Jason Richardson (born January 20, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan) is a professional basketball player, currently playing guard for the National Basketball Association's Golden State Warriors. 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 won an NCAA National Championship.
He and Michael Jordan are the only players to win back-to-back Slam Dunk Contests (Dominique Wilkins and Harold Miner have also won 2, but not consecutively). In the 2003 competition, he mesmerized the basketball world with a 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. He and Baron Davis are the Warriors' star players, and get along well on and off the court.
Richardson is no longer known as just a dunker. Over the past few seasons in the NBA, he has worked hard on his jump shot and can now consistently hit shots all the way out to the three-point line. However he still struggles from the free throw line.
One of his most memorable moments occurred on March 23, 2006 against the Dallas Mavericks, with 4.7 left to go in a high scoring game; Richardson grabbed the rebound from a missed Jason Terry free throw and drove down the court to hit the game winning three-point shot.
