View source for Richard Washington

{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1955)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{other people|Richard Washington}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name            = Richard Washington
| image           = 
| width           = 
| caption         = 
| height_ft       = 6
| height_in       = 11
| weight_lb       = 220
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1955|07|15}}
| birth_place     = [[Portland, Oregon]], U.S.
| high_school     = [[Benson Polytechnic High School|Benson Polytechnic]]<br />(Portland, Oregon)
| college         = [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]] (1973–1976)
| draft_year      = 1976
| draft_round     = 1
| draft_pick      = 3
| draft_team      = [[Kansas City Kings]]
| career_start    = 1976
| career_end      = 1982
| career_position = [[Power forward]] / [[Center (basketball)|center]]
| career_number   = 31
| years1          = {{nbay|1976|start}}–{{nbay|1978|end}}
| team1           = [[Kansas City Kings]]
| years2          = {{nbay|1979|full=y}}
| team2           = [[Milwaukee Bucks]]
| years3          = {{nbay|1980|start}}
| team3           = [[Dallas Mavericks]]
| years4          = {{nbay|1980|start}}–{{nbay|1981|end}}
| team4           = [[Cleveland Cavaliers]]
| highlights      = 
* [[List of NCAA Men's Division I Basketball champions|NCAA champion]] ([[1975 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1975]])
* [[NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player|NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player]] (1975)
* Consensus first-team [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] ([[1976 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1976]])
* First-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference men's basketball teams|All-Pac-8]] (1976)
* Second-team All-Pac-8 (1975)
* First-team [[Parade All-America Boys Basketball Team|''Parade'' All-American]] (1973)
| stats_league    = NBA
| stat1label      = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value      = 3,456 (9.8 ppg)
| stat2label      = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value      = 2,204 (6.3 rpg)
| stat3label      = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
| stat3value      = 409 (1.2 apg)
}}
'''Richard Lee Washington''' (born July 15, 1955) is an American former professional [[basketball]] player in the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA). He played [[college basketball]] for the [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA Bruins]], winning a national championship in 1975, when he was voted the [[NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player|NCAA tournament's Most Outstanding Player]]. After being named a consensus first-team [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] as a [[junior (education year)|junior]] in 1976, he was selected by the [[Kansas City Kings]] with the third overall pick of the [[1976 NBA draft]].

==Early life==
A 6'11" [[center (basketball)|center]] born in [[Portland, Oregon]], Washington played high school ball at Portland's [[Benson Polytechnic High School|Benson Tech]]. An all-around athlete and agile big man, Washington was a three-time all-state and first-team all-tournament selection and led Benson to state championships in 1971 and 1973. Benson was a combined 77–6 those three seasons.<ref name="oregonsportshall1">{{cite web |url=http://www.oregonsportshall.org/richard_washington.html |title=Oregon Sports Hall of Fame |website=www.oregonsportshall.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521162531/http://oregonsportshall.org/richard_washington.html |archive-date=2012-05-21}}</ref> Washington was also a hurdler in track and, as a defensive end-receiver, was MVP on the Techmen football team his junior year (the last year he played football).<ref name="bruinbasketballreport2005">{{cite web | title=Catching Up With Richard Washington ('73–'76)|date=December 11, 2005|work=Bruin Basketball Report|url=http://www.bruinbasketballreport.com/2005/12/catching-up-with-richard-washington-73.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322171957/http://www.bruinbasketballreport.com/2005/12/catching-up-with-richard-washington-73.html|archive-date=March 22, 2014}}</ref>

==College career==
Washington was highly recruited out of high school and seriously considered the [[University of Hawaii]], but he decided to play college basketball for perennial national champion [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] and legendary coach [[John Wooden]].<ref name="bruinbasketballreport2005"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19730303&id=fU4fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=otEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=568,892919|title = Daytona Beach Morning Journal – Google News Archive Search}}</ref> He played three seasons at UCLA, with the Bruins going 26–4, 28–3 and 28–4. They won three [[Pac-8]] championships and advanced three Final Fours.<ref name="bruinbasketballreport2005"/>

In Washington's sophomore season of 1974–75, the [[1974–75 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team|Bruins]] captured the NCAA title. The Bruins went 28–3 and, powered by the front line of future NBA players Washington, [[Dave Meyers (basketball)|Dave Meyers]] and [[Marques Johnson]], and defeated [[University of Kentucky|Kentucky]] 92–85 in the title game, which would also be coach Wooden's final game. Washington was named [[NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player]] following UCLA's 1975 championship.<ref name="bruinbasketballreport2005"/>

He earned first-team All-American honors as a junior in 1975–76.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uclabruins.com/fls/30500/old_site/pdf/m-baskbl/MBBGuide99-128.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=30500 |title=UCLA BASKETBALL HISTORY |access-date=2014-09-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606214909/http://www.uclabruins.com/fls/30500/old_site/pdf/m-baskbl/MBBGuide99-128.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=30500 |archive-date=2015-06-06 }}</ref>

