The second generation of Richardsons has reached the NBA.

Jase Richardson, a 19-year-old guard out of Michigan State, was drafted No. 25 by the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Richardson’s parents both played basketball. His mother, Jackie Paul-Richardson, played at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and coached him until he went to high school. His father, Jason Richardson, also went to Michigan State, where he played for two seasons before the Golden State Warriors drafted him with the No. 5 pick in 2001. The elder Richardson played for 14 seasons in the NBA and retired in 2015.

In his freshman year at Michigan State, Richardson played in 36 games and started 15. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Denver native averaged 25.3 minutes per game and 12.1 points per game. He posted a .493 field goal percentage (.412 from 3) and a .836 free-throw percentage, while collecting 96 defensive rebounds (119 total) and 11 blocks.

The Spartans went 30-7 in the 2024-25 season, losing in the semifinals in the Big Ten tournament and the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Richardson was selected to the All-Big Ten third team and was named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team.

Draft guide summary

It’s hard to be a small guard in the NBA, and I’m not totally convinced Richardson is ready for the leap. It took Tom Izzo a while to realize weaponizing Richardson was his best chance to get efficient offense, but Izzo also did a great job of hiding some of Richardson’s weaknesses by constantly putting him in the right positions in zoom/Chicago actions, where he could get the ball going downhill to his favored left hand.

Richardson is going to have to spend the next few years diversifying his all-around game to make it work in the NBA, given how thin the margin for error is for smaller guards. The good news is he has a genuinely terrific touch and amazing contact balance through bumps. If he can find the right team situation or can improve his separation ability, he has a shot to be a useful scoring guard. But he simply won’t be for everyone because of how they will have to work around his limitations with his right hand, as a passer and as a pull-up shooter early in his career. — Sam Vecenie

From the Draft confidential

Western Conference executive No. 1: “All 30 teams? No. But he can shoot the basketball. I give him that. Before he measured what he measured at (in Chicago; 6-foot-1/2 inch), everyone saw him as a two-guard. They claim he played point guard a lot in high school. Because if he can mimic the one, like Jalen Brunson, he played point and he had some leadership skills. But he was more of a scoring guard than a point guard. I think it just depends where he ends up. He can shoot, and I like the pedigree. I wouldn’t be surprised either way.”

College assistant coach No. 1 (his team played Michigan State): “I don’t think he’s quite ready. It’s one of those cases where he had too good of a year to go back. Strike while the iron’s hot. But he’s not ready for the NBA. He’s going to spend 95 percent of his time next season in the G League. He just doesn’t know how to play. And I love the kid. We recruited him. Know his dad. The mom’s awesome. They’re great people. He’s going to figure it out, but he’s not ready. I hope he doesn’t go to a franchise that’s impatient with him. The reason he’s leaving is he has to leave. It’s not because he’s ready to leave. He has to leave, unfortunately. Because they’re going to draft him. They’re going to draft Jase Richardson. … It’s going to take another year or two before he can help a team, even the bad ones. The best thing he does is make hard shots. He got better as a catch-and-shoot guy, but he shoots hard shots off the bounce. He’s not a great athlete. … Great kid, tremendous kid. I just think it’s too soon.”

College assistant coach No. 2 (his team played Michigan State): “He’s a great college player. He was their best player. He is small. He does not have the hops his dad did. I love their family. The dad is a wonderful guy, and so is the kid. He made big shots, and if you let him get left to his midrange, he’ll make the college 3.” — David Aldridge

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)