RICHARD JEFFERSON

'Richard Alle Jefferson' (born June 21 1980, in Los Angeles, California) is a 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) American professional basketball player. He plays small forward for the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association.
He is known for his all-around game and superior athleticism, and is one of the preeminent small forwards in the NBA today. Jefferson's nickname is RJ, which is tattooed on his shoulder. Jefferson is originally from Phoenix, Arizona. His parents were both Christian missionaries and he moved around frequently growing up.

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Career

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Career

Jefferson attended Desert Foothills Junior High School and Moon Valley High School in west Phoenix, where he was an integral part of the varsity basketball team that won the 4A State Championship in 1998. He played college basketball at the University of Arizona. He was drafted as the 13th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, but was traded to New Jersey along with the draft rights to Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong in exchange for the draft rights to Eddie Griffin. Jefferson is currently in his sixth season with the Nets and was a key element of their back-to-back Eastern Conference Championship teams of 2002 and 2003. In addition, Jefferson was a member of the USA Olympic basketball team in during the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Jefferson began his career as a substitute small forward for Keith Van Horn and showed great defensive skills and all-around ability. He is especially effective at finishing at the rim, which complements Jason Kidd's fast break and alley oop passes. Because of his potential, and Van Horn's conflict with power forward Kenyon Martin, the Nets traded Van Horn to the Philadelphia 76ers and trusted Jefferson as a starter. Jefferson blossomed in the role, becoming a good mid- and long-range shooter in addition to his slashing ability. On August 13, 2004, Jefferson signed a six-year, $78,000,000 contract extension with the Nets.
Jefferson missed the majority of the 2004-05 regular season after rupturing a ligament in his left wrist, an injury he claimed occurred when Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups purposely undercut him on a layup attempt during a game on December 27, 2004. Jefferson ended up missing 49 games, but returned to action for the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat. Prior to suffering the injury, Jefferson had missed only five games in his three NBA seasons. Jefferson had been enjoying his best professional season, averaging 22.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. Completely healthy now, except his sore knee, Jefferson remains an integral part of the Nets and one of the "Fantastic 4" along with teammates Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Nenad Krstic. Through the 2005-06 season, Jefferson has continued to perform at a high level and has established himself as one of the NBA's most versatile players. On January 21, 2007, Jefferson knee was injured once again and he decided to have ankle surgery. After missing around 6 weeks, he is now back in the line-up. His absence proved to be a major setback for the struggling Nets, who surged back into playoff contention once Jefferson returned to the lineup.

External links

★ Richard Jefferson's U.S. Olympic Team bio

★ NBA profile

★ ESPN profile