Jason Richardson said he wanted to leave the game of basketball on his own terms.
He did.
Richardson announced his retirement Wednesday night, ending his 13-season NBA career less than a week before going to training camp with the Hawks.
Richardson, the 34-year-old guard/forward, signed with the Hawks after playing just 52 games over the past three years was he was plagued by injury.
In an Instagram post, Richard wrote: “Today is a bitter sweet moment for me. I’m officially announcing my retirement from pro basketball. I liked to thank the organizations and fans in Charlotte, Phoenix, Orlando, Philly and especially the Bay Area for their loyal support the past 14 years. Walking away was the hardest decision I had to make but choosing my health and spending time with my family is more important to me! God Bless!”
The Hawks signed Richardson in August to a non-guaranteed contract after he spent the past three years with the 76ers. The Hawks open training camp on Monday with media day for workouts begin the following day.
Richardson told Yahoo Wednesday night that he had had right knee pain several days ago and that an MRI revealed bone spurs. He said he opted for retirement rather than face an adverse quality of life. “I want to be able to play with my kids,” he told Marc Spears.
During a recent interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in advance of training camp, Richardson was asked about the most difficult part of missing much of the past three seasons. He played just 33 games in 2012-13, missed all of 2013-14 and played just 19 games last season with the 76ers with a left knee injury.
“The fact of just now playing,” Richard said. “I’m a very competitive guy. I play this game for love, nothing else. I think that’s why I battled back, kept on continuing and wanting to get back on the court. I’ve been in the league a long time and seen guys give it up and just collect a check. That’s not who I am. I wanted to walk out on my terms. I just had too much respect for the game of basketball and too much love for it to sit down and collect a check. I wanted to prove a point that I could come back and still play.”
Richardson played in 857 career regular-season games (842 starts) with Golden State, Phoenix, Orlando, Charlotte and Philadelphia. He averaged 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 34.1 minutes. In 37 postseason games, he averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.1 minutes.
Richardson came back to play late last season with the 76ers and averaged 9.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 21.9 minutes.
Richardson was the fifth overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Warriors out of Michigan State. He was a two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion, winning back-to-back in 2002 and 2003, and also led the league in 3-pointers made one season.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was asked about Richardson in a recent interview with the AJC.
“He’s been a very good player in our league and done a lot of things on a high level,” Budenholzer said. “He has been dealing with injuries for a couple of years. I think we’ve had a good balance of veterans, guys right in their prime and some young guys. I think we looked at him as one of those guys who is a veteran who could help us on the court and looked to bring some leadership and things in the locker room, on the court, off the court. His ability to shoot and spread the court. He’s got good size. He has a lot of things that if he’s healthy and capable, he can maybe help us and fit in with us. He is going to be competing for a roster spot.”
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