“One time I interviewed Mitch Richmond, who was on that Laker team that won on of those titles in the 2000s. I said ‘Mitch, Phil Jackson liked to give out books to his guys to help them accept the role that they were going to be playing. What was the book that he gave you? Mitch said ‘Yeah, it was called ‘Sit Your Ass Over There and Never Play.’’”

Mitch Richmond played 2 playoff games for the 2002 Lakers and scored 3 total points during the Laker’s title run.

York_Villain | Knicks

246 | 9 hours ago

All jokes aside, Mitch Richmond was a damn good player in his prime.

Opposite-Skirt5158

54 | 8 hours ago

I grew up watching Run TMC and it was awesome

BionicSix | Lakers

8 | 7 hours ago

Such a “What If” Mitch wasn’t traded for Billy Owens…

chmcgrath1988 | Celtics

53 | 8 hours ago

Of all the players, who got a participation trophy ring, Mitch Richmond is one of the ones I’m gladdest for (even if it was for the Lakers). He deserved a ring after spending all those years on mediocre SacKings teams.

Additionally, one of Mitch’s 2 appearances in the ‘02 NBA Playoffs, was dribbling out the ball at the end of game 4 of the ‘02 NBA Finals to complete the Lakers sweep and threepeat so that indicates to me that Phil had some measure of respect for Richmond.

chilibean_3 | Kings

7 | 5 hours ago

He was my first favorite player as a Kings fans growing up. Even though it was with the Lakers, I’m still was happy he got to finally win in the end.

inquisitive_chariot

22 | 8 hours ago

Mitch Richmond has some fucking HIGHLIGHTS, nice moves

noname_SU

2 | 6 hours ago

He was a statistically productive player on some bad teams. Line his stats up with Bradley Beal and see how similar they are.

NewfieGrower

1 | 8 hours ago

prime Mitch was a Hall of Famer, but to Phil he was just a dog who could sit.

Wide-Diamond-2135

1 | 6 hours ago

The man was an absolute bucket in Kings exile for a decade

kuper1

1 | 4 hours ago

sitting out sounds like a solid philosophy for a bench player

ForneauCosmique | Spurs

-4 | 8 hours ago

In his prime. By 02 he was cooked lol

notmoleliza | Warriors

11 | 8 hours ago

Thanks Magic

Geralt0908 | Heat

154 | 9 hours ago

The drop off for Mitch was kinda crazy after the injury he had in ‘01. He averaged 16/3/3 for the Wizards the year prior to winning with the Lakers, where he averaged just ⁴⁄₁.⁵⁄₁ (on 29% from 3 as a career 37% shooter)

Daddy_Macron | Rockets

84 | 7 hours ago

People forget but certain injuries used to be death sentences for athletes not that long ago. It was only in the last decade, that athletes could come back from an Achilles tear and look somewhat like their old selves. It was in the last two decades that ACL repairs became an injury with a high percent chance of complete recovery.

Mitch, unfortunately, didn’t play during that era. I think it was ligament issues that ultimately brought him down and he could barely generate at lift towards the end of his career which is just killer for a shooter.

Jagermeister4 | Lakers

34 | 7 hours ago

Medicine has developed so fast, this is part of why when I think its hard to compare players across eras, players today have it so much better.

You guys remember “microfracture surgery?” Used to be if a player got that you knew their career would never be the same. Its not done anymore in the NBA because better techniques have been developed, Greg Oden is the last player to get it. So even in the last 15 years we’re seeing big advancements helping players.

RyanZee08 | LAL

11 | 4 hours ago

Just look at kobe and the Durant to see how fast medicine developed.

Or D wade removing part of his miniscus (?) and then that being looked at as a bad call very soon after

FightScene

4 | 4 hours ago

The past two decades have seen huge advancements in medicine, but players are also pushing themselves harder and at a younger age. Kids start in AAU and only play basketball now. Being one and done out of college is the norm, so many top players are playing 82 game seasons while they’re still teenagers. They’re racking up a ton of mileage. The game is faster and more spread out now than in the 90s and early 2000s, which contributes to the wear and tear.

We’re still seeing a ton of season ending injuries. In the 2025 season we saw like five Achilles tears. Tatum, Hali, and Dame tore theirs in the same playoffs, just a few weeks from each other. Beyond medical treatment being better they should be trying to reduce injuries. Load management is often derided, but is probably beneficial.

RyanZee08 | LAL

1 | 3 hours ago

Agreed, the way the NBA has dealt with scheduling and money over the health of the players is maddening. They need to spread out the season or cut games, but that’s unlikely to happen

EdCP | Mavericks

2 | 3 hours ago

IIRC, Wes Matthews was one of the firsts that looked okay, never the same, but still had a decent career after his ACL tear. This was probably 15 years ago?

tomdawg0022 | Timberwolves

30 | 8 hours ago

He had been fading slowly before the injury (scoring, shooting percentages were down from Sacramento) but the injury was essentially the thing that finished him off as an impact player.

Isolated_Blackbird | Mavericks

30 | 8 hours ago

Used to absolutely light it up with Mitch in NBA Jam

Waterislife1

2 | 4 hours ago

I think it was him and Chris Mullins on the warriors. Original splash bros

Threash78 | Magic

1 | 3 hours ago

There was a year the warriors roster had Tim Hardaway, Latrell Sprewel, Chris Mullin, Detlef Shrempf and Chris Webber on that years nba videogame lineup. Come start of the season and they had none of them.

Putrid-Box4866 | Bulls

18 | 9 hours ago

https://a.co/d/02Vx9Zq6 seems legit 😂

LilNello1

18 | 8 hours ago

Yo I am absolutely dying at this 💀😭😭😭

UD_Mayo | Lakers

13 | 7 hours ago

Mitch Richmond on the Lakers is probably the most forgotten tenure of a player i remember from an all star like Spurs Tmac

realistweirdist | Knicks

5 | 5 hours ago

Jeremy Lin on the 2019 raptors is a good recent one if we’re going for guys who joined a team that went on to win it all in their last year

Budy_Guy

1 | 21 minutes ago

’ from an all star ‘

Regionala

3 | 5 hours ago

Isiah Rider was on that team the year before

MountaineerHikes | San Diego Clippers

2 | 4 hours ago

So was Glen Rice one year. And John Salley

snowlarbear

9 | 7 hours ago

NBA Live 97 cover athlete Mitch Richmond?

heat_fan_ | Raptors

2 | 9 hours ago

Lmao damn 🤣

Lintobean

1 | 5 hours ago

Fastest player in NBA Jam lol

ATLsShah | Hawks

1 | 2 hours ago

I misread this and thought this was a quote from Mitch Kupchak

Elhassan: “I said ‘Mitch, Phil Jackson liked to give out books to his guys to help them accept the role that they were going to be playing. What was the book that he gave you? Mitch [Richmond] said ‘Yeah, it was called ‘Sit Your Ass Over There and Never Play.’’”