Jason Kapono

Jason Kapono
Jason Alan Kapono (born February 4, 1981) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft, Kapono later also played for the Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers. He twice led the NBA in three-point field goal percentage, and he also won the NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout twice.
Kapono played college basketball at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He was the first player in the school's history to earn First Team All-Pac-10 honors for four years and was also the first UCLA player to lead the team in scoring four straight years.
Kapono was born in Long Beach, California to Joe and Toni Kapono. Jason prepped at Southern California basketball powerhouse Artesia High School in Lakewood, where he was a McDonald's All-American and won several accolades and titles. After a successful high school career, Jason enjoyed an outstanding college career at UCLA, where he finished as the third all-time leading scorer with 2,095 points,[1] was the first Bruin to earn First Team All-Pac-10 honors all four years, and was the only UCLA player to lead the school in scoring four straight years.[2] He also graduated with a degree in history. Kapono was a second-round draft choice of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft.

Kapono only played 41 games and started 3 in his first NBA season, although he led the team in three-point field goal percent at 47.7%. After his rookie season with Cleveland, he was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 expansion draft, where he increased his scoring average from 3.5 to 8.5 points per game. He also made the first block in Bobcats history. Later, he was signed as a free agent by the Miami Heat where he was part of the 2005–06 NBA championship team.
In the 2006–07 season, Kapono's points-per-game average and minutes played significantly increased, and he led the league in three-point percentage with .514, which is close to the all-time single-season three-point percentage record held by Steve Kerr (.524), and is the fourth best percentage in league season history. Kapono also won the 2007 All-Star Weekend three-point shoot-out competition by defeating Dirk Nowitzki and Gilbert Arenas in the final round with a score of 24 points which tied Mark Price's record for most points in a final round of the three-point contest.
Kapono repeated the feat in 2008, having led the league in three-point percentage going into the All-Star weekend. In the final round of the contest, he scored 25 points, tying the all-time single round record set in 1986 and also setting a new finals record.[3] On December 14, 2007, he had a career-high 29 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. He also ended the 2007–08 season as the top three-point shooter in the league.[4]
On June 9, 2009, Kapono was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Reggie Evans.[5] The Sixers were victims of several starting lineup changes throughout the season. Kapono started the season with sparing minutes off the bench, but was later given the starting SF spot, near the end of the season. However, after losing his starting spot two games into the following season, Kapono is back to coming off the bench for sparing minutes. After the 2010-2011 NBA season came to an end, Kapono's contract with the 76ers expired and he became a free agent.

At one point, Kapono was the most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history. On November 25, 2007, he made his 250th three-point shot, qualifying him for the NBA record in 3-point shooting accuracy. He immediately moved into first place with a .461 ratio of 3-point shots made to shots attempted, moving ahead of Steve Kerr, who had the previous lifetime best at .454. Kapono has since dropped behind Kerr and others.
Born to Joe and Joni Kapono, Jason Kapono is of Hawaiian and Portuguese descent.[8] He married on August 28, 2004 to the former Ashley Cline. He has a sister Jillian, his father-in-law Tony Cline played football at the University of Miami and in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders, while his brother-in-law Tony Cline Jr. played football at Stanford University and with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.