Jase Richardson is one of the Orlando Magic’s rookies this season. Prior to his NBA stint, Richardson played for the Michigan State Spartans in the 2024-25 season. At the time, the NCAA team was crowned the regular-season champions after ranking first in the Big Ten Conference.
The Magic rookie’s name seems oddly similar to that of former two-time Slam Dunk contest champion Jason Richardson.
Jason Richardson is the Father of Jase Richardson
In the 2025 NBA Draft, Jase was the 25th pick, selected by the Magic in the first round. While the rookie managed to get into the league on his own, apparently, he has deep family ties to an NBA legend.
Jase is the son of former two-time Slam Dunk champion Jason. Interestingly enough, the name Jase is actually his nickname. The Magic rookie inherited his father’s full name and is legally known as Jason Anthoney Richardson II.
From 1999 to 2001, Jason also attended Michigan State before declaring for the 2001 NBA Draft. Jason was then selected as the fifth pick by the Golden State Warriors.
While Jason is widely regarded for his legendary performances in the 2002 and 2003 Slam Dunk contests, Jase looks to take the helm and overshadow his father as he is set to participate in the 2026 Slam Dunk contest on Feb. 14.
The Richardson duo took similar paths getting into the league. However, there are several differences between the two players. For one, Jase only played one year for Michigan State while his father played in two. Jase is also notably smaller, standing at 6’3″, three inches smaller compared to Jason.
Apart from that, Jason had already made a name for himself as a dunker by the time he took part in the Slam Dunk contest. However, Jase has yet to reach that level. In 37 games played so far, he has logged only 4 dunks, the fewest among all participants. But Jase revealed his father motivated him.
“I don’t know if I have the same amount of stuff he had,” Jase said. “But he just told me to go out there and have fun. I think that was the biggest thing. I’m at All-Star break doing something that not a lot of people say they can do.”
It’s also worth noting that basketball truly runs in Jase’s family. Jason’s wife, Jackie Paul-Richardson, also played basketball in college. Then, during Jase’s earlier basketball years, his mother coached him.
It seems that Jase is now waiting for his younger brother, Jaxon Richardson, to make his NBA dreams come true. According to sources, Jaxon is one of the highly rated basketball prospects in high school. Some sources are projecting that he could have a better career than his older brother. However, that all remains to be seen.
