Jason Richardson

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Warriors television broadcaster Bob Fitzgerald catches up with former Warrior and "We Believe" team legend Jason Richardson for a wide-ranging conversation.

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Re-Living "We Believe" with Jason Richardson

Selected 5th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft, Jason Richardson went on to play six seasons with the Warriors and became a fan favorite for his incredible slams, clutch scoring ability and outstanding leadership. Watch the two-time NBA Slam Dunk Champion dunk against every team in the league.

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Jason Richardson: Top Dunks Against Every Team

Jason Richardson Court presented by The California Endowment

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Paige Fischer

Prior to being honored at the Warriors' Hardwood Classics Night matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 24, we caught up with Warriors legend Jason Richardson and reminisced about the “We Believe” playoff team from 2007, his iconic performances in the dunk contest and much more. Here are some highlights from the interview …

What do you enjoy about reflecting on the 2007 “We Believe” Playoff team?
  Everything comes back to us, the locker room moments,  cracking jokes with each other, the brotherhood, the accountability... The six  years I've been here, I always wanted that and it didn't happen until my last  year here; where guys were really serious about winning games, serious about  going out there and playing for each other. Not worrying about who's scoring,  just trying to win the game.

Are those some of the similarities you're seeing between  this current Warriors team and that We Believe team, that comradery?
  Oh yeah, definitely. You've got your superstar who's very  unselfish. He doesn't care if he scores or not, but he can score, that's the  fun part about him. But they've got so many guys on the team that are willing  to give up their shot for the open shot, the open layup, the open three. They  play team defense, they're already talking, they hold each other accountable,  and nobody takes anything personal. You can see all of that on the floor.

We were always on the edge of our seats for what you  would do during the dunk contests. When the years go on and you look back to  those dunks, what comes to mind?
  First of all, it's something I always wanted to do since I  was a kid; I practiced those dunks over and over at the park once I got old  enough to dunk. And second of all, to put the Warriors on the map. To let  people know that it was the start of something different.

We were talking to Draymond Green about you and he was so  full of pride in thinking of how you helped set the path for athletes to come  from Saginaw and go to Michigan State and make this mark. When you see  Draymond, what do you see in his character?
  He's a winner first of all, he's a natural born winner and  leader. He beat all the odds and all the nay-sayers. I can remember him coming  out of high school, people said "He's not going to play much at Michigan  State", then once he got to Michigan State, "Well he's not going to  make it to the NBA, he's an in-betweener", and he just worked, and worked,  and worked on his game. I couldn't be more happy for anybody, especially a guy  that not only came from Michigan State, but out of my home city. To see  somebody else make it out of my city and doing an amazing job right now, I  couldn't be more happy.

When you think back to what Dub Nation is, and you're  seeing them rewarded this way, what are your memories about the Warriors fans?
Just  everything... These fans just had your back no matter what, as long as you  played hard and brought it every night, they knew we were working to build  something here. The most amazing experience with these fans was that first  playoff game with We Believe. They were here as soon as the doors were allowed  to open, it was sold out. Everybody was in their seats and they stood up the  whole game, and I was just like this is what these fans deserve. And then to  see last year, what these guys did here, to win the championship, I was the  happiest ex-Warrior guy there was.

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Q&A with Jason Richardson

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Dub Nation welcomes back a fan favorite

Andy Fahey

The NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, in partnership with private, statewide health foundation- The California Endowment, will unveil a newly refurbished basketball court at Rainbow Recreation Center in East Oakland (5800 International Boulevard, Oakland CA 94621) on Saturday, December 12 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in honor of  recently retired Warriors star Jason Richardson, it was announced today. Richardson and the Warriors Community Foundation will join The California Endowment, the Good Tidings Foundation, Oakland Parks &amp; Recreation and elected officials to unveil the new courts and conduct a basketball clinic for 80 local youth.

The event is part of the Warriors Community Foundation’s Step Up Your Game program, and is being held in partnership with The California Endowment’s East Oakland Building Healthy Communities initiative. The new court will feature a 5,000 square foot indoor playing surface, two new NBA plexiglass hoops systems, and spectator seating.

The Warriors, working in collaboration with Good Tidings Foundation, have refurbished over 50 basketball courts around the Bay Area, helping to revitalize local neighborhoods and communities. Courts are resurfaced and receive new backboards, nets, rims, striping, and signage.

Originally selected by the Warriors with the fifth overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, Richardson averaged 18.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.27 steals and 35.5 minutes in 438 games (431 starts) with Golden State from 2001-07. The 6’6” swingman was a key member of the celebrated “We Believe” playoff run in 2007, when the Warriors ended a 13-year playoff drought and became the first eight-seed in NBA history to defeat a one-seed in a seven-game playoff series with a 4-2 upset over the Dallas Mavericks. While with the Warriors, the Michigan State product won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in consecutive years (2002, 2003) and currently ranks third on the franchise’s all-time three-pointers made list (700) behind only Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Throughout the 2015-16 season, the Step Up Your Game program will hold basketball court refurbishments, additional Warriors Basketball Camps and Warriors Dance Team dance clinics that will address the need for youth-oriented programs in the Bay Area that seek to promote and reinforce positive lifestyle habits. For more information on Step Up Your Game, please visit warriors.com/StepUpYourGame.

About the Warriors Community Foundation
Established in 2012 with the new Lacob and Guber ownership group, the Warriors Community Foundation is dedicated to making a meaningful and lasting impact on the lives of underserved youth in the San Francisco Bay Area. This past year, the Warriors Community Foundation has donated over $1.5 million in grants for youth development and refurbished courts in Oakland, San Francisco and Richmond.

About The California Endowment
The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, whose mission is to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. In 2010, the Endowment launched a 10 year, comprehensive community initiative designed to advance statewide policy and transform 14 of California’s communities most devastated by health inequities into places where all people have an opportunity to thrive. East Oakland was chosen as one of these communities. The Endowment challenges the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people's health. The Endowment believes that health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention.