Jason Richardson

For other people named Jason Richardson, see Jason Richardson (disambiguation).

Jason Richardson

No. 23   Orlando Magic
Shooting guard / Small forward
Personal information
Date of birth	January 20, 1981 (1981-01-20)
Place of birth	Saginaw, Michigan
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
College	Michigan State
NBA Draft	2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Pro career	2001–present
Career history
2001–2007	Golden State Warriors
2007–2008	Charlotte Bobcats
2008–2010	Phoenix Suns
2010–present	Orlando Magic
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie First Team (2002) NBA Rookie Challenge MVP (2003) 2× NBA Slam Dunk Champion (2002–2003)
Stats at NBA.com

Jason Anthoney "J-Rich" Richardson (born January 20, 1981) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association.

A 6'6", 225 lb. shooting guard/small forward, Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft from Michigan State, earning the NBA Rookie Challenge MVP and All-Rookie Team First Team honors his debut season in the league.

He is regarded as one of the NBA's most demonstrative dunkers, winning the NBA Slam Dunk crown in 2002 and 2003, joining Michael Jordan and Nate Robinson as the competition's only back-to-back champions.

Early life and college

Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Richardson graduated from Arthur Hill High School in 1999. Having led the Arthur Hill basketball team to the Class A championship game, Richardson was Mr. Basketball of Michigan and a McDonald's High School All-American in his senior year. In his freshman season with the Spartans basketball team at Michigan State University, Richardson averaged 5.1 points per game in 37 games (including three starts) and made 50.3% of attempted field goals. In his sophomore season, he averaged 14.7 points per game en route to a Final Four appearance which ended in a loss to Arizona. He was named Big Ten First Team that year.

Professional career

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors drafted Jason Richardson out of Michigan State with the 5th overall pick. While playing for Michigan State, Richardson, Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, Morris Peterson and Dave Thomas won a Division 1 NCAA National Championship.

Richardson competed in the Rookie Challenge as a rookie in 2002 and a sophomore in 2003. His teams won both years, and he was awarded the Rookie Challenge MVP as a rookie. As a sophomore, he had a memorable moment when, in the closing seconds of the game, he bounced the ball off Carlos Boozer's forehead and then made a three-pointer before the clock ran out.

During his time with Golden State, Richardson gained popularity for his outstanding scoring, ability to dunk, dedication to the team and fans, and ethical maturity. The long time captain of the Warriors, Richardson organized a letter of apology to Warrior fans after the team failed to make the playoffs for the 12th straight season. The letter ran in several Bay Area newspapers. The following year, Richardson helped lead the Warriors to their first playoff game in 13 years. They won in the first round, upsetting the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, but lost in the second round to the Utah Jazz.

Although no longer playing for Golden State, Richardson remains one of the most popular players among Warrior fans because of his electric style of play and ability to shoot three-pointers, as well as the longevity and tenor of his tenure with the team. Richardson set the Warrior franchise record for three-pointers made in a game without missing (8) in a home win against the Phoenix Suns. Richardson is especially known for his high-flying abilities and is widely regarded as one of the best dunkers in the NBA today. He won the NBA Slam Dunk Contests in 2002 and 2003, and also competed in the 2004 contest, but lost to Fred Jones in the finals.

Charlotte Bobcats

On June 28, 2007, Richardson was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats along with the draft rights to 36th pick Jermareo Davidson for the draft rights to eighth pick Brandan Wright.

Richardson making a lay-up.

Richardson began to gain attention with the Bobcats when he led the team to a road win against the Boston Celtics after scoring 34 points. This was only the Celtics' fourth loss of the season and second loss at home. It was also the Bobcats' second road win of the season, ending an 11 game road losing streak. Richardson also led the Bobcats to a franchise-record five consecutive game winning streak, including a home win against his former team, the Golden State Warriors. Richardson posted 42 points against the Warriors. The 2007–08 season was a season of rebuilding for Richardson and the Bobcats. He was able to get his points per game average back up to 21.8, lead the Bobcats in scoring, and lead the league in three-point field goals made.

Phoenix Suns

On December 10, 2008, Richardson was traded along with Jared Dudley, and a 2010 second round pick to the Phoenix Suns for Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and Sean Singletary. The Suns dealt for Richardson, as they were looking for another backcourt scorer to take pressure off of Steve Nash.

