The bond between fathers and sons is forever. But when it comes to basketball, that bond can also be rooted in friendly competitiveness — whether it’s supporting different NBA teams or going 1v1 in casual games. A house full of hoopers is a house full of fun, and Jason Richardson can attest to that.
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The retired NBA star recently spoke about playing his son Jase during an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George. Well, it was actually Jase who went into detail, especially about the part where he claimed he got the better of his dad, the ex-Golden State Warrior.
“I think we first played one-on-one my sophomore year,” said Jase. “I got whooped. I definitely got whooped.” The young man’s honesty had everyone, including J-Richardson Sr., laughing. But that was just the beginning.
Moments later, the 19-year-old revealed that he actually scored a W over his former pro father. “And then we played my junior year. He’s gonna say it wasn’t for real,” said Jase.
Seconds later, his dad jumped in. “It wasn’t for real.”
“It WAS for real, and I beat him by two,” Jase fired right back. This left the entire panel, including George, with smiles on their faces as they then listened to J-Richardson explain the loss.
“He was a little hurt at the time, so I didn’t want to kill his confidence. I was doing the father thing like I was supposed to.”
“But we haven’t played ones since,” Jase responded, which got a big laugh out of everyone. You’d think Jason would be relishing the fact that his son beat him, but that competitive spirit—the same one that won him two Slam Dunk championships during his NBA years—just refuses to go away.
The good thing for J-Rich is that he’s not the only former NBA player to have lost a game to their son. Back in 2015, Dell Curry famously spoke about losing to his boy, future Hall of Famer Steph Curry, during an interview with ESPN.
“It felt horrible,” Dell said. “I was pissed. But I never asked him to do it again because I wasn’t sure I could ever beat him.”
Steph later confirmed that the matchup his pops was referring to was their last one-on-one game, other than a friendly round of H-O-R-S-E. “I don’t remember the specifics of the game itself, but my celebration was over the top,” Curry said. “The only time we played after that were games of H-O-R-S-E.”
Again, Dell should probably feel immense pride that his son, one of the greatest the NBA has ever seen, honed his competitive edge from showdowns with his dad. You’d think that would be the ultimate badge of honor.
But that’s the great thing about professional athletes, especially NBA players — that hunger never leaves them, even when age starts to wear down their skills.
That’s why, just like Dell, Jason hasn’t gone 1v1 against his son since losing. Jase is no Steph, and losing to him must’ve stung too much for Jason to risk a repeat.
