Former Golden State Warriors shooting guard Jason Richardson announced his retirement on Instagram last night and, not surprisingly, thanked #DubNation in the process:
Today is a bitter sweet moment for me. I’m officially announcing my retirement from pro basketball. I like to thank the organizations and fans in Charlotte, Phoenix, Orlando, Philly and especially The Bay Area for their loyal support the past 14 years. Walking away was the hardest decision I had to make but choosing my health and spending time with my family is more important to me! God bless!
Many NBA beatwriters took to Twitter to congratulate and thank “J-Rich”. The common thread was his high level of professionalism.
Then Baron Davis, Richardson’s backcourt running mate during the Warriors’ “We Believe” run, said this:
Shout out to my brother @jrich23 … Had a great time hooping with you !!! Great player and teammate … Even better person and family man!!
— Baron Davis (@Baron_Davis) September 24, 2015
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Former teammate Gilbert Arenas also had some great things to say (see below).
Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports then got on the phone with Richardson and found out the following:
Richardson’s 14-year NBA career included back-to-back dunk titles and a career scoring average of 17.1 points per game, but was also riddled by injuries, most notably to his left knee. Richardson, 34, told Yahoo Sports that an MRI on Monday revealed he had bone spurs in his previously healthy right knee. After talking to his wife, Jackie Paul, on Tuesday, Richardson made the decision to retire on his own.
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“I didn’t want to limp the rest of my life,” Richardson told Yahoo Sports in a phone interview. “I still have my whole life in front of me, God willing. I sat alone at a park in Atlanta thinking and no one said anything to me because they didn’t recognize me since I just got there. I talked to my wife for an hour on the phone and then I sat for five hours thinking while listening to music before deciding that retiring was the right thing to do.”
Atlanta Hawks beatwriter Chris Vivlamore had reported earlier that Richardson had wanted to leave on his own terms.
In the video interview, Richardson disclosed that he was most proud of leading the league in three-pointers made (and three-pointers attempted), which occurred in 2008 after he was traded from the Warriors to the then-Charlotte Bobcats.
“Coming into this league, I wasn’t known as a shooter,” Richardson told Vivlamore. “Putting in the work to become a shooter, I pride myself on that more than anything because I always was a jumper, ever since I was a kid, but to show that I improved my game and I worked on my game, that means more to me.”
When Vivlamore asked what Richardson’s “welcome-to-the-NBA” moment was, Richardson looked back fondly at his sixth NBA game — it was his first start — when he started opposite Michael Jordan, who had come back from retirement to join the Washington Wizards. Richardson was outscored by the 38-year-old Jordan, 32-5, that night.
“I went to make a move,” Richardson said. “He stole the ball and went down for an easy dunk.”
J-Rich could hold his own as a scorer, though:
Jason Richardson's feats as a dunker will grace highlight reels for decades to come, but he was a special scorer too. pic.twitter.com/gfoN5jobsO
— Synergy Sports Tech (@SynergySST) September 24, 2015
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But he will forever be remembered for his two straight Slam Dunk Contest titles. In each of those triumphs, Gilbert Arenas was on-hand to give him some pointers. “Go kill, Warrior,” Richardson recalled Arenas telling him before his contest-winning dunk in 2002, “Trust me.”
Then in 2003, Arenas told Richardson to do a reverse between-the-legs baseline jam after a spectacular dunk by Desmond Mason.
“You got this,” Arenas said, even though Richardson had his doubts. J-Rich thought Mason had won the trophy with that dunk, but J-Rich pulled it off, and the rest is history.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBsEMK6f3Uw&w=560&h=315]Arenas confirmed this on Instagram today:
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Said Magic Johnson of that historic between-the-legs dunk, “Ohhhhh! He went backwards instead of forwards!”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PejeH1uzDJs&w=420&h=315]The only other players to win back-to-back Slam Dunk championships were Jordan and Nate Robinson.
And in case you wanted all of Richardson’s dunks, HoopsHype has them for you.
In the Bay, he’ll also be remembered for his performance in the #WeBelieve series against the Dallas Mavericks:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7TtCEmdqR4&w=420&h=315]Here are some posts we’ve done that have included J-Rich as one of the Warrior greats:
- Stephen Curry and the Most Popular Players in Golden State Warriors History (Richardson: 2nd-most popular)
- The Best 3-Point Shooters in Golden State Warriors History
- Jeff Mullins and the Top 5 SG’s in Golden State Warriors History (we ranked J-Rich 4th)
Check out this full-on tribute from Kevin Draper of Deadspin, who summed it up Warriors fans growing up in Richardson’s era with these words:
The year 2002 was a great year to be a fan of any Bay Area sports team … except for the Warriors. The A’s went to their third of four straight playoffs, led by the Big Three, Miguel Tejada, and Eric Chavez. The Giants heartbreakingly lost in the World Series, but Barry Bonds was the most exciting athlete alive. The 49ers looked revived under Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens. The Raiders went to the Super Bowl. The Sharks were going to the playoffs every year and Owen Nolan was awesome.
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So if the Warriors had tanked, or continued to be worse than basura, I might’ve dipped out. I might’ve just stopped watching. I might’ve done literally anything else with my time rather than invest in another season watching a team more suited to being the Harlem Globetrotters’ laughingstock opponent than an NBA franchise.
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Instead, Jason Richardson was electrifying, and the couple of times my dad managed to snag some Warriors tickets I actually saw a win.
Although it’s become somewhat cliche, Richardson was indeed one of those NBA guys who was a better person than he was a player, as epitomized by the full-page ad in the newspaper he once took out on behalf of Warriors fans:
J-Rich's newspaper ad. #epic RT @unstoppablebaby: Pre-We Believe…Thank you @jrich23 http://t.co/PBaw4LBg5r pic.twitter.com/1zCgEC3sev
— LetsGoWarriors (@LetsGoWarriors) September 24, 2015
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The mutual respect has continued throughout Richardson’s career, even to this day. Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group talked to J-Rich on the phone the day after his retirement:
Every time Richardson has one of those Golden State experiences, every time he marinates on how beloved he is by Warriors fans, his emotions are bombarded by appreciation. And a little confusion.
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“I don’t understand it,” Richardson said in a phone interview Thursday. “It amazes me. It really does. Why me? I didn’t win many games. I wasn’t an All-Star. I never guided them to the promised land. But Warriors fans have always shown me incredible love. Even when I was on other teams … So much love. So much.”
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via NBAE/Getty)
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