and he co-founded ANTI-, a rock band that released two albums: “The Head & The Heart” in 2015and “The Head & The Heart II” in 2018.

From Rock Star to Social Media Influencer

Johnson said that one of his goals as a musician was to create music that resonated with people emotionally rather than just musically. He said that he wanted to write songs that spoke to people’s feelings rather than just facts or opinions. He said that he learned from artists like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and U2 who were able to connect with their audiences through their lyrics.

Johnson said that one of his biggest influences as a musician was comedian Dave Chappelle, who is known for his hilarious stand-up routines where he tackles topics like race relations, politics and pop culture with satire and sarcasm. Johnson said that Chappelle taught him how to use humor as a weapon against injustice rather than just entertainment.