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There's something intriguing about the two-way potential of Will Richard, one of the Golden State Warriors' two 2nd-round rookies. After his debut was delayed by pending trade finalizations, Richard finally took the floor for the Dubs' Summer League squad and took the California Classic by storm.
The shooting guard who helped lead Florida to a national championship finished with 16 points, four rebounds, two steals, and a +13 plus/minus in his debut. He also had a chance to win the game on a deep 3-pointer, but came up just shy.
Will Richard comes up just short on a buzzer-beater game winning attempt.
He finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals on 3/10 FGs and a +13 plus/minus. Not a bad debut for the 2nd round rookie. pic.twitter.com/1INptriEtl
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) July 7, 2025
But what's more intriguing than his positive stat line was the 3-and-D wing potential he put on display.
On the very first possession of the game, Richard swiped the ball away from the Spurs' David Jones-Garcia and ran the floor for a layup, getting his first bucket and steal in one fell swoop. After the game, Richard talked about his defensive mindset from the opening tip.
“I have a lot of length on defense. And I can do a good job of knowing where the ball is going to be,” Richard said. “So for me, just being aggressive. As soon as I saw him bring it down, I knew I could have a chance to steal the ball.”
Richard's defense didn't stop there. The No. 56 pick in the 2025 draft used his 6-4 frame and 6-10 wingspan all night long, hounding the Spurs ball-handlers and forcing bad turnovers.
After the game, summer league head coach Lainn Wilson talked about Richard's understanding of individual and team defense.
“His activity on the ball– he was doing what we asked off the ball as well. There wasn’t many times where he was caught out of position. Obviously he’s a pretty aggressive player, so that’d be the only time he gets burned. But we can honestly work with guys that are pretty aggressive.”
Can Richard help the Warriors this season?
It's dangerous to get overexcited about a 2nd-rounder. Especially in a single summer league game. But again, there's something more to Richard that was visible in this one-off summer league game.
It's got something to do with his size, which is hard to describe because Richard plays bigger than 6-foot-4. And that long wingspan of his was handy on more than a couple of occasions, especially with how active his hands were defensively.
Offensively, it was a little more of a mixed bag. Richard was 3-of-10 from the field, struggling with his shot outside the paint at times. But what he did do well was attack the paint and draw fouls. He was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and earned every trip by seeking out contact.
Richard also ran the floor extremely well. In transition, his teammates found him streaking down the lane a number of times, which usually resulted in points. Richard had a nice transition three as well as a highlight-worthy alley-oop, all because he ran the floor right.
But while there were plenty of encouraging signs for Richard, the Warriors shouldn't count on him dynamically changing their destiny this upcoming season. Can he be a trustworthy wing option for Steve Kerr somewhere along the way this season? Potentially. His IQ, hustle, and length are all things Kerr and the Warriors could use.
But like many on the Dubs' roster, he lacks on-ball shot creation. Simply put: if he can't knock down an open jumper after the defense doubles Stephen Curry, he's not going to see the floor. And right now, there's still a bit of an adjustment period to the NBA 3-point line.
Still, if this game is a true glimpse of what Richard can be, then the Warriors can add another 2nd-round hit to their growing list of late-round gems.
