Jason Richardson checked in with the Scoop B Radio Podcast and discussed a lot including Kevin Garnett and Gary Payton’s distinctive abilities of mastering the art of trash talk during their NBA careers.
“Early on in my career it was Gary Payton for sure,” recounted Richardson on Scoop B Radio.
“And later on, it was Kevin Garnett. So those two are probably in the Hall of Fame of sh** talkers, but it’s ALWAYS fun playing against those guys.”
Richardson tells Scoop B Radio that he got a glimpse of The Glove’s tenacity during a Team USA Basketball practice. Richardson, still a student at Michigan State, traveled to Australia to train with Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Payton and others on that eventual gold medal winning team.
Richardson shared that former Duke University standout, Jay Williams, a 2002 NBA first rounder who is now retired and a current ESPN analyst, also trained with them.
Apparently, Payton got the surprise of his life from Williams when J-Will retaliated verbally to GP’s smack talk during a scrimmage.
“We get to the game and the first play that Gary guards Jason, he fouls him and pushes him into the bench and Gary is just barking at him and is just in his face yelling at him, trying to punk him,” recounts Richardson.
“Jason Williams turns around and says to him, ‘You’re not the glove, you’re the mitten!’ And it just set Gary on fire! Gary just was like, “What the f*** are you talking about?!?’”
Richardson was a beloved fixture in the Bay during his time playing for the Golden State Warriors. Earlier in his career, the former Michigan State Spartan crossed paths with Payton during his time with the Seattle Sonics and later with the Lakers. He also crossed paths with Kevin Garnett out west during his first stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves. J-Rich tells Scoop B Radio that during his rookie year, KG and Arenas were jawing while Garnett was at the free throw line. With a big lead in the game, Arenas was taunting Garnett and forecasting his shot from the line.
“KG went to the line and Gilbert was saying to KG, “Don’t worry about it! It’s off! It’s off,” recounted Richardson.
After sinking the free throw, Richardson says that Garnett looked at Arenas and said: “Shut the f**k up little ni**a!”
To which Richardson says, Arenas replied and said: “He’s right. I’m gonna shut up!”
“Gilbert was talking junk because we were kind of winning the game,” said Richardson.
And Gilbert wasn’t playing that much and KG turned around and said to him, ‘Shut the f**k up little ni**a!’”
Hilarious!
Aside from the KG and Payton stories, Richardson delved into quite a bit including his days with the Warriors.
Of all the things he remembers most, it is the fans! “The fans in Oakland and the whole Bay Area are very loyal to the Warriors,” he said.
“Especially during those years of losing and they showed up EVERY night. They were always cheering us on and they just gave me so much energy. So every time I think of The Bay, the first thing I think about is those fans and how loyal they were to us during those losing years. So it’s good that Klay, Steph and Draymond come in and get to those winning ways and winning four championships with KD also; that’s what those fans deserve because they’re a very loyal fan base.”
Richardson was also a member of the We Believe-era Warriors with Baron Davis, Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson and he said he wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.
“It was the first winning season they had in 14 years,” he said.
“To make it to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years and every time I remember about the ‘We Believe’ team, it just brings back the excitement and the memories.
“We had Matt Barnes, Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Monta Ellis, Al Harrington… just a group of guys that banded together and did something special in a short amount of time.”
The We Believe-era Warriors played spoiler to Dirk Nowitki’s MVP season back in 2007. Guided by head coach, Avery Johnson, the Mavs finished the regular season with a 67-15 record.The Mavs played the Dubs in Round 1 and lost 4-2. Richardson insists there was no added motivation to beat Nowitzki’s Mavs. “It wasn’t necessarily motivation,” he said.
“But it was just a group of guys that wanted to go out there and play hard and you had a former coach in Don Nelson that coached the Mavericks and he coached Dirk so it was like we had a cheat sheet for the Mavs but, it was just a great experience.”
After retiring from NBA basketball in 2015, Richardson still has game. He spends his summers playing in Ice Cube’s Big 3 Basketball league. He still pays attention to today’s game. Having played against Nowitzki during his career, he weighed in on who’s the modern Dirk of today’s NBA. “Man, that’s hard,” he said.
“That’s hard to say who’s that. Dirk was so special. I can say a little bit of [Nikola] Jokić, but they’re two totally different players but he kind of has that slow motion game that’s hard to defend against him.”
In addition to his time with the Warriors, Richardson has also played for the Charlotte Bobcats, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, and the Philadelphia 76ers. A high flier during his NBA career, J-Rich was in Michael Jordan territory during his NBA career. A winner of the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest in both 2002 and 2003, the Saginaw, Michigan native became the second player after His Airness to win the competition back to back.
Speaking of high fliers, Vince Carter was a slam dunking peer of Richardson’s in the early 2000s When asked whether there’s a possibility that another Vince Carter could enter the NBA’s market place, Richardson gave an honest and animated response. “Whoooo man,” he said.
“Quiet as it is kept, there’s this kid at Michigan State; he’s developing his jump shot; he’s very similar to what I used to do but he jumps HIGHER than me — his name is Coen Carr from Atlanta/ East Point, Georgia. One of the most bounciest kids that I’ve seen. He has the chance to be the next Vince Carter. He’s working on his game, he’s super athletic, he’s working on his skillset but when you see this kid jump, you’re going to be impressed!”
Richardson also shares that he paid attention to Dallas Mavericks point guard, Kyrie Irving dunking the basketball last year. “Kyrie is a guy that wouldn’t expect to dunk especially with the way he plays,” he said.
“But to see him go out there and get a couple of dunks — coming down the middle? That’s just crazy. That just makes him MORE better seeing him do stuff like that.”
Lastly, Richardson also spoke glowingly of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards. “Seeing Anthony Edwards play is reminiscent of my era of basketball in the early 2000’s,” he tells Scoop B Radio.
“He plays hard on both ends of the floor; he plays with a lot of pride and a lot of passion and you can tell every time that he’s on the court he genuinely loves basketball and it’s good to see guys play like that all the time. I’m excited to continue to see him grow and have a healthy future and have a healthy career. I think that he’s going to be an amazing player in this league.”
You can’ watch Jason Richardon’s full interview on Scoop B Radio here!
