![\"Charlotte](\"https:\/\/gazette.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP080114036520.jpg\")
Charlotte Bobcats guard Jason Richardson, left, drives past Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby, right, during an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Jan. 14, 2008. (AP Photo\/Chuck Burton)<\/p>\nJason Richardson has an answer.<\/p>\n
When Altitude Sports announced its revamped Nuggets broadcast team earlier in the week, some questioned Richardson\u2019s inclusion. It\u2019s quite common for regional networks to employ a former player to provide their hard-earned perspective, but most played for the team on which they now analyze. Former color commentator Scott Hastings finished his playing career in Denver. Studio analyst Bill Hanzlik played for the Nuggets for most of the 1980s and spent one infamous season as the team\u2019s coach.<\/p>\n
Richardson, a 2002 All-Rookie selection and two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion, did a lot in his 14-year NBA career, but he never played for the Nuggets.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people are questioning my ties to Denver,\u201d Richardson told The Denver Gazette on Saturday.<\/p>\n
What people may not know is the 45-year-old\u2019s connection to the Mile High City goes back decades. The Saginaw, Mich. native started spending his off-seasons in Colorado when he began dating Jackie Paul, a former standout athlete at Boulder High School who went on to play at UCCS.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though I didn\u2019t become a resident, I always came out here, because we dated since I\u2019ve been in the NBA,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cIt was always great to come out here to train, be prepared for the season. I\u2019ve been coming to Colorado since about 2002 or 2003.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two eventually married and started a family. Once Richardson\u2019s playing career \u2014 which started in Golden State in 2001, continued in Charlotte, Phoenix and Orlando and concluded in Philadelphia \u2014 ended in 2015, they really started to call Denver home.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t know my daughter graduated from Cherry Creek High (School),\u201d Richardson said. \u201cMy two sons, they went to Colorado Academy until the eighth grade. In their bios, they call Denver their home. I had a nephew that lived with me; he graduated from Valor (Christian).\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte Bobcats guard Jason Richardson, left, drives past Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby, right, during an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Jan. 14, 2008. (AP Photo\/Chuck Burton)<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Altitude Sports\u2019 decision to go in a different direction with the broadcast team came at a perfect time for Richardson.<\/p>\n
After spending so much time away from his family during his playing career, he vowed to give that time back in retirement. The Richardsons traded life in Denver for Las Vegas and Miami, so their sons Jase and Jaxon had the best opportunities to chase their own hoop dreams.<\/p>\n
The moves paid off.<\/p>\n
Jase is heading into his second season with the Magic after following in his father\u2019s footsteps at Michigan State. It turned out Orlando selected him with the first-round pick Denver included in the Aaron Gordon trade.<\/p>\n
Jaxon, a five-star prospect in the 2026 class who just enrolled at the University of Alabama, was the last kid out of the house after starring at Florida\u2019s Southeastern Prep.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, that we\u2019re empty nesters, we decided to come back to Denver, because all of our lifelong family and friends are here,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cDenver was home for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richardson credited Vic Lombardi, who hosts a morning radio show for Altitude and contributes to the Nuggets broadcast in multiple capacities, with an assist. Lombardi let the bosses at Altitude know Richardson was back to being a local.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe met Jason months ago for coffee, and within five minutes I was asking myself, \u2018How has he not been snatched up by anyone?\u2019 He\u2019s got 14 years of NBA experience, knowledge, charisma,\u201d Altitude TV general manager Matt Krol said in a statement to The Denver Gazette.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s everything you want in an analyst.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Phoenix](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP090323023219.jpg\")
Phoenix Suns guard Jason Richardson, left, and Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups, right, battle for a loose ball in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 23, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo\/Paul Connors)<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
What Richardson doesn\u2019t have is an abundance of experience in broadcasting.<\/p>\n
There were times he was a part of pregame and postgame coverage for Warriors games and a few fill-in spots as Golden State\u2019s play-by-play guy, but Altitude will be his first full-time gig in the industry. The plan, Krol said, is for Richardson to be the lead studio analyst for most games and serve as a third analyst alongside Noah Reed (play-by-play) and Katy Winge (color commentary) for 15 to 20 games. The team is tasked with replacing a well-liked crew featuring Hastings, Chris Marlowe on play-by-play and Chris Dempsey in the studio.<\/p>\n
To ease the transition, Richardson said he\u2019s going to lean on his new team. He\u2019s known Lombardi for a long time. Winge, Reed and Lauren Gardner, a Denver native who previously worked for Altitude before going national, also have plenty of experience in the world of professional television.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be relying on those vets,\u201d Richardson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the rookie and the new guy coming in. I have to learn my stuff to earn my keep.\u201d<\/p>\n
He already sounded like a seasoned vet when asked about being part of the broadcast for Jase\u2019s games against the Nuggets.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be fine with it, man. I am a true basketball purist. For me, I have no bias. If he\u2019s not playing well, I\u2019m going to be on him,\u201d Richardson said, adding he wasn\u2019t sure if he would be on the studio show or the third analyst for those games. \u201cThat\u2019s how we go about every day life. We don\u2019t make excuses for our kids. It\u2019s going to be cool for me to actually be there and watch my son and be breaking down the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Charlotte](\"https:\/\/gazette.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP080202036580.jpg\")
Charlotte Bobcats guard Jason Richardson, right, heads up for a shot as Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, front left, and guard Anthony Carter come in to cover in the third quarter of the Nuggets\u2019 117-101 victory in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Richardson has plenty of experiences unique to the rest of the broadcast team. No one else on the crew knows what it\u2019s like to play in a back-to-back set or guard some of the game\u2019s elite players. He played against Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups in Denver, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to bring a much different take on today\u2019s modern game, because he\u2019s played the game at a high level against some of the greats from Jordan to LeBron,\u201d Krol said. \u201cJason Richardson is a well-recognized name in the NBA, and we are privileged to have him on our broadcasts.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hung it up before getting the chance to play against Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the rest of the Nuggets\u2019 current core, but he\u2019s watched plenty of the home team\u2019s games. He\u2019s about to watch many, many more in a new capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very connected with Denver. I might not be connected with the Nuggets, but the city of Denver, I understand their love and passion for their sports,\u201d Richardson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just excited about the opportunity to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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