Jason Kapono

Jason Kapono

Kapono while with the Raptors.
No. 28   Los Angeles Lakers
Small forward / Shooting guard
Personal information
Date of birth	February 4, 1981 (1981-02-04)
Place of birth	Long Beach, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College	UCLA (1999–2003)
NBA Draft	2003 / Round: 2 / Pick: 31st overall
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Pro career	2003–present
Career history
2003–2004	Cleveland Cavaliers
2004–2005	Charlotte Bobcats
2005–2007	Miami Heat
2007–2009	Toronto Raptors
2009–2011	Philadelphia 76ers
2011–present	Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
NBA Champion (2006) 2× NBA Three-Point Shootout champion (2007–2008) 4× All-Pac-10 Conference first team (2000–2003)
Stats at NBA.com

Jason Alan Kapono (born February 4, 1981) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft, Kapono later also played for the Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers. He twice led the NBA in three-point field goal percentage, and he also won the NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout twice.

Kapono played college basketball at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He was the first player in the school's history to earn First Team All-Pac-10 honors for four years and was also the first UCLA player to lead the team in scoring four straight years.

Early life

Kapono was born in Long Beach, California to Joe and Toni Kapono. Jason prepped at Southern California basketball powerhouse Artesia High School in Lakewood, where he was a McDonald's All-American and won several accolades and titles. After a successful high school career, Jason enjoyed an outstanding college career at UCLA, where he finished as the third all-time leading scorer with 2,095 points, was the first Bruin to earn First Team All-Pac-10 honors all four years, and was the only UCLA player to lead the school in scoring four straight years. He also graduated with a degree in history. Kapono was a second-round draft choice of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft.

NBA career

Kapono only played 41 games and started 3 in his first NBA season, although he led the team in three-point field goal percent at 47.7%. After his rookie season with Cleveland, he was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 expansion draft, where he increased his scoring average from 3.5 to 8.5 points per game. He also made the first block in Bobcats history. Later, he was signed as a free agent by the Miami Heat where he was part of the 2005–06 NBA championship team.

In the 2006–07 season, Kapono's points-per-game average and minutes played significantly increased, and he led the league in three-point percentage with .514, which is close to the all-time single-season three-point percentage record held by Steve Kerr (.524), and is the fourth best percentage in league season history. Kapono also won the 2007 All-Star Weekend three-point shoot-out competition by defeating Dirk Nowitzki and Gilbert Arenas in the final round with a score of 24 points which tied Mark Price's record for most points in a final round of the three-point contest.

Kapono repeated the feat in 2008, having led the league in three-point percentage going into the All-Star weekend. In the final round of the contest, he scored 25 points, tying the all-time single round record set in 1986 and also setting a new finals record. On December 14, 2007, he had a career-high 29 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. He also ended the 2007–08 season as the top three-point shooter in the league.

On June 9, 2009, Kapono was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Reggie Evans. The Sixers were victims of several starting lineup changes throughout the season. Kapono started the season with sparing minutes off the bench, but was later given the starting SF spot, near the end of the season. However, after losing his starting spot two games into the following season, Kapono is back to coming off the bench for sparing minutes. After the 2010-2011 NBA season came to an end, Kapono's contract with the 76ers expired and he became a free agent.

On December 9, 2011, Kapono signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

NBA record

At one point, Kapono was the most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history. On November 25, 2007, he made his 250th three-point shot, qualifying him for the NBA record in 3-point shooting accuracy. He immediately moved into first place with a .461 ratio of 3-point shots made to shots attempted, moving ahead of Steve Kerr, who had the previous lifetime best at .454. Kapono has since dropped behind Kerr and others.

National team

Medal record
Men’s basketball
Competitor for United States
FIBA U21 World Championship
Gold	2001 Saitama	Team competition

Kapono was picked for the USA Basketball Select Team which trained with USA Men's Senior National Team in Las Vegas to assist in the buildup to the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Born to Joe and Joni Kapono, Jason Kapono is of Hawaiian and Portuguese descent. He married on August 28, 2004 to the former Ashley Cline. They have had two children. He has a sister Jillian, his father-in-law Tony Cline played football at the University of Miami and in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders, while his brother-in-law Tony Cline Jr. played football at Stanford University and with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	Cleveland	41	3	10.4	.403	.477	.833	1.3	.3	.3	.1	3.5
2004–05	Charlotte	81	14	18.4	.401	.412	.824	2.0	.8	.5	.1	8.5
2005–06	Miami	51	2	13.0	.446	.396	.848	1.4	.7	.1	.1	4.1
2006–07	Miami	67	35	26.4	.494	.514	.892	2.7	1.2	.6	.0	10.9
2007–08	Toronto	81	7	18.9	.488	.483	.860	1.5	.8	.4	.0	7.2
2008–09	Toronto	80	12	22.9	.432	.428	.810	2.0	1.3	.3	.0	8.2
2009–10	Philadelphia	57	12	17.1	.419	.368	.600	1.2	.7	.4	.1	5.7
2010-11	Philadelphia	24	2	4.7	.250	.125	.500	.5	.2	.1	.0	.7
Career		482	87	18.3	.443	.437	.833	1.7	.8	.4	.0	6.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2005–06	Miami	1	0	2.0	.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
2006–07	Miami	4	1	19.3	.471	.500	1.000	1.3	.5	.5	.0	5.0
2007–08	Toronto	5	0	30.4	.585	.542	.750	2.6	.8	.4	.0	15.6
Career		10	1	23.1	.557	.536	.833	1.8	.6	.4	.0	9.8

See also

• Toronto Raptors accomplishments and records

External links

• NBA.com Profile - Jason Kapono
• Jason Kapono stats as UCLA player