In his first game as a Sun, Richardson scored a game-high 21 points, including an alley-oop from Leandro Barbosa that brought the crowd to their feet. His first year in Phoenix resulted in the team missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

However, in his second year with the team, he helped bring them back to the playoffs with his play on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. In the first round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs, Richardson led the Suns to a first-round victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, including a career playoff-high 42 points in a Game 3 blowout. In the next round, Richardson helped the Suns to a series sweep against the San Antonio Spurs, before falling to the L.A. Lakers in game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

Orlando Magic

On December 18, 2010, Richardson was traded to the Orlando Magic along with Hedo Türkoğlu and Earl Clark for Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickaël Piétrus, a 2011 first-round draft pick and $3 million cash. In December 2011, Richardson agreed to a four-year, $25 million contract to remain in Orlando.

Personal life

On December 21, 2008, Richardson was cited for driving while under the influence of alcohol by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Police. Court action on this incident is pending at this time.

Richardson was arrested and briefly detained again on February 15, 2009, by Scottsdale, Arizona police after he was observed driving at a tremendously high speed. According to police reports, Richardson was clocked doing 90 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. When stopped, it was discovered that the Suns star had his young son, age 3, in the back seat unrestrained. Richardson was booked by Scottsdale Police for criminal speeding, reckless driving, and reckless endangerment of a child.

Following the latter incident, Richardson was suspended without pay by the Suns for one game for "Conduct detrimental to the Team". No Court date has been set at this time on these charges.

Then on August 28, 2009, the NBA suspended Richardson for the first two games of the 2009-10 season due to his DUI arrest.

Awards and Accomplishments

• NBA Slam Dunk Champion: 2002, 2003
• Rookie Challenge MVP: 2002
• NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2002
• 1999 McDonald's All-American
• 1999 Mr. Basketball of Michigan

Career transactions

• June 27, 2001: Drafted 5th overall by Golden State Warriors in 2001 NBA Draft.
• June 28, 2007: Traded by Golden State along with draft rights of 36th pick Jermareo Davidson to the Charlotte Bobcats for draft rights of 8th pick Brandan Wright.
• December 10, 2008: Traded by Charlotte along with Jared Dudley and their 2010 second-round draft pick (which ended up being Gani Lawal) to the Phoenix Suns for Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and Sean Singletary.
• December 18, 2010: Traded by Phoenix along with Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark for Marcin Gortat, Vince Carter, and Mickael Pietrus.

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
2001–02	Golden State	80	75	32.9	.426	.333	.671	4.3	3.0	1.3	.4	14.4
2002–03	Golden State	82	82	32.9	.410	.368	.764	4.6	3.0	1.1	.3	15.6
2003–04	Golden State	78	78	37.6	.438	.282	.684	6.7	2.9	1.1	.5	18.7
2004–05	Golden State	72	72	37.8	.446	.338	.693	5.9	3.9	1.5	.4	21.7
2005–06	Golden State	75	75	38.4	.446	.384	.673	5.8	3.1	1.3	.5	23.2
2006–07	Golden State	51	49	32.8	.417	.365	.657	5.1	3.4	1.1	.6	16.0
2007–08	Charlotte	82	82	38.4	.441	.406	.752	5.4	3.1	1.4	.7	21.8
2008–09	Charlotte	14	14	35.1	.441	.458	.745	4.1	2.6	1.0	.2	18.7
2008–09	Phoenix	58	57	33.1	.488	.383	.778	4.5	1.9	1.1	.4	16.4
2009–10	Phoenix	79	76	31.5	.474	.393	.739	5.1	1.8	.8	.4	15.7
2010–11	Phoenix	25	25	31.8	.470	.419	.764	4.4	1.4	1.1	.1	19.3
2010–11	Orlando	55	55	34.9	.433	.384	.701	4.0	2.0	1.2	.2	13.9
Career		751	740	35.0	.442	.373	.711	5.1	2.8	1.2	.4	18.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2007	Golden State	11	11	38.9	.476	.354	.704	6.7	2.0	1.3	.4	19.1
2010	Phoenix	16	16	33.3	.502	.475	.759	5.4	1.1	1.1	.2	19.8
2011	Orlando	5	5	30.6	.333	.320	1.000	4.0	1.2	.6	.4	10.0
Career		32	32	34.8	.473	.409	.763	5.7	1.4	1.1	.3	18.0

External links

• Official website
• Jason Richardson at NBA.com
• Michigan State Spartans biography
• Jason Richardson's Apology Letter at GSoM
• 2k6-2k7 REPORT CARD: Jason Richardson (GSoM)