Background and career
Quentin Lamar Richardson (born April 13, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who was formerly the director of player development for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Q-Ball", he played professionally for 13 seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic. He won the NBA Three-Point Contest in 2005.
Richardson was born in Chicago, Illinois to Lee and Emma Richardson where he attended Whitney Young High School. In 1998, he led the Dolphins to the state AA title. In 2006, Richardson was voted as one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament, a group of former players and coaches in honor of the 100 year anniversary of the IHSA boys basketball tournament.
Richardson played college basketball for DePaul University where he averaged 17.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in two seasons. He became the only player in school history to have 1,000+ points, 500+ rebounds and 100+ three-point field goals. As a freshman, he earned both the Conference USA Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Richardson declared for the NBA draft after his sophomore year in 2000.
Richardson was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 18th pick of the 2000 NBA draft. He was selected after fellow Clippers Darius Miles and Keyon Dooling. Richardson would star in a documentary with Miles entitled The Youngest Guns which chronicled their first three seasons in the NBA with the Clippers. Richardson's debut game was played on October 31, 2000 in a 94 - 107 loss to the Utah Jazz where he recorded 2 points and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes of playing time. In his first game as a starter on November 29, 2000, Richardson played 43 minutes and recorded 18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in a 103 - 86 victory over the Golden State Warriors. On New Year's Eve 2003, Richardson posted a career-high 44 points in a 120 - 104 victory over the Denver Nuggets. It was the only time in Richardson's 13-year career where he scored 40 points or more. Richardson spent four seasons with the Clippers playing in 281 games (starting 105 of them) and averaging 12.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists at 25.7 minutes per game.
Richardson signed a six-year, $45 million contract with the Phoenix Suns as a free agent on July 29, 2004. The 2004–05 season was a big one for not only Richardson, but the Suns as well. He set a new Suns single-season record for three-point field goals, eclipsing the previous record of 199 set by Dan Majerle. He finished the season with a league-leading 631 three-point attempts, and 226 three-point field goals, co-leading the league with Kyle Korver. Richardson's single-season three-point record was surpassed by Collin Gillespie in the 2025–26 season. Richardson also set a Suns franchise record with nine threes against the New Orleans Hornets on December 29, 2004. Richardson would also go on to win the NBA All-Star Three-Point Shootout that same season. The Suns finished the regular season with a league-best 62 wins and 20 losses. He made his playoff debut with the Suns in 2005 who would eventually lose to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. On November 20, 2024 on his Knuckleheads Podcast with Darius Miles, Richardson revealed that his sole season in Phoenix was his favorite season of his entire NBA career. Citing that he had the most fun playing with his teammates, the rising stardom of his fellow teammates such as Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire and how the Suns were able to shock the league by making a deep playoff run to the Western Conference Finals.
Richardson was traded from the Suns, along with 2005 draft pick Nate Robinson, to the New York Knicks in exchange for Kurt Thomas and Dijon Thompson on June 28, 2005. His first three seasons in New York were largely hampered by nagging injuries—the most serious being a chronic back condition—which limited him to 55, 49, and 65 games played respectively. His injury situation finally stabilized during the 2008–2009 season, when he remained healthy enough to appear in all but seven games. This does not include two additional DNP-CDs (Did Not Play – Coach's Decision) that he received; one on February 28, 2009, against the Miami Heat and a second on March 10, 2009, against the Milwaukee Bucks.
