Jason Richardson To Compete In NBA Dunk Contest
2/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Former Michigan State All-American Jason Richardson will be one of four contestants in the 2002 NBA.com Slam Dunk presented by RealOne to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 9 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. For the first time in the 17-year history of the contest, NBA.com will provide basketball fans with the opportunity to serve as real judges. All scores received on NBA.com after each dunk will be calculated in real time, averaged and will count as one-fifth of the overall judging.
In his first season in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors, Richardson is currently averaging 11.3 points (third amond rookies), 4.0 rebounds (seventh among rookies), 2.9 assists (tied for third among rookies) and 1.23 steals (fourth among rookies) in 29.2 minutes (fourth among rookies). He is one of only two rookies in the NBA to rank in the top-10 among rookies in scoring, rebounding, assists, three-point percentage and steals.
In the slam dunk competition, Richardson will compete against the 2001 champion, Desmond Mason of Seattle, the 2000 runner-up, Steve Francis of Houston and Sacramento's Gerald Wallace. The contest will consist of a head-to-head bracketed competition.
NBA All-Star Saturday Night, featuring 989 Sports All-Star Hoop-It-Up, 1-800-CALL-ATT Shootout and NBA.com Slam Dunk presented by RealOne will be broadcast live nationally at 8 p.m. EST by TNT, TSN and ESPN Radio.
