Jason Richardson: The Ultimate Warrior
Jason Richardson announced his retirement last week, ending his 14-year career with his best years with the Golden State Warriors.
Richardson was a fan favorite and considered by many as one of the most popular players in franchise history. Whether it was his ridiculous athleticism, lethal shooting, or infectious personality, he never seemed to let down the Warrior faithful. Even after the Warriors inexplicably dealt Richardson to the Charlotte Bobcats for Brandon Wright, the fans of Golden State were always behind Richardson.
Richardson was a part of the Warriors’ most successful draft prior to 2012. In 2001, Richardson was the fifth overall selection, but this draft also netted the organization power forward Troy Murphy and point guard Gilbert Arenas. They would all eventually become starters, but success did not come with it. Even though the team did not have success, Richardson became a household name almost immediately because of his unbelievable dunking ability that he showcased during All-Star Weekend.
Richardson displayed his skills in his rookie season, winning the 2002 dunk contest looking like a reincarnation of the Human Highlight Film Dominique Wilkins. Before his performance in the dunk contest, he was the MVP of the Rookie Challenge. Richardson dropped 26 points, hitting 3 threes and electrifying the crowd with windmill and 360 slams, which was just a preview of things come later that night.
The next year, he defended his dunk crown, winning his second consecutive contest and like his rookie season, he played in the Rookie Challenge and shined once again. Richardson scored 31 points, hitting 4 threes but did not win the MVP only because Arenas took the award. The signature moment in the game happened at the end when Richardson threw the ball off of Carlos Boozer’s forehead, caught and hit a wing three in his face. It was the type of move you would see on the playground and Richardson executed it to perfection. It was a flair the Warriors had not seen from a player since Chris Webber.
Richardson lost in his third attempt in the dunk contest — which he should have won, but went for the spectacular instead of a simple dunk. After all the All-Star hoopla, Richardson turned his attention to his team and their dismal playoff drought. He even went out of his way to write a letter of apology to the Warriors fans at the end of the 2005-06 season, thanking them for all their support.
The next season, the Warriors finally made the postseason as the eighth seed in the Western Conference with 42-40 record. They shocked the NBA and upset the number one seed and 67-15 Dallas Mavericks, sparking the “We Believe” phenomenon. The Warriors would eventually lose to the Utah Jazz in the second round, but their run in the postseason opened up a lot of eyes.
Richardson was clutch in the postseason, averaging almost 20 points and grabbing seven boards per game starting alongside point guard Baron Davis, guard Monta Ellis and small forward Stephen Jackson. Richardson should have stayed with the Warriors for the rest of his career, but instead the Warriors dealt their high-flying and lethal shooting star before the 2007-08 season.
That season, the Warriors had even more success record-wise, finishing with a 48-34 record but missing the playoffs by two games.
With Richardson, would the Warriors have made the postseason in 2007-08 season? That remains to be seen but if he did stay along with Davis, Jackson and the rest of the “We Believe” crew, maybe the Warriors would have had even more success and became a destination spot for future stars.
It could have dramatically changed the franchise and maybe Warriors fans would be lauding Ellis instead of Stephen Curry — but these are all hypotheticals. All we know is Richardson was probably the most popular player in franchise history during his time and if it wasn’t for Curry, he would still have this crown.