Who Is Josh Richardson? Here Are 5 Facts You Need To Know About Him

Quick Facts

Alright, take the credit – you know more than a few things about Josh Richardson. Yes, he’s a small forward and a shooting guard. Yes again, he plays for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). That apart, what else can you tell about the American professional basketballer?

What’s his favorite sport apart from basketball? Did you know he wears size 14 sneakers; that he has a degree in Psychology? What does he really enjoy doing in his spare time? Let’s make a pact, keep up with us, get answers to those questions and learn more about the NBA star. Deal?

Who Is Josh Richardson?

The Miami Heat small forward/shooting guard was born in Edmond, Oklahoma on the 15th of September and in the year 1993. His parents named him Joshua Michael Richardson after he was birthed but some of his pals prefer calling him “Slim”, “J-Rich” or just “JR”.

Although it’s pretty impossible to tell when Slim fell in love with this handball game, it is no secret that he started taking the sport seriously while he was a student of Santa Fe High School located in his hometown. It is said that he blazed for the Santa Fe basketball team to such an extent he earned The Oklahoman’s Super 5 first team honor. That’s not all, he was as well named to the Large West All-State Team of the Oklahoma Coaches Association.

5 Facts You Need To Know About Josh

1. His College Creer

Following Josh’s phenomenal performance in high school, it came as no surprise that he continued to play the game in college with the Volunteers of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. His stint at Tennessee spanned through 2011 to 2015 and, even though this chap was able to bag a degree in Psychology, his attainments at basketball in college has gained all the attention. If you check his records with the Volunteers, you will find that he played a total of 136 games for the college team in which he started in 110.

It is said that he was ranked 3rd on the school’s all-time list in terms of the number of games played. More than that, he finished with 1252 points which came in at the 28th spot, 147 steals ranked as 10th and 88 blocks which took him to the 16th position. In all, he had a fine collegiate career.

2. How He Began His Professional Career

The Miami Heat came for Josh Richardson during the 2015 NBA Draft and selected him in the second round with the 40th overall pick. He subsequently signed a 3-year deal with the side in August. Josh didn’t get to settle in with the team immediately as he got assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G-League in December. Thankfully, he was recalled the next month and it marked the beginning of his steady exploits in NBA.

For the 2015-16 season and the 2016-17 season, Josh appeared in a total of 105 games in which he started only 36, averaging 8.4 points and scoring in double figures 40 times. As you will subsequently learn, this isn’t the only major highlight of his career. Anyway, JR has been such a remarkable player for the Heat that the team decided to hand him a 4-year contract extension worth $42 million. This was sometime in September 2017.

3. Major Career Awards and Highlights

Josh Richardson has been a fine B-baller since he was in high school. Recall we mentioned he received the Oklahoman’s Super 5 first team honor and was named to the Large West All-State Team before he left high school? In college, this basketballer most notably, made the SEC All-Defensive Team in 2014 and in 2015. In the latter year, he equally made the All-SEC first team.

Hardly would anyone disagree with you if you insist that Josh’s best days in NBA are yet to come. Nonetheless, he has been able to assert himself a great deal as he won the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award for March during his rookie campaign.

4. His Family Life

Josh’s family has been one of his strongest support systems and his family life revolves around his parents and older sister. We’ve pieced that his mom Alice Richardson is an ordained Baptist minister and a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Air Force. Her husband, Josh’s father was a firefighter for Oklahoma City. It’s hard to tell what’s up with Mr. Michael Richardson at the moment.

J-Rich’s sister, Alex Richardson is equally a basketballer. It is said that she played for the Oklahoma State University and later moved to Central Oklahoma University where she kept up with her passion for the game and equally played volleyball.

5. Josh’s Interests Off The Court

Disregarding basketball, Josh is a big fan of football (soccer) and a supporter of Premier League’s Arsenal Football Club. If Slim isn’t taking a nap in his spare time, he would be riding a longboard, playing video games, classical piano or listening to classic rock.

Bonus Fact – Height and Weight

Josh Richardson has such physical structure that’s typical of basketballers. He’s 6 inches taller than 6 feet (1.98 m) and weighs 200 lb (91 kg).

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