HAMILTON — Even though Jackie Richardson says people were telling it could happen since her son Malachi was in eighth grade, she still can’t believe it actually did.
Friday evening, Malachi Richardson, the Sacramento Kings rookie and 2016 first-round draft pick, returned to the gym where he and his mother spent countless days and nights working on his game.
Trenton Catholic Academy honored its first NBA player since Bobby Sands, who played for what was then St. Anthony’s in the late 1960s, during its opening-round game of the Mercer County Tournament against West Windsor-Plainsboro North.
“You think about it and he was playing here in high school just two years ago,” Jackie Richardson said. “I still can’t believe it, seriously. I still have my moments where it’s like ‘this is amazing.’ I mean I thought it might happen, but it happened so quickly, so soon. Maybe that’s what makes it so amazing.”
Malachi Richardson went from TCA in 2015 to Syracuse University, helped the Orange make the Final Four of the 2016 NCAA Tournament as a freshman, and then made the tough decision to leave school and declare for the NBA Draft. He was selected with the 22nd pick of the first round by the Charlotte Hornets, who immediately traded the pick to the Kings.
“It was tough. A lot of people wanted me to stay, the (Syracuse) fans wanted me to stay. I had to do what was best for me,” he said.
Sensing he would be a first-round pick, Richardson opted for the guaranteed three-year deal every NBA first-round pick gets and his case the $4.51 million that went with it. The Kings have a team option on him in 2019 for $2.6 million and must make him a qualifying offer of $3.7 million in 2020.
“You really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Richardson said. “Teams don’t come out and say ‘we’re going to take you.’ Around the combine, meeting with different teams that’s when I made the decision. “It was tough. On the outside you really don’t understand it, going through it and having a clear view to it, you just have to trust your gut and believe in yourself.”
Malachi Richardson is the Times Player of the Year 2015
It’s been a typical NBA roller coaster of a rookie year for the 6-6 shooting guard. He spent time in the D-League where he was dominant, made it back to the Kings where his playing time was on the increase and then suffered a hamstring injury in the final game before the All-Star break that will sideline him four to six weeks.
“A lot of ups and downs,” Richardson, who planned to come home during the team’s break and will head back West, Tuesday, said. “There have been some great times and some rough ones. To go back and forth to the D League, to get some minutes, to play against the World Champs (Cavs), to play against Golden State, and get some minutes and then get hurt. It’s been something.”
Memories of Malachi Richardson from Mark Eckel
Friday was a good time. Richardson was back at TCA where he had been watching games since he was in grade school. At times he sat at the end of the team bench, plotting what would be a future that included a McDonald’s High School All-American invitation.
“It feels good to come back and see everyone,” he said. “It’s been a long time, at least it feels like a long time. This has been a long year and a half. This place meant a lot to me. It’s part of my development in becoming both a player and a man.”
One that Jackie Richardson deserves a lot of credit for as well.
“I’m very proud,” she said of what it’s like to have a son in the NBA. “The stars lined up for him. When he was in the 8th grade, somebody mentioned the NBA to us. Now, that it’s happened, it’s just amazing.”
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