Richard Clay "Rip" Hamilton (born February 14, 1978) is a retired American professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing for the Detroit Pistons for most of his career, Hamilton also had short tenures with the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls. A three-time All-Star, Hamilton was a part of the Pistons' 2004 NBA championship team, and their run of six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances from 2003 to 2008. He sat out the entire 2013–14 season before officially announcing his retirement in February 2015.

Hamilton played college basketball at the University of Connecticut from 1996 to 1999. In a 1998 Sweet 16 game with the 2-seeded UConn vs the 11th-seeded Washington Huskies, Hamilton hit a game-winning shot as time ran out after rebounding a teammate's miss and then his own miss. He was named the 1999 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after UConn's run to that year's national title after averaging 24.2 PPG. Number 1 UConn's race to the top also included a close, physical defeat of the national Cinderella team No. 10 Gonzaga Bulldogs in which Hamilton played a key role. The UConn squad beat a Duke team in the final game after which four Duke players were drafted in the top 14 of the 1999 NBA draft. The Huskies were nine-point underdogs, but upset the Blue Devils after Hamilton contributed 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists in the final game. The "One Shining Moment" video and song had one of Hamilton's shots against Duke as the last shot shown in the video.

Hamilton was selected with the 7th pick in the 1999 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards. In his rookie season, he played in 71 games with 12 starts and averaged 9 points a game backing up veteran shooting guard Mitch Richmond. The Wizards won 29 games, however, and failed to make the playoffs. The season also marked the addition to the franchise of Michael Jordan, who took over as part owner and president of basketball operations.

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