Richard Jefferson life and biography

Richard Jefferson is a 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) American professional basketball player currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. He was also a member of the USA men's national basketball team at the 2003 Tournament of the Americas and the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics.

Career history

New Jersey Nets (2001–2008)
Milwaukee Bucks (2008–2009)
San Antonio Spurs (2009–present)

CAREER:

Selected by the Rockets in the first round (13th overall pick) of the 2001 NBA Draft … draft rights traded by the Rockets – along with the draft rights to Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong – to the Nets in exchange for the draft rights to Eddie Griffin (6/27/01) … traded by the Nets to the Bucks in exchange for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons (6/26/08) … traded by the Bucks to the Spurs in exchange for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas (6/23/09).

Played for Team USA in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece … a member of the 2003 US Team that captured the gold medal at the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament … in his NBA career has appeared in 652 regular season games averaging 17.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 31.1 minutes … has appeared in 88 playoff games averaging 14.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 34.2 minutes in the postseason … has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week three times in his career (3/31/03, 4/5/04 and 12/13/04) … among Nets all-time leaders ranks seventh in games (489), third in minutes (17,499), third in points (8,507), seventh in rebounds (2,627), fifth in assists (1,486) and 10th in steals (438) … made two trips to the NBA Finals with the Nets (2002 vs. the Lakers and 2003 vs. the Spurs) … tied with Jason Kidd for the most postseason appearances in Nets history (with 78 games) … among Nets playoff leaders ranks second in minutes, second in points, third in rebounds, second in assists, fourth in steals and fourth in blocks.

2009–10:
Appeared in 81 games, including 70 starts, averaging 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.1 minutes… shot .467 (362-775) from the floor, .316 (59-187) from the three-point line and .735 (211-287) from the free throw line… scored in double figures 54 times, including eight 20-plus games … posted two double-doubles … led the team in scoring 10 times, rebounds five times, assists three times, steals 14 times and blocks 18 times … posted a season-high 29 points (11-23 FG, 2-5 3FG, 5-10 FT), 7 rebounds and 4 assists in 41 minutes vs. Dallas on 11/11 … finished with 24 points (9-16 FG, 5-8 FT), 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 37 minutes vs. Toronto on 11/9 … recorded 24 points (10-17 FG, 4-7 3FG), 6 rebounds, 3 assists in 34 minutes vs. Minnesota on 12/29 … tallied 23 points (11-18 FG, 1-1 3FG), 8 rebounds and 3 assists in 39 minutes vs. Sacramento on 12/9 … registered 20 points (9-12 FG, 2-2 FT), 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 34 minutes at Orlando on 3/17 … finished with 16 points (6-11 FG, 4-4 FT) and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes at Boston on 3/28 … tallied 19 points (8-13 FG, 1-4 3FG, 2-2 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 34 minutes at Minnesota on 3/12 … the following night recorded 18 points (8-14 FG, 2-2 FT) and 9 rebounds in 29 minutes vs. L.A. Clippers on 3/13 … tallied 20 points (7-11 FG, 2-3 3FG, 4-5 FT), 4 rebounds and 5 assists in 36 minutes vs. Phoenix on 2/28 … posted 13 points and 11 rebounds in 42 minutes at Dallas on 11/18 … knocked down a 15-foot jump shot with 9.1 seconds left in overtime to give the Spurs a 100-99 win at Oklahoma City on 1/13 … missed his only game of the season at New Orleans on 1/18 due to low back spasms … started all 10 playoff games, averaging 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 33.4 minutes … shot .486 (34-70) from the field … posted 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-4 FT) and grabbed playoff season-high 10 rebounds along with 3 assists in 42 minutes in Game 2 at Phoenix on 5/5 … scored 19 points (7-12 FG, 4-4 FT), including 17 points in the first half, in 41 minutes in Game 2 at Dallas on 4/21.

COLLEGE:

Played three seasons at Arizona … averaged 11.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 84 games … helped Arizona reach NCAA Tournament three times, losing to Duke in the 2001 NCAA Championship Game … as a junior, started 34 of 35 games, finishing second on the team in blocks (24), third in rebounding (5.4 rpg), third in assists (2.7 apg) and fourth in scoring (11.3 ppg) … picked for All-Midwest Regional Team … in national semifinal against Michigan State, poured in 17 points, adding eight rebounds and two blocks … had strong NCAA title game against Duke, scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half, including sinking a career-best 4-of-8 three pointers while hauling in eight rebounds … named to All-Final Four Team … selected to All-Pac-10 Freshman Team after 1998–99 season.

PERSONAL:

Parents are non-denominational Christian missionaries … has two older brothers … traveled to Africa with parents on missionary work … Meekness LeCato, his mother, also received a Ph.D. in education from the University of Cambridge in London … in addition to playing basketball, Richard was a high jumper on his high school track team, recording a personal best jump of 6’10” … had his #44 Jersey retired by Moon Valley High School on 3/4/04 … lists The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as his favorite TV show, Blues Brothers as his favorite movie … if he were not a professional basketball player, would be interested in a career in media relations/public relations.

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