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Multiple Miami Heat Players Comment On Josh Richardson's Retirement
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- Multiple Miami Heat Players Comment On Josh Richardson's Retirement
(© IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Miami Heat 's roster throughout the late 2010s was somewhat forgettable following the "Big Three" era of the team prior to landing Jimmy Butler in 2019. The team had a resurgent couple of seasons from Goran Dragic along with the strong play from Hassan Whiteside but the franchise missed the playoffs three times in five seasons from 2014 to 2019. However, one player who made a mark during that period of time is calling it quits for his basketball career.
Josh Richardson took to social media on Wednesday evening and announced his retirement from professional basketball. The wing played for the Heat from 2015-2019 and returned for a second stint with the franchise from 2023-2025. Multiple players from the Heat who played alongside Richardson shared their support by commenting on Instagram .
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"The coolest," Dwyane Wade wrote. "I loved going into the trenches with you young fella 🫡."
Wade played alongside Richardson for parts of three seasons, the first being the latter's rookie campaign in 2015-16. Wade returned to the team in 2018 and finished out his career while Richardson evolved as a strong all-around player. They played 147 games together as teammates.
"HMMMM 🤞🏾," Bam Adebayo commented.
Adebayo was drafted after Richardson's first two seasons with the team. Adebayo is one of the most dominant centers in basketball today but had a mediocre first two seasons with the franchise as a young player. However, him and Richardson were very integral in helping the Heat get back to the playoffs in 2018. They played in 189 total games together, including five playoff matchups.
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"🔥🔥🔥 Family," Whiteside replied.
Whiteside was one of the team's best players throughout the late 2010s and established himself as one of the strongest rebounders in the NBA. Him and Richardson played 230 total games together, including 15 playoff appearances.
Richardson is retiring at the age of 32 after 10 seasons in the NBA, six of which were with Miami. He was drafted out of Tennessee in the second round of the 2015 draft and quickly made an impact. He didn't become a starter until his sophomore campaign but was known around the league as a tough player who was good on the defensive end and could score points at a solid rate.
He was included in the famous sign-and-trade for Butler in 2019 and was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers , where he didn't perform as well as his first Heat tenure due to the 76ers not fully knowing how to utilize him. He would then be dealt multiple times over the next couple of seasons, becoming a young journeyman before returning to Miami in 2023, where he would finish out his NBA career. Richardson last played for Basket Zaragoza of the Spanish Liga ACB and Europe Cup this past season.
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