Los Angeles Clippers (2000–2004) Richardson was drafted by the
Los Angeles Clippers with the 18th pick of the
2000 NBA draft. He was selected after fellow Clippers
Darius Miles and
Keyon Dooling. Richardson would star in a documentary with Miles entitled
The Youngest Guns which chronicled their first three seasons in the NBA with the Clippers. Richardson's debut game was played on October 31, 2000 in a 94 - 107 loss to the
Utah Jazz where he recorded 2 points and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes of playing time. In his first game as a starter on November 29, 2000, Richardson played 43 minutes and recorded 18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in a 103 - 86 victory over the
Golden State Warriors. On New Year's Eve 2003, Richardson posted a career-high 44 points in a 120 - 104 victory over the
Denver Nuggets. It was the only time in Richardson's 13-year career where he scored 40 points or more. Richardson spent four seasons with the Clippers playing in 281 games (starting 105 of them) and averaging 12.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists at 25.7 minutes per game.
Phoenix Suns (2004–2005) Richardson signed with the
Phoenix Suns as a free agent on July 29, 2004. The
2004–05 season was a big one for not only Richardson, but the Suns as well. He set a new Suns single-season record for
three-point field goals, eclipsing the previous record of 199 set by
Dan Majerle. He finished the season with a league-leading 631 three-point attempts, and 226 three-point field goals, co-leading the league with
Kyle Korver. Richardson also set a Suns franchise record with nine threes against the
New Orleans Hornets on December 29, 2004. The Suns finished the regular season with a league-best 62 wins and 20 losses. He made his playoff debut with the Suns
in 2005 who would eventually lose to the eventual champion
San Antonio Spurs in the
Western Conference Finals. On November 20, 2024 on his Knuckleheads Podcast with Darius Miles, Richardson revealed that his sole season in Phoenix was his favorite season of his entire NBA career. Citing that he had the most fun playing with his teammates, the rising stardom of his fellow teammates such as Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire and how the Suns were able to shock the league by making a deep playoff run to the Western Conference Finals.
New York Knicks (2005–2009) Richardson was traded from the Suns, along with
2005 draft pick
Nate Robinson, to the New York Knicks in exchange for
Kurt Thomas and
Dijon Thompson on June 28, 2005. His stint with the Grizzlies was very short as he was traded to the
Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for
Zach Randolph just 22 days later on July 17, 2009. His second stint with the Clippers only lasted for three days as on July 20, 2009, he was traded to the
Minnesota Timberwolves for
Sebastian Telfair,
Mark Madsen, and
Craig Smith. Finally, after being a member of the Timberwolves for just 24 days, Richardson was traded for the fourth time on August 13, 2009, this time to the
Miami Heat for
Mark Blount. Richardson would be a consistent starting Small Forward for the Heat, starting in 75 of the 76 games he played while averaging 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Orlando Magic (2010–2012) In 2010, Richardson signed with the
Orlando Magic. He remained with the team until October 2012, when he was waived. During his 2-year stint with Orlando, Richardson played 105 games and averaged 4.4 points, 0.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 31.5% from the 3pt-line.
Return to New York (2013) On April 16, 2013, Richardson signed with the
New York Knicks for the remainder of the season, joining that team for a second time. He only played one regular season game, scoring five points in twenty nine minutes on 1 for 11 shooting, but brought down ten rebounds. He did appear in five playoff games, hitting two three-pointers in New York's 26-point blowout win of the Pacers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. On July 10, 2013, Richardson was part of a trade package to the
Toronto Raptors, along with center
Marcus Camby, forward
Steve Novak, a first-round draft pick in 2016, and two second-round draft picks in 2014 and 2017, in exchange for forward
Andrea Bargnani. Richardson's final NBA game was played on May 11, 2013, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals versus the Indiana Pacers. Richardson played less than 2 minutes and the only stat he recorded was 1 rebound. On September 3, 2013, Richardson was waived by the Raptors. ==Post-playing career==