Jason Richardson

He recently played for the Golden State Warriors, from whom he was traded June 28, 2007 after six years with the team.

The Warriors drafted him with the 5th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft out of Michigan State University. It was while playing with Michigan State that he and fellow current NBA players Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, and Morris Peterson (and current Melbourne Tiger and NBL 1st-Teamer Dave Thomas) won an NCAA National Championship.

Richardson won the NBA Slam Dunk Contests in 2002 and 2003, joining Michael Jordan as the only players to have won in consecutive years. In the 2003 competition, he mesmerized the basketball world with a successful backward, between-the-legs, one-handed dunk. In recent years, he has developed a nice mid-range shot, and is becoming very good at hitting the three pointer. Still, his greatest asset is his explosive ability to drive to the basket and finish.

Over the past few seasons in the NBA, Richardson has improved his all-around game to match his exceptional athleticism. His scoring average has steadily increased every year since his rookie year and in 2005-06 his 23.2 PPG was good for 13th in the league. Despite his improvements, Richardson still struggles from the free throw line. He has shot under 70% from the line for his career, and his 2005-06 mark of 67.3% was his lowest since his rookie season. His poor FT% is made worse by the fact that he was third among shooting guards in free throw attempts in 2005-06.

One of his most memorable moments occurred on March 23, 2006 against the Dallas Mavericks. With 4.7 seconds left in the game and the Warriors down 2; Richardson grabbed a missed Jason Terry free throw, drove down the court, made a quick spin move around Terry, jumped and leaned in to hit a game winning three-pointer as time expired. Teammate Baron Davis accomplished a similar feat in a meeting with the Mavericks earlier that season. This moment grabbed the number one spot on NBA.com's Top 10 Best Buzzer Beaters of 2006.

Richardson was the long time captain of the Warriors, and after the Warriors failed to make the NBA playoffs for the 12th straight season, Jason Richardson organized a letter of apology to Warrior fans that ran in several Bay Area newspapers. Richardson remains one of the most popular players among Warrior fans. Richardson is known for his electric style of play, and his ability to shoot a three-pointer. Richardson set the Warrior franchise record for three-pointers in a game (8) in a home win vs. the Phoenix Suns.

On June 28, 2007, Richardson, along with the draft rights to Golden State's 2007 Draft selection of forward Jermareo Davidson with the 36th pick, were traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for the draft rights to the eighth pick Brandan Wright.