===College statistics===
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1973–74]]
| align="left" | [[1973-74 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team|UCLA]]
| 24 || – || – || .513 || – || .500 || 2.8 || 0.5 || – || – || 4.1
|-
| align="left" | [[1974–75 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1974–75]]
| align="left" | [[1974-75 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team|UCLA]]
| 31 || – || – || '''.576''' || – || .724 || 7.8 || 2.2 || – || – || 15.9
|-
| align="left" | [[1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1975–76]]
| align="left" | [[1975-76 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team|UCLA]]
| '''32''' || – || – || .513 || – || '''.736''' || '''8.6''' || '''3.1''' || – || – || '''20.1'''
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 87 || – || – || .536 || – || .702 || 6.7 || 2.0 || – || – || 14.2
|}

==NBA career==
Washington was declared eligible for the [[1976 NBA draft]] due to hardship status. He played six seasons in the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] as a member of the [[Kansas City Kings]], [[Milwaukee Bucks]], [[Dallas Mavericks]] and [[Cleveland Cavaliers]].<ref name="bruinbasketballreport2005"/> In his NBA career, he scored 3,456 points and grabbed 2,204 rebounds.

==NBA career statistics==
{{NBA player statistics legend}}

===Regular season===
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[1976–77 NBA season|1976–77]]
| align="left" | [[1976-77 Kansas City Kings season|Kansas City]]
| '''82''' || – || 27.6 || .431 || – || .697 || '''8.5''' || 1.0 || 0.8 || '''1.1''' || '''13.0'''
|-
| align="left" | [[1977–78 NBA season|1977–78]]
| align="left" | [[1977-78 Kansas City Kings season|Kansas City]]
| 78 || – || '''28.6''' || '''.477''' || – || '''.754''' || 8.4 || 1.5 || '''0.9''' || 0.9 || 12.8
|-
| align="left" | [[1978–79 NBA season|1978–79]]
| align="left" | [[1978-79 Kansas City Kings season|Kansas City]]
| 18 || – || 8.9 || .341 || – || .625 || 2.7 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 2.1
|-
| align="left" | [[1979–80 NBA season|1979–80]]
| align="left" | [[1979-80 Milwaukee Bucks season|Milwaukee]]
| 75 || – || 14.6 || .468 || .000 || .605 || 3.7 || 0.7 || 0.3 || 0.6 || 5.9
|-
| align="left" | [[1980–81 NBA season|1980–81]]
| align="left" | [[1980-81 Dallas Mavericks season|Dallas]]
| 11 || – || 27.9 || .436 || .000 || .739 || 7.6 || 1.5 || 0.5 || 0.6 || 10.8
|-
| align="left" | [[1980–81 NBA season|1980–81]]
| align="left" | [[1980-81 Cleveland Cavaliers season|Cleveland]]
| 69 || – || 21.8 || .459 || '''.500''' || .750 || 5.3 || '''1.6''' || 0.6 || 0.8 || 9.9
|-
| align="left" | [[1981–82 NBA season|1981–82]]
| align="left" | [[1981-82 Cleveland Cavaliers season|Cleveland]]
| 18 || '''2''' || 17.4 || .435 || .000 || .600 || 4.2 || 0.8 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 6.1
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 351 || <u>2</u> || 22.4 || .453 || .250 || .711 || 6.3 || 1.2 || 0.6 || 0.8 || 9.8
|}

===Playoffs===
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[1978–79 NBA season|1978–79]]
| align="left" | [[1978-79 Kansas City Kings season|Kansas City]]
| 4 || – || 13.0 || '''.550''' || – || '''1.000''' || '''3.3''' || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 6.0
|-
| align="left" | [[1979–80 NBA season|1979–80]]
| align="left" | [[1979-80 Milwaukee Bucks season|Milwaukee]]
| '''7''' || – || '''16.0''' || .532 || .000 || .250 || 2.9 || '''0.4''' || '''0.6''' || '''1.1''' || '''7.3'''
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 11 || – || 14.9 || .537 || .000 || .500 || 3.0 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 0.8 || 6.8
|}

==Personal life==
Washington and his wife, Leiko, reside in [[Milwaukie, Oregon]]. They have raised two daughters. Interested in building and construction since his youth, in 1993 he founded Richard Washington Construction, a general contracting company.<ref name="bruinbasketballreport2005"/><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.linkedin.com/pub/richard-washington/27/725/ab | url-access=registration | access-date=2023-11-11 | title=RICHARD WASHINGTON| website=linkedin.com}} {{Self-published source|date=June 2022}}</ref>

In 1988, Washington was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.<ref name="oregonsportshall1"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/washiri01.html Career statistics]
*[http://www.perrific.com/hoops/thevenue/banners/1975.html UCLA 1975 championship team]
*[https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/richard-washington-1.html Richard Washington] – college basketball player statistics at [[Sports Reference]]

{{navboxes|list=
{{1975 UCLA Bruins men's basketball navbox}}
{{NCAA basketball tournament MOP men}}
{{1976 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1976 NBA draft}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Richard}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:All-American college men's basketball players]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Benson Polytechnic High School alumni]]
[[Category:Centers (basketball)]]
[[Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players]]
[[Category:Dallas Mavericks expansion draft picks]]
[[Category:Dallas Mavericks players]]
[[Category:Kansas City Kings draft picks]]
[[Category:Kansas City Kings players]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Bucks players]]
[[Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins men's basketball players]]