Will Richard’s rookie year gave the Warriors a little bit of everything: a 30-point game, 69 appearances, 21 starts, and a real stretch where he looked like he belonged. It also ended with a frustration he won’t forget.
When Golden State was fighting to stay alive in the Play-In tournament against the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns, the second-round pick from Florida was stuck on the bench. His lone run came in Phoenix, and by then the game was already out of reach.
Richard checked in for Draymond Green with 1:06 left in the fourth quarter and the Warriors down 16.
That finish stung, but it doesn’t erase how much he flashed early. Richard was picked 56th, so the expectation was never that he’d walk in and instantly matter.
Still, he did. Through his first 30 games, he averaged over eight points a night and shot 38.6% from three in just under 20 minutes per game.
For a late second-rounder, that’s real value.
Then came the wall every rookie hears about and almost none of them enjoy. Richard said the grind of the league - the travel, the pace, the mental load, the 82-game schedule - caught up with him after also riding a long run with Florida’s national championship team and then Summer League in early July. The wear showed.
“It was rough,” Richard told Monte Poole on an episode of Dubs Talk when discussing the rookie wall. "There was games where I don't know if I have it, but I'm just going to go out here and play as hard as I can and see if something good happens."
He stayed in the rotation, logging more than 20 minutes per game over his final 39 contests, but the numbers backed up the eye test. His scoring slipped to five points a game, and his three-point mark dropped to 28.6%. By the time the postseason chase tightened up, Steve Kerr leaned elsewhere.
Richard took that personally in the best possible way.
"I didn't play the last few games of the season and that was kind of my motivational drive towards the offseason," he said. "Just working on things that I know will get me on the floor in those playoff/ play-in games next year."
The summer plan was straightforward: sharpen the shot, keep building the defensive edge that helped get him on the court, and become a more reliable all-around piece. After a couple of weeks back home in Atlanta, he got right back to work.
His routine settled into five or six workouts a week, plus a couple of hot yoga sessions - something he picked up in college. A typical day starts with treatment, then about an hour and a half in the weight room, followed by roughly an hour on the court working on ball handling, movement shooting, finishing at the rim, and attacking closeouts.
He also made a point of learning from some of the best voices in the building. On defense, he leaned on Draymond Green.
For communication and leadership, he asked Andre Iguodala for advice. And when it came to his jumper, Richard got a firsthand look at Steph Curry’s famous workout.
That left an impression.
"It's just a different level," he said. "You see why what he does it works for him and why he's been so successful in his career."
Richard got to put that summer work on display in Summer League, and the results were strong. He looked smoother as a shooter, added a few pounds of muscle, and carried himself like one of the leaders in a young group. Golden State won the whole thing in Las Vegas, with Richard hitting 9-for-19 from three, good for 47.3%, and averaging 1.6 steals across five games.
Now he heads into training camp with one season behind him, even if he’s about to be grouped back in with the inexperienced players. The Warriors will need those younger guys to help fill the gap early, especially with injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody.
For Richard, that means more chances, more responsibility, and a clear path to changing the way his second season ends. He spent the summer making sure the next time the stakes rise, he’s ready.
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