Richard Jefferson: Early Life, Career, Wife & Net Worth

Richard Jefferson is a formal professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association League. He played for 8 major teams throughout his career in the NBA.

Aside from that, the player announced his retirement in 2018. During this period, he played with the Denver Nuggets. Although, he had not come out of the bench for the last 10 games in the 2018 season.

Moreover, the basketball player started his career with the New Jersey Nets. Currently, the formal athlete serves as an analyst on ESPN.

Furthermore, he was the NBA team’s first-round pick. Besides that, he played basketball for The Moon Valley High School.

With his exceptional skills, he became a valuable part of the team. Correspondingly, they won the 4A State Champion in 1998.

Likewise, he played collegiate basketball at the University of Arizona. However, the former champion’s journey with the Wildcats came to an end in 2001 after losing to Duke University in the National Championship.

QUICK FACTS

Here are few interesting facts about Richard Jefferson.

Full Name	Richard Allen Jefferson
Birth Date	June 21, 1980
Birth Place	California, Los Angeles, United States
Nick Name	RJ
Religion	Christian
Nationality	American
Ethnicity	African/American
Education	University of Arizona
Horoscope	Cancer
Father’s Name	Richard Allen Jefferson Senior
Mother’s Name	Meekness LeCato
Siblings	None
Age	40
Height	6 feet 7 inches
Weight	233lbs (106kg)
Hair Color	None
Eye Color	Dark Brown
Build	Athletic
Current Profession	ESPN annalist
Current Team	None
Position	Small forward
Active Years	2001-2018
Marital Status	Married
Wife	Teresa Lourenco
Kids	None
Net Worth	$50 million
Social Media	Instagram, Twitter
Merch	Signed Jersy, Action Figure, Trading Card

Richard Jefferson: Early Life, Family, and Education

Richard Jefferson was born in California, Los Angeles, United States. His parents are Richard Jefferson Senior and Meekness LeCato.

Additionally, RJ’s parents were a member of a Christion religious group. Due to which they had to move around frequently.

The formal athlete went to many different high schools. However, his time in Moon Valley High School is well known. At the same time, they won a State Championship during Jefferson’s senior year.

Furthermore, Richard attended the University of Arizona for his further education. Not to mention, he played basketball for Arizona Wildcats, where he was a viable asset. The NBA Champion started in 77 games out of 84 games.

In his Junior year, the basketball team went to the finals of the national championship game. In 2001, they lost to the Duke Blue Devils.

Moreover, in the same year after the loss, he entered the NBA Draft.

Besides that, his family describes him as responsible and hard-working. He often trained with the best players to enhance his skills.

Throughout the basketballer’s career, he is well known as a team player.

Richard Jefferson: Age, Height, and Weight

The formal Cavalier is 40 years old as of June 21, 2020. The ESPN analyst still takes excellent care of his health and diet.

He hits the gym quite frequently and leads a very healthy life. Furthermore, he is 6 feet 7-inch-tall and weighs 233 lbs.

Richard Jefferson: Basketball Career

New Jersey Nets

Following RJ’s junior year at the University of Arizona, the athlete entered the 2001 NBA Draft.

Jefferson was picked in the first round and was the 13^th overall pick. He was selected by the Houston Rockets and traded to New Jersey Nets.

Richard had signed a four-year deal with the New Jersey Nets. He was not a starter during this time.

However, he was a viable element for back-to-back Eastern Conference Champion in 2002 and 2003.

In the year 2004, the Nets traded him. Moreover, this gave RJ the starting opportunity and a six-year extension worth $78 million. He got this extension due to his excellent defensive and offensive skills.

The formal champion faced major injuries in his following two seasons. In the 2004-05 season, he ruptured a ligament in his right wrist.

Furthermore, the following season he had knee surgery. Due to which he missed an exceptional amount of time.

The athlete had become MVP player for the Nets. Throughout his seven seasons with the Nets, he averaged 19.1 points per game. Out of which, he had the best season averaging 22.6 points per game in 2007-08.

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Milwaukee Bucks

In the first half of the 2008-09 season, the Nets traded Jefferson to the Bucks. Initially, Richard was not happy due to his plan of playing with the Nets until he retires.

However, he made peace with this decision and became a viable starter for the Bucks.

Here he averaged 19.6 points per game throughout 82 games.

Furthermore, the professional athlete also played alongside his future head coach, Tyron Lue. The Bucks finished 13^th in the eastern conference that year.

San Antonio Spurs

Richard played one season with the Bucks after being traded to the Spurs. He played against the legendary hall of famous Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.  He was also a starter with this team.

Richard averaged 11.7 per game in the two seasons with the Spurs. Moreover, in the season 2009-10, the Spurs were 3^rd in the standing.

However, they fell to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round.

The following season, the Spurs were the first-seed. Likewise, they had high hopes during the playoffs.

Nevertheless, they lost in the first round to an eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. After this, the Spurs traded RJ to Golden State Warriors.

Golden State Warriors

On March 15, 2012, Jefferson was traded to the Warriors.

Here he played alongside one of the splash brothers, Clay Thompson. He came off the bench in the same year, averaging 26.4 mins per game.

Furthermore, the formal basketballer averaged 9.0 points per game.

The Warriors finished 13^th in the western conference.

However, following this season, the Warriors were 6^th seed. They won the first round against Denver but failed to win the second round against Spurs. RJ was a valuable asset during this playoff run.

Utah Jazz

During the off-season of 2012-13, the annalist was traded to the Jazz. Richard demanded this trade, and the Warriors agreed to do so.

Here, the veteran played alongside a future defensive player of the year, Rudy Gobert.

He also came off the bench for the Jazz and only averaged 27.0 mins per game. Here he averaged 10.1 mins per game in a 2.0 field goal attempt. However, Jazz had the worst record in the Western Conference.

Dallas Mavericks

Following the 2013-14 season, Richard was traded to ta Mavericks. Furthermore, Richard played alongside Dirk Nowitzki and future hall of fame Rajon Rondo.

Richard averaged only 16.8 mins with 5.8 points per game in 74 games.

Moreover, the Mavericks finished 7^th seed in the 2014-15 NBA regular season. They qualified for the playoffs and were facing the Houston Rockets. However, they lost the match in a 4-1 Houston win.

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Cleveland Cavaliers

In the free agency, Jefferson signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2015-16 season.

Here, he played with one of the NBA’s best duo Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. This was a very successful season for the Cavaliers as they won the NBA Championship.

Similar to the veteran’s previous season, he averaged 17.9 mins per game, scoring 5.5 points per game out of 74 games.

RJ came off the bench during the regular season. However, he started in the 3 games of the NBA finals to win over Golden State Warriors.

Despite going down 3-1, the Cavaliers won three consecutive games and won the series.

Furthermore, this was the first time in NBA history for a team to win the series after being down 3-1. This victory led to the athlete’s first championship ring.

Following this amazing season, the one-time NBA champion decided to retire.

Nonetheless, he reconsidered the decision and signed a two-year extension. The Cavaliers returned to the NBA finals but failed to defend their championship.

Besides that, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Nevertheless, he was immediately waived by the Hawks.

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Denver Nuggets

After being waived by the Hawks, Jefferson signed with the Nuggets. This contract was only for one-year worth $2.3 million. He only played 20 games averaging 8.2 mins and 1.5 points per game.

On October 13, 2018, the professional athlete announced his retirement. He was a very hard-working player.

Richard Jefferson: Marriage And Kids

The formal professional athlete is married to Teresa Lourenco. They met after Richard called off his previous weeding. The couple is relatively personal about their life.

Furthermore, Lourenco was awarded “Best New Face” and “Best New Generation model” in 1996. She has worked with Victories Secret and Christian Dior. She is a very successful model.

There is no record of them having any children of their own. However, she has two children from her previous marriage.

Nevertheless, the couples are happy and currently live in New York City.

Richard Jefferson dumps bride-to-be

The formal Net dated Kesha Ni’Cole Nichols during his time with the Nets.

Kesha was a Net dancer; this is how they mate. They were reportedly dating for some while. Additionally, it was rumored that the couple was expected to tie knots.

Nonetheless, this rumor happened to be true. They were expected to get married, and preparations had already been made.

Additionally, the wedding would have cost $2 million, which went into vain after him not showing up at the last moment.

Everything was prepared. The guest had arrived at the altar.

However, Jefferson didn’t show up. His friends state that he called two hours before the wedding to call it off. As of now, both Richard and Kesha are not on talking terms.

Richard Jefferson: Net Worth and Salary

Richard has built an enormous wealth throughout the years in the National Basketball Association.

Jefferson’s estimated net worth is $50 million.

Furthermore, the athlete had earned $2.3 million from his last NBA team.

On top of that, Richard earns a fair amount through endorsements and sponsorships. The athlete leads a very luxurious life. Moreover, he lives in a gorgeous house and owns multiple cars.

Richard Jefferson: Social Media Presence

RJ is quite active on social media platforms. He is on Instagram with over 220 thousand followers. Furthermore, the athlete posts multiple memes about basketball.

Moreover, RJ has an Instagram account dedicated to meme names the Sports Gap.

Alongside posting memes, he also posts some news regarding NBA.

One of his latest meme on his Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMQqYu1nZgx/

The athlete frequently shares basketball-related news and game highlights. He has shared pictures with his formal teammates. Many high-profile celebrities and basketballers follow him.

Besides that, he also has a Twitter handle with over 76 thousand followers. He mostly shares news about basketball players and is on-spot with the reply memes.

FAQS

Why did Richard Jefferson retire?

He decided to retire from NBA after his 17th season when the Knicks were the only ones to offer him a job.

What’s Richard Jefferson’s career earnings?

RJ has earned an impressive amount of $110,243,869.00 in his entire career.

Was Richard Jefferson ever an all-star?

No, Richard never made it to the all-star, but he is considered one of the best players that did not make it to the all-star.