Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton
Richard "Rip" Hamilton (born February 14, 1978) is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Detroit Pistons. Hamilton is 6'7" tall, weighs 193 lbs (2.01 m, 87.5 kg), and plays shooting guard. He currently is the Pistons' team captain.
Hamilton played college basketball at the University of Connecticut from 1996–99. He was named the 1999 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after UConn's run to that year's national title.
Hamilton was the 7th pick overall in the 1999 NBA Draft and played for the Washington Wizards for his first three seasons as a professional. Hamilton, Hubert Davis and Bobby Simmons were then traded to the Detroit Pistons for Jerry Stackhouse, Brian Cardinal and Ratko Varda. Since the trade, Hamilton has become one of the NBA's top shooting guards,[1] and was leading scorer on the Pistons 2004 NBA Championship team.

Hamilton began wearing the clear plastic mask that would become his trademark during the 2003–2004 season. His nose had been broken twice that season (it happened once before in 2002) and Hamilton was advised to wear the mask the rest of his career or risk significant nasal reconstructive surgery. Wearing the mask on a nightly basis, Hamilton led the Pistons in scoring as they marched to the NBA title.[2] He has continued to wear the mask, calling it his "Superman cape."[3]
Hamilton is the only player in NBA history to lead his team in scoring in a game despite not making a single field goal. On January 6, 2005, Hamilton was 0-for-10 from the field, but hit 14-of-14 from the line to pace the Pistons in a 101–79 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.[4]
On February 9, 2006, Hamilton earned his first selection to the 2006 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve guard for the Eastern Conference.
On December 27, 2006, Hamilton scored a career-high 51 points with 19-for-37 field goal shooting in a 151–145 triple-overtime Pistons loss to the New York Knicks, becoming the first opposing player since Michael Jordan to score over 50 points at Madison Square Garden.[5][6]
He represented the Eastern Conference for the second time at the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.
On February 17, 2008, Hamilton represented the Eastern Conference for the third consecutive season at the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. On February 6, Hamilton was selected to be a part of the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, held on February 16 during All Star Weekend in New Orleans. He was defeated, however, by defending champion Jason Kapono.

On May 13, 2008, Hamilton surpassed Isiah Thomas as the Pistons' all-time leading scorer in the playoffs.[7]
On November 3, 2008, Hamilton signed a three-year, $34 million contract extension with the Pistons. The first two years of the contract are guaranteed and the third is partially.
On February 7, 2009, Hamilton scored 38 points off the bench against the Milwaukee Bucks, the most by a Piston reserve in history.
On March 13, 2009, Hamilton posted a career-high 16 assists in a 99–95 overtime win against the Toronto Raptors.

In the 2006–07 NBA season Hamilton appeared in the NBA Fundamentals series, hosted by TNT, where basketball players showcase certain aspects of the game. Hamilton explained the topic "moving without the ball" to shake off your defender. He was also a contestant on an episode of the game show series Wanna Bet?. He has also worked with many charities, including the Read to Achieve* program and reading books to children. As part of his long-time work with children, he has appeared on an episode of Disney Channel's "Imagination Movers". He helped the gang play basketball and learn a lesson of friendship.