Jason Richardson won the Slam Dunk Contest in his first two NBA seasons with the Golden State Warriors. Now his son will try to repeat his feat in his own rookie season.
Jase Richardson of the Orlando Magic is one of four dunkers competing for glory at this year’s Slam Dunk Contest, happening Feb. 14 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. After Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons pulled out of the contest due to a knee injury, the NBA tapped Miami Heat guard Keshad Johnson to replace him, along with rookie Carter Bryant of the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers center/total jerk Jaxson Hayes, who served a one-game suspension this week after cheap-shooting Washington Wizards mascot, G-Wiz.
J-Rich won the first two dunk contests he entered then fell short in 2004, when Indiana Pacers guard Fred Jones backed into the win after a disappointing final round where both competitors missed their last dunks. However, Richardson was transcendent in his first appearance in 2002, delivering the three highest-rated dunks in the contest while seamlessly duplicating a classic Dominique Wilkins windmill dunk and closing on a reserve two-handed jam.
The younger Richardson is a different type of player than his father. Jase isa five inches shorter at 6-foot-1 and he’s a three-point specialist, a skill that eventually took off for J-Rich but not until his fifth NBA season. Also, J-Rich dunked 81 times in his rookie season, while so far his son has dunked exactly four times.
That’s a weird element of this year’s contest: These guys don’t actually dunk in games. Richardson has four dunks. Bryant has dunked six times. Johnson has nine dunks, and 15 in 37 career games. Hayes dunks a lot, throwing it down 69 times this season before Saturday’s game and 67 times before Tuesday’s contest, and which of those numbers you find funniest says a lot about your age.
However, Richardson has shown an ability to get up, especially in Michigan State’s preseason dunk contest in 2024, when the freshman put on his dad’s old No. 23 jersey before throwing down a 360-degree slam.
Plus, he’s significantly shorter than all the other dunkers, which makes dunks look more impressive. How else did Nate Robinson become a three-time champion?
Dwight Howard was never the same after this.
Jase probably isn’t the best dunker among Jason Richardson’s sons. That honor goes to his younger brother Jaxon Richardson, who has won multiple dunk contests while still in high school.
Hey, remember when Jason Richardson won his second dunk title in 2003? We do!
Jase and Jason could become the first father-son pair to win the Slam Dunk Contest, after Larry Nance, Jr., son of 1984 dunk champ Larry Nance, fell to Donovan Mitchell in the final of the 2018 event. They’d also tie for the family dunk championships record with the Robinson’s and the McClung’s, who have three each.
Is Jase excited to compete? Sort of.
The Slam Dunk Contest still struggles to attract star talent, with this group including two rookies and a guy in Johnson who was on a two-way contract six weeks ago. Mac McClung bowing out of this year’s event after three straight titles removes some star power, though he’s playing great for the Windy City Bulls — 27.9 points, 7.9 assists and 1.4 steals in his 14 games. Thursday, he signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls, and it wasn’t just so the NBA could save face before All-Star Saturday!
Look, with Jimmy Butler out and Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jonathan Kuminga traded, the Warriors are down to one guy who ever dunks, Gary Payton II. But thanks to McClung’s Summer League stint with the Warriors and Richardson’s dad, Golden State could be looking at four straight dunk contests with a vaguely Warriors-adjacent champion. At this point in the 2025-26 season, Warriors fans will take any W they can.
