Richard Hamilton (basketball) life and biography

Richard "Rip" Hamilton is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Detroit Pistons. He is 6'7" tall, weighs 193 lbs (2.01 m, 87.5 kg), and plays shooting guard and small forward. He currently is the Pistons' team captain.

CAREER:

Selected by the Washington Wizards in the first round (#7 overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft.
Acquired by Detroit from Washington along with Hubert Davis and Bobby Simmons in exchange for Jerry Stackhouse, Brian Cardinal and Ratko Varda (9/11/02).

Was an NBA All-Star selection in 2006, 2007 and 2008…Named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice [(1/22/06) and (12/16/01)].

Career Averages/Milestones:
In 788 career NBA games has averages of 17.9 points on .451 (5,337-11,832 FG) shooting with 3.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 33.4 minutes per game…Became the first player in NBA history to lead his team in scoring in a game without making a field goal with 14 points (0-10 FG, 0-1 3FG, 14-14 FT) vs. Memphis (1/6/05)…Scored a career-high 51 points (career-high 19-37 FG, 1-1 3FG, 12-12 FT) in a career-high 55 minutes at New York (12/27/06) becoming the fifth Pistons’ player [Jerry Stackhouse, Kelly Tripucka, Dave Bing and George Yardley (twice)] to score 50-plus points in a game…Has recorded 11 career double-doubles …Is one of seven players in Pistons franchise history to reach the 10,000-point plateau.

2009-10 (Detroit):
Appeared in a career-low 46 games (all starts), averaging a team-leading 18.1 points (.409 FG, .297 3FG, .846 FT), 2.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 0.7 steals in 33.7 minutes per game…Among NBA leaders, ranked 24th in free-throw percentage (.846)…Led the team in scoring 19 times, rebounds once and assists eight times… Scored 10-plus points in 39 games, 20-plus points 18 times and 30-plus points three times…Tallied 10-plus assists twice and recorded two double-doubles (points/assists)…Ranked third on the club in assists (4.4 apg)…Tallied five or more assists on 19 occasions, including a season-high 10 assists vs. New Orleans (1/15) and again vs. Memphis (1/27)…Those 10 assists vs. Memphis, along with 11 from Rodney Stuckey marked the first time two Pistons had 10-plus assists in a game since Lindsey Hunter and Chauncey Billups vs. Toronto (4/17/07)…Moved into sixth place on the Pistons all-time scoring list with 17 points at Chicago (1/11)…Became the seventh player in franchise history to record 10,000 points when he scored 18 vs. Golden State (12/12)…Tied Bob Lanier for the most consecutive seasons leading the team in points per game (8)…Averaged 20.4 points per game in 13 games during the month of February - most of any month during the season…Scored a season-high 36 points (12-18 FG, 9-9 FT) at Orlando (2/18)…Had a streak of 51 consecutive free throws made (2/6-2/23)…Grabbed a season-high six rebounds three times [vs. New York (1/16), at Denver (2/26) and at Golden State (2/27)]…Grabbed a season-high three steals vs. Golden State (12/12)…Missed 36 games due to injury or illness - most of any year in his career…Missed 30 games with a sprained right ankle (10/30-12/23; 3/31-4/14), five games with a sore right hamstring (12/16-12/23) and one game with an upset stomach (1/18).

COLLEGE:

Named the Most Outstanding Player in the 1999 NCAA Final Four…Scored 27 points as UConn defeated Duke for the National Championship…Averaged 21.5 points during his junior season…Named First Team All-America by The Associated Press…Named co-Big East Player of the Year…Ranks second in UConn scoring history with 2,036, and is the only Husky to score at least 700 points twice.

PERSONAL:

Full name is Richard Clay Hamilton, nickname is "Rip"…Celebrated the arrival of his first child, Richard Clay II, in October 2007…He and his wife, T.J., were married in July 2009…One of three college players named to the 1999 USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team...Majored in Communication Sciences…Named as one of The Sporting News’ 2004 and 2005 "Good Guys" in sports for his community initiatives in Detroit and his hometown of Coatesville, PA…Joined the Pistons in opening the Richard Hamilton Reading and Learning Center at Gunn Elementary School in Detroit in March 2005…Holds an annual "Rip City" Celebration in Coatesville, PA during one summer day each year to help promote learning and enrich the lives of local area youth…Has worked with Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit as well as the Salvation Army the last four years to help the city’s less fortunate during the Thanksgiving Holiday…Held a special donation drive in March 2009 to help arson victims in his hometown of Coatesville that suffered numerous arson attacks.

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