Jason Richardson Recalls Losing Championship Opportunity to Kobe Bryant’s Lakers, Reveals How LA Legend Became 'Second Greatest Player'

The 2010 Western Conference Finals featured the Phoenix Suns, in the last gasp of the seven seconds or less era, taking on the Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe Bryant on a revenge tour. While the series was headlined by Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire against Kobe and Pau Gasol, it was the role players who made all the difference.

Calling Jason Richardson a role player is probably selling him a bit short, but the shooting guard was certainly an excellent starter on a long string of good teams. When the Suns bafflingly let Joe Johnson walk for nothing, Richardson saved them from that mistake, scoring just under 20 points per contest while guarding the opposing team’s best wing or guard.

Against the Lakers, that would always be Kobe. However, it was a moment in Game 5, where Richardson was elsewhere that still haunts him to this day. He explained the story he can’t escape on Paul George’s podcast, Podcast P.

“To this day, I blame myself,” started Jason, “because who would’ve thought that Kobe Bryant would airball a game winning shot. And while I’m looking like yeah, it’s gonna hit the rim … and he airballs it right to Metta World Peace, who is my man and to this day still bothers me, that was our chance, man.”

Bryant faded away for three with two men on him, only for Metta, previously known as Ron Artest, to tap in the shot. It was a crushing loss for the Suns, both mentally and physically. Not only did they lose the chance to take home court advantage, but they also lost the next game at home and were eliminated.

The year 2010 would essentially mark the end for that era of Phoenix basketball. Stoudemire would depart for New York that summer, and the Suns would be in the lottery for the foreseeable future while Nash dealt with nagging injuries.

Richardson’s praise for the Lakers star didn’t stop there. “That’s when I knew Kobe, to me, was probably the second greatest player alive. He did things in that Game 6 that we just couldn’t do.” From double teams to hedging off the screen, it wasn’t enough to keep Phoenix alive.

“Kobe just had a competitive nature in him,” remembered Richardson. “Every year, this guy came back with something different in his game.”

Jason never got that championship, unless you consider his two Slam Dunk Contest wins as an equivalent. In 2015, he would be forced to retire after a bone spur jeopardized his ability to walk. Now, he’s still chasing a ring in the Big 3 league.

Richardson’s lack of hardware shouldn’t make fans underrate him. Richardson was an excellent player on an excellent team who happened to run into a better player on a better team. That’s just how it is sometimes.