Richard Jefferson facts for kids
Jefferson with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | June 21, 1980 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| High school | Moon Valley (Phoenix, Arizona) |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 233 lb (106 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Arizona (1998–2001) | |||||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall | |||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2001–2018 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2008 | New Jersey Nets | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Milwaukee Bucks | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | San Antonio Spurs | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Golden State Warriors | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Utah Jazz | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Dallas Mavericks | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Cleveland Cavaliers | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Denver Nuggets | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NBA statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Points | 14,904 (12.6 ppg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 4,720 (4.0 rpg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assists | 2,412 (2.0 apg) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Richard Allen Jefferson Jr. (born June 21, 1980) is a former American professional basketball player. He was a small forward who played for eight different teams during his 17 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Jefferson played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats. He was picked 13th overall by the New Jersey Nets in the 2001 NBA draft. After his first season, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He played seven seasons for the Nets and even reached the NBA Finals twice.
Later, he played for teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016. He also won a bronze medal with the U.S. national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Richard Jefferson retired from the NBA in 2018 and became a basketball analyst for ESPN in 2019.
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Early Life and High School Basketball
Richard Jefferson was born in Los Angeles, California, but grew up in Phoenix. His mother and stepfather were missionaries, so his family moved often.
He went to Moon Valley High School in West Phoenix. There, he was a very important player on the varsity basketball team. His team won the 4A State Championship in 1998.
College Basketball Career
Jefferson played college basketball at the University of Arizona. He played for famous coach Lute Olson from 1998 to 2001.
During his college career, he played 84 games and started 77 of them. He averaged about 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. In 2001, his Arizona team made it to the national championship game but lost to Duke. Jefferson was recognized for his great play in the Midwest Regional and Final Four tournaments. In 2012, he was added to the Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor.
Professional Basketball Journey
New Jersey Nets (2001–2008)
Richard Jefferson played seven seasons with the New Jersey Nets. He was a key player when the Nets won the Eastern Conference Championship two years in a row, in 2002 and 2003. He even played in the NBA Finals with the Nets in his first two seasons.
In 2004, Jefferson was part of the USA Men's Olympic basketball team. He also took part in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 2003.
Jefferson started his career as a backup small forward. He quickly showed off his strong defensive skills and all-around talent. The Nets saw his potential and made him a starter. He became a great shooter from mid-range and long-range, and was also good at driving to the basket.
In 2004, Jefferson had his best season, averaging 22.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. However, he missed many games in the 2004–05 season due to a wrist injury. He returned for the playoffs. In 2007, he had ankle surgery but came back to help the Nets reach the playoffs. In August 2007, he donated money to the University of Arizona for a new basketball practice facility, which was named after him.
Milwaukee Bucks (2008–2009)
On June 26, 2008, Jefferson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. He was not happy about leaving the Nets at first, but later he was excited to play with Michael Redd.
San Antonio Spurs (2009–2011)
On June 23, 2009, Richard Jefferson was traded to the San Antonio Spurs. He later signed a new contract to stay with the Spurs.
Golden State Warriors (2012–2013)
On March 15, 2012, Jefferson was traded to the Golden State Warriors.
Utah Jazz (2013–2014)
In July 2013, Jefferson was part of a big trade that sent him to the Utah Jazz.
Dallas Mavericks (2014–2015)
On July 21, 2014, Jefferson signed with the Dallas Mavericks. He was the last Mavericks player to wear jersey number 24 before it was retired to honor Kobe Bryant.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2015–2017)
On August 5, 2015, Jefferson signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played his first game for the team on October 27. The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a great record and made it to the 2016 NBA Finals.
In his third NBA Finals appearance, Jefferson played in every game. He even started two games when Kevin Love was injured. In Game 3, he helped the Cavaliers win with 9 points and 8 rebounds. Even though they were down 3-1 in the series, the Cavaliers made an amazing comeback. They won the series in seven games, giving Jefferson his first and only NBA championship!
After winning the championship, Jefferson thought about retiring. But he decided to re-sign with the Cavaliers in July 2016. The Cavaliers returned to the NBA Finals in 2017, but they lost to the Warriors. On October 14, 2017, Jefferson was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, who then immediately waived him.
Denver Nuggets (2017–2018)
On October 19, 2017, Jefferson signed a one-year contract with the Denver Nuggets. On October 13, 2018, Richard Jefferson announced that he was retiring from professional basketball.
Life After Playing: Broadcasting Career
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Richard Jefferson
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| Years active | 2018–present |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Genre(s) | color commentator |
| Sports | NBA |
After retiring from playing, Richard Jefferson joined the YES Network in October 2018. He worked as an analyst for Nets games. He also appeared on FS1 and the Pac-12 Network as a basketball analyst. In 2019, he joined ESPN as an NBA analyst.
During the 2017 season, Jefferson started co-hosting a podcast called Road Trippin'. He hosted it with former Cavaliers reporter Allie Clifton and his teammate Channing Frye. Many of the early shows featured his Cavaliers teammates and were recorded while they were traveling for games.
Personal Life
On July 11, 2022, the NBA announced that Richard Jefferson would be a referee for one quarter of a game at the 2022 NBA Summer League. This was a special event where former players got to try officiating.
