Jason Kapono

Name	Jason Kapono
Position	Small forward/Shooting guard
Height ft	6 | height_in = 8
Weight lb	215
Team	Philadelphia 76ers
Number	72
Nationality	American
Birth date	February 04, 1981
Birth place	Long Beach, California
College	UCLA
High school	Artesia
Draft round	2
Draft pick	31
Draft year	2003
Draft team	Cleveland Cavaliers
Career start	2003
Teams	Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2004) Charlotte Bobcats (2004–2005) Miami Heat (2005–2007) Toronto Raptors (2007–2009) Philadelphia 76ers (2009–present)
Highlights	2× NBA 3 Point Champion (2007, 2008) 1× NBA Champion (2006)

Jason Alan Kapono (born February 4, 1981) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association.

Early life

Kapono was born in Long Beach, California to Joe and Joni 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, 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. He also graduated with a degree in history. Kapono was a second-round draft choice of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft.

NBA career

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. 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.

On June 9, 2009, Kapono was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Reggie Evans. 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.

NBA record

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. As of 2010, however, Kapono has dropped to third place behind Kerr and Hubert Davis.

National team

Kapono was picked for the USA Basketball Select Team which trained with USA Men's Senior National Team in Las Vegas to assist in the buildup to the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Born to Joe and Joni Kapono, Jason Kapono is of Hawaiian and Portuguese descent. He married on August 28, 2004. 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.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Cleveland | 41 || 3 || 10.4 || .403 || .477 || .833 || 1.3 || .3 || .3 || .1 || 3.5 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Charlotte | 81 || 14 || 18.4 || .401 || .412 || .824 || 2.0 || .8 || .5 || .1 || 8.5 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Miami | 51 || 2 || 13.0 || .446 || .396 || .848 || 1.4 || .7 || .1 || .1 || 4.1 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Miami | 67 || 35 || 26.4 || .494 || .514 || .892 || 2.7 || 1.2 || .6 || .0 || 10.9 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Toronto | 81 || 7 || 18.9 || .488 || .483 || .860 || 1.5 || .8 || .4 || .0 || 7.2 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Toronto | 80 || 12 || 22.9 || .432 || .428 || .810 || 2.0 || 1.3 || .3 || .0 || 8.2 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 57 || 12 || 17.1 || .419 || .368 || .600 || 1.2 || .7 || .4 || .1 || 5.7 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 458 || 85 || 19.0 || .444 || .440 || .835 || 1.8 || .9 || .4 || .0 || 7.3

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Miami | 1 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Miami | 4 || 1 || 19.3 || .471 || .500 || 1.000 || 1.3 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 5.0 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Toronto | 5 || 0 || 30.4 || .585 || .542 || .750 || 2.6 || .8 || .4 || .0 || 15.6 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 10 || 1 || 23.1 || .557 || .536 || .833 || 1.8 || .6 || .4 || .0 || 9.8

See also

Toronto Raptors accomplishments and records

Notes

External links

NBA.com Profile - Jason Kapono

Jason Kapono stats as UCLA player

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:American basketball players Category:American basketball players of European descent Category:American expatriate basketball people in Canada Category:Basketball players from California Category:Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players Category:Charlotte Bobcats expansion draft picks Category:Charlotte Bobcats players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Miami Heat players Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Long Beach, California Category:Shooting guards Category:Small forwards Category:Toronto Raptors players Category:UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Category:American sportspeople of Portuguese descent Category:Philadelphia 76ers players