Eddie Johnson used to run.



Back when he was in elementary school in Bunnell, Florida, a bully used to chase Johnson after school to try to beat him up. So Johnson ran. And ran. And ran.



“You know,” he says, his arms crossed as he sits back against a bench in a restaurant in Orlando last month. “I got tired of being chased.”



Eventually, Johnson recalls, he worked up the courage to face down the bully. It was his first bout of survival, and it became the mentality that defined him as a player. If you want something, you have to fight to get it. Stand up for nothing or fall for anything, as he puts it.



And so he fought. With the owners he felt didn’t pay him what he was worth. With the teammates who didn’t give him the ball. With the establishment who didn’t respect him. It is the mentality that turned Johnson into one of the most talented players of his generation. It’s also what made him a...