Michael Ray Richardson, a four-time NBA All-Star known for leading the league in steals three times, died Tuesday at his home in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was 70 and had been battling prostate cancer. Richardson's attorney, John Zelbst, confirmed the death to The Associated Press.
Richardson, drafted fourth overall by the New York Knicks in 1978, enjoyed an eight-year NBA career with the Knicks, Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets. A three-time All-Big Sky Conference player at Montana, he was selected two spots ahead of Larry Bird in the draft.
His NBA highlights included averaging 15.3 points, a league-leading 10.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game for the Knicks in 1979-80. In 1984, he guided the Nets to a playoff upset over the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers, defeating stars Moses Malone and Julius Erving. His peak came in 1984-85 with New Jersey, where he averaged 20.1 points, 8.2 assists and a league-best 3.0 steals, earning Comeback Player of the Year honors.
Richardson's time with the Warriors was brief. Acquired in a 1982 trade that sent Bernard King to the Knicks, he played just 33 games before being dealt to the Nets for Sleepy Floyd and Mickey Johnson. In 1986, he was banned from the NBA for violating the league's drug policy due to cocaine use, ending his professional playing career after stints in the Continental Basketball Association and Europe.
Post-ban, Richardson found success in coaching, winning five championships: three with the Oklahoma/Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry (2008 and 2009 in the CBA, 2010 in the Premier Basketball League) and two with the London Lightning in NBL Canada. Zelbst, who owned those teams, described Richardson's life as 'a life of redemption and winning.' He added, 'He was just an incredible player, and no one had seen anybody like him at that time. He was Magic before Magic.'
'He got kicked out of the league, got sober and never went back to it,' Zelbst said. In later years, Richardson mentored young Black men in Lawton. 'Anybody that ever met him would just be fascinated by him. He was such a bright light and I'm going to dearly miss him,' Zelbst noted.