Michael Ray Richardson, a four-time NBA all-star whose drug use undermined his career, died Tuesday in Lawton, Oklahoma, the Associated Press reported, citing his attorney. He was 70.
Mr. Richardson had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Nicknamed “Sugar,” Mr. Richardson starred at the University of Montana before the Knicks selected the 6-foot-5 guard with the fourth pick of the 1978 draft. He earned three of his four all-star selections with the team, establishing himself as one of the league’s most dynamic players.
Michael Ray Richardson, a four-time NBA all-star whose drug use undermined his career, died Tuesday in Lawton, Oklahoma, the Associated Press reported, citing his attorney. He was 70.
Mr. Richardson had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Nicknamed “Sugar,” Mr. Richardson starred at the University of Montana before the Knicks selected the 6-foot-5 guard with the fourth pick of the 1978 draft. He earned three of his four all-star selections with the team, establishing himself as one of the league’s most dynamic players.
Mr. Richardson at one point in his career spelled his first name “Micheal” but chose the traditional spelling of the name for his 2024 memoir.
“We are saddened to hear about the passing of former Knick Michael Ray Richardson,” the Knicks said in a statement. “One of the fiercest defensive players of his era, the four-time NBA all-star made an incredible impact on the Knicks during his four seasons with the franchise. Our deepest condolences go to his family, friends and teammates.”
Over his eight-year NBA career with the Knicks, Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets, he averaged 14.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists. Mr. Richardson led the league in assists and steals during his second season, later becoming one of the first players to top the league in steals three times. He also was a two-time NBA all-defensive first-team selection and ranks second in Knicks history with 18 triple-doubles.
“He had it all as a player, with no weaknesses in his game,” Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas told Andscape earlier this year. “He is the player who gave me the most problems playing against him. He was taller, just as fast and could shoot from three and midrange. His post-up game was elite. Offensively, he had it all.”
His drug abuse, however, was a recurring theme during his time in the NBA. It culminated in a lifetime ban in 1986 after he violated the NBA’s drug policy for a third time.
In August 1983, he emerged from his second stint at a cocaine rehabilitation program that year claiming he was “free” from depression and addiction. Two months later, he disappeared from Nets training camp and later admitted he had suffered a relapse. Mr. Richardson refused to enter a treatment facility and the Nets placed him on waivers that October, though he later complied and was reinstated by the team that December.
Following the 1983-84 season, Mr. Richardson’s Nets upset the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. The following season, he averaged a career-high 20.1 points and was named the NBA’s comeback player of the year. In September 1985, Mr. Richardson signed a four-year, $3 million contract with the Nets, and the following month he appeared in an NBA antidrug video.
His cautionary tale had begun to sound like a feel-good story, but in December 1985, after Mr. Richardson disappeared for three days following a team Christmas party, he admitted to a relapse and was sent to a California rehab clinic.
“It was the first time that I didn’t know what to say to him,” said Buck Williams, telling Bleacher Report of the moment Mr. Richardson called to tell him about his relapse. “He had told me so many times: ‘Buck, I’ll never go back on drugs. Never.’”
Mr. Richardson returned to the Nets in January 1986, but he failed a urinalysis test the following month and was banned by the NBA for at least two years. He was reinstated as a free agent in 1988 but never played in the league again.
Following the ban, Mr. Richardson briefly played in the Continental Basketball Association before continuing his playing career in France and Italy. He retired in 2002 at 47.
He later coached in the CBA and the Premier Basketball League — winning three titles across the leagues — as well as the National Basketball League of Canada. He retired to Oklahoma with his wife and co-wrote a 2024 book on his life and journey titled “Banned: How I Squandered an All-Star NBA Career Before Finding My Redemption.”
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