Former high-flying NBA wing Jason Richardson announced on Instagram Wednesday night that he would be retiring from the NBA to preserve his aching body and spend more time with his family.
While the 34-year-old shooting guard has been hobbled the last few seasons — he’s only appeared in 52 games since the end of the 2011-12 campaign, and missed all of 2013-14 — there weren’t many players who could get your heart racing on the break quite like J-Rich. He also won the Slam Dunk Contest in 2002 and 2003, his first two years in the league.
Richardson spent the first half a dozen years of his career in the Bay Area after making the All-Rookie First Team. Some fans might forget he averaged a career-high 23.2 points per game for the Dubs in 2006. But he would never be elected to an All-Star team despite a sweet stroke from downtown — 37 percent for his career — and an exceptional ability to throw it down.
So, let’s look at some of the more electrifying rim-rattlers of his career as we bid him farewell and wish him luck on his post-basketball odyssey.
The In-Game 360
Nobody could pirouette in the air like Richardson. It was his body control that allowed him to pull off full revolutions when he was on the break, something you’re a lot less likely to see than you might think. While the 360-degree dunk no longer elicits the wow factor it did when Dr. J busted it out at the ABA Dunk Contest back in 1976, it’s still incredibly difficult to pull it off in an actual game. Not for J-Rich.
Can you guess who threw him the outlet on the second one?
Crossover And Posterization Of Rasho Nesterovic
There’s really no accounting for his explosiveness, as former Raptor Rasho Nesterovic found out on this 2008 dunk, when Richardson crossed up his man and headed for the iron above Nesterovic’s dome.
The In-Game Windmill
Like the 360, you really need to have your feet set to pull off a windmill in a game. J-Rich definitely used this in the dunk contest (adding a 360-degree spin, too), but there’s something a lot more special when he spontaneously busted them out on breakaways.
Posterization Of Manu Ginobili
Unlike Nesterovic, who rotated over a shade late before J-Rich smashed it in his face, Manu was hustling back on defense like any good Popovich disciple would. But Manu probably thought twice about sprinting back on defense after what Jason did to him while trailing the play.
His Game-Tying Buzzer-Beating Alley-Oop Slam Sends The Game To Overtime
To be fair, this wasn’t really a dunk, but a really nice layup that swirled around the toilet bowl before dropping through the nylon at the perfect time. It was 2010, and the Suns were playing the Grizzlies. Steve Nash was still on the team, and so were Jason Richardson and Grant Hill. Rudy Gay had just sunk two free throws to give Memphis a 99-97 edge with just 0.4 seconds left in regulation, when Hill took the ball out from the sideline.
Then-Suns coach Alvin Gentry drew a back-door play for Jason Richardson, which was executed to perfection as the Suns tied the game at the buzzer and ended up winning in double overtime, 123-118.
“I figured if I could throw a good practice one to Jared [Dudley], I could throw one to anybody,” Hill said of the dish after the game.
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His Back-To-Back Slam Dunk Titles In 2002 And 2003
Years later, Richardson spoke of his dunk dominance when he first came into the league.
But you should re-live the contests anyway.
We’ve been missing you for a while, J-Rich, so we’re glad you’re shutting it down before you see yourself hobbling along in retirement. Regardless, you’ll always be our dunk champ.
Which dunks did we miss?
