Micheal Ray Richardson

Micheal "Sugar" Ray Richardson (born April 11, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach.

He played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies.

Richardson played on the 1972 state championship team.

Richardson played collegiately at the University of Montana.

He was recruited to the Big Sky Conference school by Hall of Fame Coach Jud Heathcote after Richardson's Denver basketball friend David Berry had visited the school.

Richardson was a 1974 graduate of Manual High School in Denver, Colorado.

He averaged 10 points on a talented team and did not start for the varsity team until he was a senior.

As a freshman in 1974-1975 Montana went 21-8 and qualified for the 1975 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, as Richardson averaged 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds.

The Grizzlies defeated Utah State 79-63, before losing to the eventual National Champion UCLA Bruins 67-64.

Montana then lost to UNLV in the regional 3rd place game.

Richardson averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a sophomore in 1975-1976, as Montana finished 13-12.

Under Coach Jim Brandenburg, who had been an assistant under Heathcote, Richardson averaged 19.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists as Montana finished 18-8 in 1976-1977.

In his second year, Richardson became the third player in NBA history (Slick Watts – 1976, Don Buse – 1977) to lead the league in both assists (10.1) and steals (3.2), setting the Knicks' franchise records in both categories.

He also recorded 18 triple-doubles, the second-most in franchise history.

As a senior, Richardson averaged 24.2 points and 6.9 rebounds in 1977-1978, and Montana finished 20-8, capturing the Big Sky regular-season title.

In his Montana career, Richardson averaged 17.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 49% shooting in 107 career games.

Richardson was First team All-Big Sky Conference as a sophomore, junior and senior.

Today, Richardson still shares the Montana single-game scoring record of 40 points, and holds the single-game record for field goals of 18 and the single-season scoring average record of 24.2.

Richardson is third on the Montana career assists list (372), second in career scoring (1,827 points) and ninth in career rebounding.

The No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, Richardson played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight years with the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets.

He was a four-time NBA All-Star, and led the league in steals in three seasons.

He later became a head coach in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada).

Richardson was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son of Billy Jack Richardson and Luddie Hicks.

The New York Knicks drafted Richardson with the fourth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, and he was billed as "the next Walt Frazier."

Two picks later, the Boston Celtics drafted future Hall of Famer Larry Bird.

After the season, Coach Heathcote left for Michigan State University, where he would win the 1979 NCAA title.

During the 1980-81 NBA season, Richardson made his second All-Star game, scoring 11 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and recording 4 steals in a 123-120 Eastern Conference victory.

The Knicks eventually finished 50-32 and Richardson made the playoffs for the first time in his career.

However, in the first round, Richardson, who averaged 11.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 3.5 steals per game in the series, and the Knicks lost in an upset to the Reggie Theus-led Chicago Bulls.

The following season, on November 27, 1981, Richardson scored his highest single game total as a Knick, with 33 points in a 116-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

At the beginning of the 1982–83 season, on October 22, 1982, Richardson was traded to the Golden State Warriors (along with a fifth-round draft choice) in exchange for Bernard King.

On February 5, 1983, Richardson recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists, while adding 9 steals, in a 106-102 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

After playing only 33 games for the Warriors, Richardson was traded to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Sleepy Floyd and Mickey Johnson on February 6, 1983.

In the 1984 playoffs, Richardson led the Nets to a shocking upset of the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers.

In the fifth and deciding game, he scored 24 points and had six steals.

In the following series, against the Milwaukee Bucks, Richardson led the Nets to a Game 4 victory with a team high 24 points.

However, the Nets would ultimately lose the series in six games.

In 1985, Richardson was named the NBA Comeback Player of the Year after averaging 20.1 points and leading the league in steals while playing all 82 games, after only playing 48 games in the prior season due to rehabilitating from substance abuse.

On October 30, 1985, Richardson barely missed a quadruple-double when he scored 38 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, recorded 11 assists, and stole the ball 9 times, during a 147-138 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Richardson wore Leather Converse All Stars briefly with the Nets, making him the last to wear the shoe in any form in the NBA.