I am a fan of the NBA, but I will admit, that I have never heard of Michael Ray Richardson. So, when I saw this in the Netgalley catalog, I was intrigued and checked it out.

Michael was a 4-time All-Star when he played for the New York Knicks (legend Willis Reed was the one who saw him and wanted him), and won several championships as a coach. He played in the NBA from 1978 to 1986. He came before Magic, Larry, Michael, and Isiah, and he played against those greats. He also played against Dr. J!

I am looking at the 1978 NBA draft where Richardson was drafted 4th. Larry Bird was picked at number 6 (but, he came to the Celtics the following year), Reggie Theus was picked at number 9 by the Bulls, Maurice Cheeks was picked in the 2nd round, Michael Cooper was picked in the 3rd round, and the number 1 was Mychal Thompson who went to Portland. Pretty amazing draft, and back in those days, it wasn’t as popular and televised like it is now. Richardson was in his dorm room at the University of Montana where someone yelled to him that Willis Reed is looking for him. Michael than ran down the street to his coach’s house where he got to talk to Willis. How different would the NBA had been if the Knicks drafted Larry Bird and the Celtics picked Michael? Or even if the Bulls picked Larry or Michael.

He was a trash talker on the court, but was able to back it up with his offensive and defensive skills. He made a few all defensive teams during his NBA career.

He did get banned from the NBA after 8 seasons because of the “three strike rule for failing a drug test”. But, after two years, he was reinstated, but he never returned to the NBA as he took playing overseas for a several teams and then when he retired from playing, he coached in the minor leagues also for several teams. Michael has no regrets about what he did, and is now sober. He made a stupid decision, and he persevered. He is very open about it and nothing is left untouched. He also talked about his marriages and divorces, and all of his kids. He takes care of everybody.

I really enjoyed reading about his life, and enjoyed all the stories he told, the friendships he made with his teammates, his overall love of the game, and wanting to help bring awareness through basketball camps.