BORN INTO a family with plenty of NBA experience, Jase Richardson will be hoping to live up to the hype of his family name when he hits the top competition at the 2025 draft in June.

Richardson’s father Jason was a top five selection himself when he was taken fifth overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 2001 NBA Draft. Over the course of his 14-year NBA career, Jason averaged 17.1 points per game and was one of the most exciting players in the competition, winning the Dunk Contest on two occasions.

His son Jase boasts similar traits, but the two are not carbon copies of one another. The younger Richardson is much more capable of playing both backcourt positions making him an extremely valuable asset to NBA sides. Jase is also a much better shooter, while his father’s freakish athleticism gives him an advantage in that domain.

As his father did, Richardson played with the Michigan State Spartans, and in the 2024/25 season, averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game on 49 per cent shooting from the field, and was particularly exciting towards the back end of the fixture.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will run through some of the clearest comparisons to already established NBA talents, with Richardson looking similar to some other talented players that have recently joined the league.

Reed Sheppard – Houston Rockets

Although early in his NBA career, Sheppard was extremely promising coming out of college and the comparisons between his and Richardson’s game are eerily similar. Sheppard was selected by the Houston Rockets with the third overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, and has spent a lot of his time in the G League as he developed his game. Despite not being in Houston’s stacked rotation as it stands, Sheppard still looms as central to the team’s success in the future. Much like Richardson, Sheppard is a combo guard with a seriously nice three-point shot and has the offensive tools to make it at the top level. Although Richardson is not likely to be as high of a selection, his potential is just as promising, and should translate to the NBA.

Immanuel Quickly – Toronto Raptors

Both Quickly and Richardson are undersized combo guards who have the offensive tools to offset their lack of height, and the former has certainly made it work at NBA level, which should inspire the latter. Quickly joined the New York Knicks in 2020, and stormed onto the scene as a talented backcourt scorer, deservingly named to the All-Rookie Second Team for a solid debut season. He has continued to develop his game in the years that followed, and now a member of the Toronto Raptors, is capable of putting up big scores on any given night. Both he and Richardson have similar offensive games, making up for their lack of size with impressive perimeter shooting and a constant presence with floaters in the paint. Richardson will be looking to have a similarly hot start when he reaches the top level, as Quickly has shown that height is not everything in the NBA.

Jared McCain – Philadelphia 76ers

McCain was one of the best stories to come out of the Sixers in recent seasons, storming onto the scene in his rookie campaign and although a knee injury has put a halt to his playing time, looms as one of the most exciting players in the NBA. Coming from the Duke Blue Devils (like Richardson he finished the season in excellent fashion, which certainly boosted his draft stock), McCain made an immediate impact and was named Rookie of the Month, and was looking like the best player out of the 2024 Draft Class for a while. Unfortunately, he tore his meniscus in December, putting an end to his rookie campaign, but will undoubtedly be impactful when he returns. Although McCain’s playmaking is stronger and Richardson has better defensive traits, the two are very similar in the way they operate off the ball and punish the opposition from behind the arc. If Richardson can start his NBA career as McCain did, the side that drafts him will be extremely pleased.