Jase Richardson may have just saved Michigan State’s season.
The NBA rookie and former Michigan State star was just in the NBA Dunk Contest and got his first extended break since entering the league thanks to All-Star Weekend, so he decided to give back to his former program. He sent a gift to East Lansing in the form of some new shoes.
Richardson apparently designed his own shoe and gifted them to his former teammates in East Lansing. So when you saw Michigan State donning pink and purple Nikes, it was because Richardson gifted the entire team new shoes before the game and they all decided to wear them.
S/o to @JaseRich4 for the new kicks for the squad! pic.twitter.com/v44X2em1Ay
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) February 18, 2026
The Spartans would go on to have their best 3-point shooting game of the season, beating a solid UCLA team by 23 points just days after losing to Wisconsin by 21.
Michigan State shot 14-for-27 from deep and had one of their best offensive games of the season while also playing elite defense. The Spartans got back on track with a blowout win and now they’ll be looking to take care of Ohio State on Sunday — hopefully in the same shoes.
Look, I’m not saying the shoes are the reason that Michigan State was able to win by 23 and shoot 52 percent from deep, but that’s the narrative we’re going with right now.
Michigan State having its best offensive game in weeks after wearing the Jase Richardson Nikes? That may be a coincidence, but this is one of those superstitions that I hope the team leans into.
I’m only half-kidding about Richardson saving the season, but these shoes could be good luck.
Jase Richardson has had quite a week
I think everyone was caught by surprise when Richardson was announced as an NBA Dunk Contest participant. It’s not that he can’t dunk or doesn’t have impressive athleticism, but his size limits his ability to really get up for awe-inspiring dunks. His dad was elite and won a couple of dunk contests, but that just wasn’t in the cards for Jase.
The Spartan one-and-done laughed about being selected, practiced hard leading up to the event, and then suffered a scary fall that thankfully didn’t leave him injured.
Fast forward a few days and he’s partially responsible for getting Michigan State back on track with some lucky shoes.
All jokes aside, this is a cool gesture by Richardson, showing love to his former teammates. He may be in the NBA, but he’s still rooting on his former program.