Sneaker Talk: Miami Heat’s Quentin Richardson

words & interview_Christopher Cason

From Whitney Young High School to DePaul University and then the big stage of the NBA, Chicago has watched native son Quentin Richardson mature and fulfill some of his biggest dreams.

From head-banging in Clipperland, long-distance bombing in the land of the Sun to the brink of non-existence in New York and now the sunny beaches of Miami, there has been one constant throughout his 10-year career. That’s been the Jordans that he has been playing in since the start of his pro career.

Like most of his NBA brethren and almost every Chicagoan, Q grew up idolizing Mike. Now he thankfully gets to carry on the legacy and values of one of the greatest to ever play the game every time he laces his shoes up.

I had the chance to speak with him about his time and experience with the brand as the Miami Heat were wrapping up a morning shoot around at the United Center. [Nick's Ed. Note: Way to not show up that night Bulls!!]

Christopher Cason: You’ve been with the brand your entire career. Watching Jordan play, knowing him and playing against him, can you explain what the ride has been like?
Quentin Richardson: It’s hard to explain. Coming from Chicago, being a Chicago kid, watching Mike build a whole legacy and being hand-picked by him, that’s something that I’ll never forget. It’s been ten years now, it’s crazy how quickly it’s gone, but it’s been fun. I’ve been real happy being part of the brand and every year, it seems like we got the best shoes and the best gear. That’s a plus and then I get a chance to get all the Jordans that I saw growing up that I couldn’t afford. I get to get them with my name on them, my team colors, so, that’s real cool.

Ten years has gone by fast and you’ve gotten the chance to play in just about everything. Do you have any pair that are special to you?
My favorite shoe is easily the XI. The Space Jam is my favorite shoe of all time, with Jordan. It was the XX’s. I got a chance to be one of the first to wear that at All-Star weekend and I won the Three-Point Contest, so, I got those ones in the house with the trophy. That’s pretty cool. This year, the 16.5’s, I made my one-thousandth three in, so I have them up in the house with the ball. It’s been some pretty cool times.

I remember a conversation I had with Jason Mayden, and he told me that even though Dwyane Wade was with Converse, he was always in your closet getting shoes.
Man!

What does it mean to you to have someone you’re close with and also a teammate on the brand?
It’s cool because knowing him from way back, it’s a situation he wanted to be in from jump, but you know, when you come out of college and different places, different deals are what they are and you got to do what you got to do. That was always something he wanted to be a part of. When he first came out to L.A. to work out for one of the teams, I was actually on the road, but I let him come in [to my place]. My boy let him in and he went in my closet, getting all kinds of shoes and stuff like that. It was definitely something, even when he was with Converse, every single summer, every single time I saw him, we wore the same size. He would always be getting shoes. We would work out, he would work out in Jordans. He’s a Chicago kid, everybody wants to wear Jordans.

Speaking with some of the Jordan athletes, you hear about getting all the gear, but you also hear about the responsibility that comes with the name. Personally, what does it mean to you, being from Chicago, to represent Jordan?
It’s definitely a responsibility. When you’re out there on the court, that’s just another way that you have to represent yourself. It’s just like when you go out there and you’re out in the world living your everyday life, you’re representing your name and your family. Mike bestowed that responsibility on us when he chose us to wear his shoes, so, at the same time, that’s yet another thing that you can think about that you don’t want to mess up when you’re out there because this is his name and his brand and he’s entrusting that with us when we’re out there doing what we do.

When the casual observer thinks of Jordan, you just think of a hot shoe, but with the brand putting more of a focus on performance, how have the shoes held up for you over the years?
Second to none. I see a lot of guys that have to get orthotics and different things in their shoes. For most of my career, I’ve never worn orthotics, I’ve just always just worn the shoe. Every now and then, I get with a team and they want to tell me “you need to wear these,” but I never consistently needed to wear them. I’ve always been cool with the shoe and it’s always worked for me.

Tags: interviews, jordan, Jordan Brand, quentin richardson, sneaker talk

13 Responses to “Sneaker Talk: Miami Heat’s Quentin Richardson”

1. MarcSJ says:

   March 27, 2010 at 3:38 pm

   Good read. Those XX’s are nice.

   Reply
2. Nene33 says:

   March 27, 2010 at 4:30 pm

   Good interview, was this one done before, or after he wore the 2010′s?

   Reply
3. **8403** says:

   March 27, 2010 at 4:38 pm

   Fantastic read. Good to see Q on our side.

   Reply
4. Christopher Cason says:

   March 27, 2010 at 8:10 pm

   LOL. Like the Editors note. As bad as that game was, it wasn’t the worst I’ve seen from them this season.

   NeNe, this was done on Thursday.

   Reply
   • Nene33 says:

     March 28, 2010 at 5:00 am

     You can’t really blame the Bulls though, the roster just isn’t deep, and with Noah limited, and Deng out, they’re having a hard time fielding a decent team.

     And sorry I didn’t pick that up in the interview

     Reply
     • Christopher Cason says:

       March 28, 2010 at 11:27 am

       Yeah, the injuries haven’t been good to the team at all this season. The Bulls could easily be in 5th place had they all been healthy, but they’re making a push now to get into the playoffs. It’s just not going to be good going against Cleveland.

       Reply
5. James says:

   March 27, 2010 at 11:04 pm

   For Chris Cason… When are they going to start selling Wade PE Jordans at the House of Hoops or Niketown?

   Reply
   • Christopher Cason says:

     March 28, 2010 at 11:29 am

     I asked Wade that same question and he said nothing is planned, but I have a feeling they may release some of his PE’s soon at the Chicago HOH. I mean, they have to, right?

     Reply
6. Mike G says:

   March 27, 2010 at 11:48 pm

   great interview! congrats to Q on 1,000 3s i didn’t realize he hit it.

   Reply
   • Christopher Cason says:

     March 28, 2010 at 11:29 am

     Thank you very much Mike.

     Reply
7. corn dogg says:

   March 30, 2010 at 1:54 pm

   tell Q he’s been my favorite player since depaul

   Reply
8. Seven Duece says:

   March 30, 2010 at 3:30 pm

   QRich has always seemed like a regular stand up dude, gotta love it.

   Reply
9. Darren510 says:

   April 2, 2010 at 3:53 pm

   Qrich is the man. Sounds the a cool dude

   Reply