Mitch Richmond

Mitch Richmond

Richmond at his Jersey Retirement Ceremony
No. 23, 2, 9
Shooting guard
Personal information
Date of birth	June 30, 1965 (age 46)
Place of birth	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College	Kansas State (1986–1988)
NBA Draft	1988 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Pro career	1988–2002
Career history
1988–1991	Golden State Warriors
1991–1998	Sacramento Kings
1998–2001	Washington Wizards
2001–2002	Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
NBA Champion (2002) NBA Rookie of the Year (1989) 6× NBA All-Star (1993–1998) 3× All-NBA Second Team (1994–1995, 1997) 2× All-NBA Third Team (1996, 1998) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1989) NBA All-Star Game MVP (1995) #2 Retired by the Sacramento Kings Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (1988)
Career statistics
Points	20,497 (21.0 ppg)
Steals	1,211 (1.2 spg)
3–pointers	1,326
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's Basketball Competitor for  United States Summer Olympics Bronze 1988 Seoul National team Gold 1996 Atlanta National team Summer Universiade Silver 1987 Zagreb National team

Mitchell James "Mitch" Richmond (born June 30, 1965 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. He played collegiately at Kansas State University. He was a 6-time NBA All-Star, a 5-time All-NBA Team member and a former NBA Rookie of the Year. In 976 NBA games, Richmond averaged 21.0 points per game and 3.5 assists per game. #2 has been retired in his honor by the Sacramento Kings, for whom he played seven seasons. He was on the cover of video game NBA Live 97. Richmond is now a scout for the Golden State Warriors, for whom he played from 1988 to 1991.

NBA career

Golden State Warriors (1988–91)

Richmond was drafted 5th overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, following two years at Kansas State, where he averaged 20 points per game, and two years at Moberly Junior College in Missouri.

Richmond captured the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in the 1988–89 season, after averaging 22 points per game for the Warriors. He was a key part of Don Nelson's fast-paced offense, which was dubbed "Run TMC" after the first names of its three main components, Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, respectively. The trio were named after the influential rap group Run DMC. In addition to the shooting he provided, he complemented Hardaway's passing and fast break skills and Mullin's shooting skills by slashing to the hoop as part of the Warriors' attack.

Sacramento Kings (1991–98)

After three years of scoring 22+ points a game in Golden State, Richmond, on November 1, 1991,^[1] was traded (along with Les Jepsen) to the Sacramento Kings during the 1991–92 season in exchange for the rights to Billy Owens,^[2] and became arguably the team's first star since the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985. Staying with the Kings until 1998, Richmond was the team's leading scorer in each of his 7 seasons there, averaging no fewer than 21.9 a game each season. Between 1993 and 1998, Richmond was a fixture on the Western Conference's All-Star team, and he won MVP honors at the All-Star Game in Phoenix, in 1995. In the middle of his prime, Richmond was selected to the United States' Olympic team (Dream Team III), earning a gold medal in Atlanta. During his prime, Richmond was recognized as one of basketball's all time best pure shooters.^[3]

Washington Wizards (1998–01)

Richmond was traded by the Kings, along with Otis Thorpe, to the Washington Wizards for Chris Webber in May 1998, a move that keyed the Kings' transformation from perennial doormat to an elite title contender. However, things did not work out as well for Richmond. In three years with the Wizards, he lost a lot of the shooting touch he displayed as a King, and his days as a regular were numbered after missing half of the 2000–01 season.

Los Angeles Lakers (2001–02)

Richmond ended his career traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Playing strictly off the bench, he averaged 4 points a game. He earned an NBA championship ring with the Lakers in 2002 but played sparingly in the postseason, logging 4 minutes overall. In game 4 of the finals, Richmond dribbled out the clock to win the title with the Lakers.

USA career

Before coming to the NBA, he played for the U.S. men's national basketball team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, winning the bronze medal. He became a member of the basketball team again at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, U.S. and won the gold medal with 11 other NBA players (including David Robinson, who was also on the USA men's national basketball team in 1988).

Personal

Mitch Richmond is the cousin of NFL defensive back Lardarius Webb.^[4]

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

References

External links

• Mitch Richmond at NBA.com
• Mitch Richmond at Basketball-Reference.com