Jason Alan Kapono (born February 4, 1981) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He was the first

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) player to lead the league in

three-point field goal percentage A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

in two consecutive seasons, and he also won the

Three-Point Contest The Three-Point Contest is a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest held on the Saturday before the annual All-Star Game as part of All-Star Weekend. The 2019 iteration of the contest involved ten participants. From its introduction in 19 ...

twice (2007, 2008). He won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

in 2006. Kapono played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

. 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 began his NBA career with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

, who drafted him in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft. He later played in the NBA for the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

, Miami,

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

, and the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

before joining Panathinaikos B.C. in Greece.

Early life

Kapono was born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

to Joe and Joni Kapono. Jason prepped at Southern California basketball powerhouse Artesia High School in

Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, ...

, where he was a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

and won several accolades and titles. In his senior year at Artesia he averaged 23.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. After a successful high school career, he enjoyed an outstanding college career at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, 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 set a school record for most three-pointers made in a game when he connected on 9 of 11 attempts against

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...

on January 4,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

. Kapono graduated with a degree in history. He was a second-round draft choice of the

in the 2003 NBA Draft.

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2004)

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%. He averaged 3.5 PPG for his rookie campaign. He became an efficient 3pt shooter but was also good from the free-throw line, shooting 83% from the stripe. The Cavaliers finished the season 37–45 and missed the playoffs.

Charlotte Bobcats (2004–2005)

After his rookie season with Cleveland, he was selected by the

in the 2004

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansio ...

, where he increased his scoring average from 3.5 to 8.5 points per game. He also made the first block in Bobcats history. Kapono also increased his assist and rebound average this season, although his total FG% including 3pt% slightly declined. This was the Bobcats first ever season and the team was very young and had potential, although they were also inexperienced. The Bobcats finished the season with an 18–64 record and Kapono was a free agent. The Bobcats decided to not re-sign Kapono.

Miami Heat (2005–2007)

Instead, he was signed as a free agent by the

where he was part of the 2005–06 NBA championship team. His scoring took a toll as he had a lesser role on this elite team. His scoring average dropped down to 4.1 for the season, and he only played 51 games in the season. But he won his first and only championship with the Heat. 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 Kyle Korver (.536), and is the fourth best percentage in league season history. He averaged a career high in scoring, minutes, and rebounding. Kapono also won the

in the 2007 All-Star Weekend three-point shoot-out competition by defeating

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

and

Gilbert Arenas Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. (; born January 6, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Arenas attended Grant High School in the Valley Glen district of Los Angeles, and accepted a scholarship offer to the University of Arizona lat ...

in the final round with a score of 24 points which tied

Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers. As a player, he played for 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from ...

's record for most points in a final round of the three-point contest. The 2006–2007 season is greatly considered to be the greatest season of his career due to his accomplishments and statistics. Despite this, the defending champions had a disappointing season, finishing with an average 44–38 record and getting swept in the first round by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

Toronto Raptors (2007–2009)

Kapono became a free agent in the 2007 offseason and signed with the

on July 11. His statistic averages went down following the 2006–2007 season with the Heat, but he still played well. Kapono led the league in three-point percentage going into the 2008 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. He was the first player in NBA history to have the highest three-point percentage in two consecutive seasons. He helped the Raptors reach the 2008 playoffs. The team finished the season with a 41–41 record and placed 6th in the East. They faced the up-and-coming Orlando Magic who beat the Raptors 4–1. Later in the summer, Kapono was picked for the

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olymp ...

Select Team which trained with USA Men's Senior National Team in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

to assist in the buildup to the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. In the 2008–2009 season the Raptors missed the playoffs with a mediocre 33–49 record.

Philadelphia 76ers (2009–2011)

On June 9, 2009, Kapono was traded to the

for

Reggie Evans Reggie is a given name, usually a short form of the name Reginald. It may refer to: People * Reggie Bonnafon (born 1996), American football player * Reggie Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Reggie Bush (born 1985), National Football ...

. Kapono was a victim 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 was back to coming off the bench for sparing minutes. The team finished with an abysmal record for the 2009–2010 season, they went 27–55. The 76ers made the playoffs in 2011, but were outmatched by Kapono's former team; the Miami Heat. They lost the series 1–4. Kapono only averaged 0.7 PPG for that season and he didn't play a second of the 2011 playoffs. After the

2010-2011 NBA season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

came to an end, Kapono's contract with the 76ers expired and he became a free agent.

Los Angeles Lakers (2011–2012)

On December 9, 2011, Kapono signed with the

. He only played 27 games for the Lakers. Kapono's final NBA game was played on March 14th, 2012 in a 107 - 101 win over the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

where he played for four minutes and the only stat he recorded was 1 assist.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2012)

On March 15, 2012, Kapono was traded along with

Luke Walton Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 10 seasons in the NBA as a f ...

and a 2012 first-round draft choice to the

for

Ramon Sessions Ramon Sessions (born April 11, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player and a licensed Sports Agent for an independently owned firm, On Time Agency (OTA). He played three years of college basketball for Nevada, earning WAC All-N ...

and

Christian Eyenga Christian Eyenga Moenge (born June 22, 1989) is a Congolese professional basketball player for Montakit Fuenlabrada of the Liga ACB. Eyenga was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 30th pick in that year's 2009 NBA draft. When drafted, he ...

. He didn't play any games for the Cavaliers and was waived 2 days later on March 17.

Panathinaikos (2012–2013)

On November 15, 2012, he signed with Panathinaikos, of the Euroleague and Greek League. However, his arrival in Greece was delayed until December 11, as he remained in the United States, due to complications with his wife's pregnancy. He won the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

with Panathinaikos in 2013. In March, he decided to leave the team, due to limited playing opportunities.

Retirement

Kapono reportedly retired in May 2014. However, on October 4, 2014, he signed with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. He was later waived by the Warriors on October 24, 2014, after appearing in five preseason games. Kapono never played in the NBA again.

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 Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA champion, havi ...

, who had the previous lifetime best at .454. Kapono has since dropped behind Kerr and others.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

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Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, 81 , , 14 , , 18.4 , , .401 , , .412 , , .824 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, 51 , , 2 , , 13.0 , , .446 , , .396 , , .848 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .1 , , .1 , , 4.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

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L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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Playoffs

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EuroLeague

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Personal life

Kapono is of Hawaiian and Portuguese descent. He has a sister, Jillian. On August 28, 2004, he married Ashley Kapono (née Cline) and together they have four children. His father-in-law Tony Cline played football at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

and in the NFL for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

, while his brother-in-law Tony Cline Jr. played football at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

and with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

Notes

References

External links

*
Euroleague.net Profile

Eurobasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapono, Jason 1981 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Greece American men's basketball players American people of Native Hawaiian descent American people of Portuguese descent Basketball players from Long Beach, California Charlotte Bobcats expansion draft picks Charlotte Bobcats players Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Los Angeles Lakers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Miami Heat players Native Hawaiian sportspeople Panathinaikos B.C. players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers players Small forwards Toronto Raptors players UCLA Bruins men's basketball players