NBA Career Statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | New Jersey | 79 | 9 | 24.3 | .457 | .232 | .713 | 3.7 | 1.8 | .8 | .6 | 9.4 |
| 2002–03 | New Jersey | 80 | 80 | 36.0 | .501 | .250 | .743 | 6.4 | 2.5 | 1.0 | .6 | 15.5 |
| 2003–04 | New Jersey | 82 | 82 | 38.2 | .498 | .364 | .763 | 5.7 | 3.8 | 1.1 | .3 | 18.5 |
| 2004–05 | New Jersey | 33 | 33 | 41.1 | .422 | .337 | .844 | 7.3 | 4.0 | 1.0 | .5 | 22.2 |
| 2005–06 | New Jersey | 78 | 78 | 39.2 | .493 | .319 | .812 | 6.8 | 3.8 | .8 | .2 | 19.5 |
| 2006–07 | New Jersey | 55 | 53 | 35.6 | .456 | .359 | .733 | 4.4 | 2.7 | .6 | .1 | 16.3 |
| 2007–08 | New Jersey | 82* | 82* | 39.0 | .466 | .362 | .798 | 4.2 | 3.1 | .9 | .3 | 22.6 |
| 2008–09 | Milwaukee | 82* | 82* | 35.8 | .439 | .397 | .805 | 4.6 | 2.4 | .8 | .2 | 19.6 |
| 2009–10 | San Antonio | 81 | 70 | 31.1 | .467 | .316 | .735 | 4.4 | 2.0 | .6 | .5 | 12.3 |
| 2010–11 | San Antonio | 81 | 81 | 30.4 | .474 | .440 | .750 | 3.8 | 1.3 | .5 | .4 | 11.0 |
| 2011–12 | San Antonio | 41 | 41 | 28.5 | .414 | .421 | .700 | 3.5 | 1.3 | .6 | .3 | 9.2 |
| 2011–12 | Golden State | 22 | 3 | 26.4 | .420 | .418 | .686 | 3.5 | 1.5 | .5 | .3 | 9.0 |
| 2012–13 | Golden State | 56 | 1 | 10.1 | .456 | .311 | .717 | 1.5 | .6 | .3 | .1 | 3.1 |
| 2013–14 | Utah | 82 | 78 | 27.0 | .450 | .409 | .741 | 2.7 | 1.6 | .7 | .2 | 10.1 |
| 2014–15 | Dallas | 74 | 18 | 16.8 | .444 | .426 | .684 | 2.5 | .8 | .4 | .1 | 5.8 |
| 2015–16† | Cleveland | 74 | 5 | 17.9 | .458 | .382 | .667 | 1.7 | .8 | .4 | .2 | 5.5 |
| 2016–17 | Cleveland | 79 | 13 | 20.4 | .446 | .333 | .741 | 2.6 | 1.0 | .3 | .1 | 5.7 |
| 2017–18 | Denver | 20 | 0 | 8.2 | .444 | .286 | .571 | .9 | .8 | .1 | .1 | 1.5 |
| Career | 1181 | 809 | 29.0 | .464 | .376 | .768 | 4.0 | 2.0 | .7 | .3 | 12.6 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | New Jersey | 20 | 0 | 22.1 | .465 | .000 | .550 | 4.6 | 1.3 | .6 | .5 | 7.0 |
| 2003 | New Jersey | 20 | 20 | 35.6 | .476 | .000 | .718 | 6.4 | 2.4 | .8 | .2 | 14.1 |
| 2004 | New Jersey | 11 | 11 | 41.8 | .418 | .273 | .713 | 6.3 | 3.8 | 1.3 | .7 | 19.8 |
| 2005 | New Jersey | 4 | 1 | 35.0 | .400 | .200 | .677 | 5.5 | 2.3 | .8 | .0 | 15.8 |
| 2006 | New Jersey | 11 | 11 | 39.7 | .545 | .414 | .825 | 4.1 | 4.1 | .9 | .4 | 22.2 |
| 2007 | New Jersey | 12 | 12 | 40.8 | .482 | .325 | .924 | 5.6 | 2.3 | .8 | .4 | 19.7 |
| 2010 | San Antonio | 10 | 10 | 33.4 | .486 | .200 | .758 | 5.3 | 1.8 | .6 | .6 | 9.4 |
| 2011 | San Antonio | 6 | 6 | 29.3 | .387 | .353 | .818 | 4.2 | .8 | .5 | .5 | 6.5 |
| 2013 | Golden State | 7 | 0 | 5.6 | .444 | .667 | .333 | 1.0 | .1 | .1 | .1 | 1.9 |
| 2015 | Dallas | 4 | 2 | 12.8 | .357 | .375 | 1.000 | .5 | .3 | .5 | .0 | 3.8 |
| 2016† | Cleveland | 21 | 2 | 18.1 | .524 | .393 | .750 | 3.5 | .7 | .5 | .0 | 5.4 |
| 2017 | Cleveland | 14 | 0 | 12.8 | .421 | .263 | .643 | 1.8 | .5 | .1 | .2 | 3.9 |
| Career | 140 | 75 | 27.4 | .473 | .325 | .731 | 4.3 | 1.7 | .6 | .3 | 10.8 | |
See also
In Spanish: Richard Jefferson para niños
