Jason Kapono

Jason Alan Kapono (born February 4, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player.

In the final round of the contest, he scored 25 points, tying the all-time single round record set in 1986 and also setting a new finals record.

Kapono began his NBA career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted him in the second round of the 2003 NBA draft.

He later played in the NBA for the Charlotte Bobcats, Miami, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers before joining Panathinaikos B.C. in Greece.

Kapono was born in Long Beach, California, to Joe and Joni Kapono.

Jason prepped at Southern California basketball powerhouse Artesia High School in Lakewood, California, where he was a McDonald's All-American and won several accolades and titles.

In his senior year at Artesia he averaged 23.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

After a successful high school career, he enjoyed an outstanding college career at UCLA, where he finished as the third all-time leading scorer with 2,095 points, was the first Bruin to earn first-team All-Pac-10 honors all four years, and was the only UCLA player to lead the school in scoring four straight years.

He also set a school record for most three-pointers made in a game when he connected on 9 of 11 attempts against Washington State on January 4, 2003.

Kapono graduated with a degree in history.

He was a second-round draft choice of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA draft.

Kapono only played 41 games and started 3 in his first NBA season, although he led the team in three-point field goal percent at 47.7%.

He averaged 3.5 PPG for his rookie campaign.

He became an efficient 3pt shooter and was also good from the free-throw line, shooting 83% from the stripe.

The Cavaliers finished the season 37–45 and missed the playoffs.

After his rookie season with Cleveland, he was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 expansion draft, where he increased his scoring average from 3.5 to 8.5 points per game.

He also made the first block in Bobcats history.

Kapono also increased his assist and rebound average this season, although his total FG% including 3pt% slightly declined.

This was the Bobcats first ever season and the team was very young and had potential, although they were also inexperienced.

The Bobcats finished the season with an 18–64 record and Kapono was a free agent.

The Bobcats decided to not re-sign Kapono.

Instead, he was signed as a free agent by the Miami Heat where he was part of the 2005–06 NBA championship team.

His scoring took a toll as he had a lesser role on this elite team.

His scoring average dropped down to 4.1 for the season, and he only played 51 games in the season.

But he won his first and only championship with the Heat.

He won an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006.

Kapono played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins.

He was the first player in the school's history to earn first-team All-Pac-10 honors for four years and was also the first UCLA player to lead the team in scoring four straight years.

In the 2006–07 season, Kapono's points-per-game average and minutes played significantly increased, and he led the league in three-point percentage with .514, which is close to the all-time single-season three-point percentage record held by Kyle Korver (.536), and is the fourth best percentage in league season history.

He averaged a career high in scoring, minutes, and rebounding.

The 2006–2007 season is greatly considered to be the greatest season of his career due to his accomplishments and statistics.

Despite this, the defending champions had a disappointing season, finishing with an average 44–38 record and getting swept in the first round by the Chicago Bulls.

His statistic averages went down following the 2006–2007 season with the Heat, but he still played well.

He was the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player to lead the league in three-point field goal percentage in two consecutive seasons, and he also won the Three-Point Contest twice (2007, 2008).

Kapono also won the Three-Point Contest in the 2007 All-Star Weekend three-point shoot-out competition by defeating Dirk Nowitzki and Gilbert Arenas in the final round with a score of 24 points which tied Mark Price's record for most points in a final round of the three-point contest.

Kapono became a free agent in the 2007 offseason and signed with the Toronto Raptors on July 11.

On December 14, 2007, he had a career-high 29 points and pulled down 8 rebounds.

He also ended the 2007–08 season as the top three-point shooter in the league.

He was the first player in NBA history to have the highest three-point percentage in two consecutive seasons.

Kapono led the league in three-point percentage going into the 2008 All-Star weekend.