Jason Richardson

Jason "J-Rich" Anthoney Richardson (born January 20, 1981) is a retired American professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft after playing college basketball for Michigan State University. He won the NBA Dunk Contest in both 2002 and 2003, becoming the second of four players, after Michael Jordan, Nate Robinson, and now Zach LaVine to win the competition back-to-back.

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, the Spartans ended up winning the NCAA Championship despite Richardson's limited play. 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.

Jason Richardson (disambiguation)

Jason Richardson (born 1981) is an American basketball player.

Jason Richardson may also refer to:

See also

Jason Richardson (hurdler)

Jason Richardson (born April 4, 1986) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 110 meter hurdles. He won the gold medal in the 110 meter hurdles at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, and the silver medal in the same event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. His personal best for the event is 12.98 seconds, set in June 2012 at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Background

Growing up in Cedar Hill, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, he began taking part in sports at the age of 12. Despite having a talent for hurdling, his parents were initially hesitant in encouraging him to compete in track and field. For Richardson and his family, the focus was his education: having represented his school at a national level on their debate team, he saw the discipline more as a way of pursuing further academic study via a college scholarship. By the time he graduated from Cedar Hill High School, he had run the third fastest ever time in the 400 meter hurdles for a high school athlete.