Mitch Richmond
| Position: Guard |
Olympic #: 9 |
| Born: 6/30/65 (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) |
College: Kansas State Univ. |
| Height: 6’ 5” |
Weight: 215 lbs. |
If it's a zone buster that you need, then you need not look any further than Sacramento Kings sharpshooter Mitch Richmond. Already considered one of the NBA's most consistent all-around players, Richmond in 1994-95 became one of only nine players in NBA/ABA history to average 21.0 or more points in each of his first seven professional seasons, and with a 23.2 ppg. scoring average going into the final week of the 1995-96 season, he will become only the seventh player in NBA/ABA history to accomplish the feat through eight seasons, joining Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Rick Barry, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Oscar Robinson.
Earning second team All-America honors as a senior at Kansas State after averaging 22.6 ppg., 6.3 rpg. and 3.7 apg., Richmond arrived at Kansas State after earning Junior College All-America honors at Moberly Area Junior College (Moberly, MO).
Selected by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 1988 draft, Richmond delivered right from the start and earned Rookie of the Year honors after posting impressive numbers of 22.0 ppg., 5.9 rpg., and 4.2 apg. His scoring average improved from 22.0 his first year to 22.1 his second and 23.9 in his third season. He was traded to Sacramento on November 1, 1991, (along with Les Jepsen) in
exchange for Billy Owens, and Richmond's productivity has remained consistent. In his first nine NBA seasons, the 6'5" guard never averaged less than 21.9 ppg.
Annually among the league leaders in three-point field goal percentage and scoring, Richmond was voted All-NBA second team in 1995 and 1994. A four-time All-Star (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996), he garnered MVP honors at the 1995 All-Star classic after recording a game-high 23 points (10-13 FGs, 3-3 3-pt, 0-0 FT) with four rebounds and two assists in only 22 minutes of action.
No stranger to the international basketball court, Richmond was selected by USA Basketball as a member of its silver-medal winning 1987 World University Games and was the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.0 ppg. One year later, in 1988, Richmond earned a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic Team and averaged 8.9 ppg., 3.4 rpg., and 2.1 apg. for the bronze medalists. And now, with his selection to the 1996 Dream Team, he will have another chance to add an Olympic gold medal to his trophy case, while joining an elite group of U.S. players who have had the
opportunity to represent the United States in two Olympic basketball competitions.
