In the quiet aftermath of a season that bottomed out for the Golden State Warriors, Will Richard sought the one thing the NBA rarely provides: silence. Following a 37-45 finish and a premature exit in the second play-in game, the 23-year-old guard retreated to Aruba. It was a tactical, not just personal, decision. His rookie campaign had started as a revelation—a 30-point eruption in his first career start in Sacramento had the league taking notice—but ended in a haze of fatigue, mounting back issues, and a shooting percentage that cratered to 28.8% in the season's final months.
"It was more so just a level of being tired," Richard told The San Francisco Standard. "Legs felt like they were gone. Mentally, you just feel a little drained, stuff like that. All the vets said it’s normal. Like, that’s something you go through; you’ve just got to find ways to get through it."
For the Warriors, the "rookie wall" isn't just a cliché; it is a structural impediment. When star power like Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler faced injury-related absences, the team lacked the secondary creation required to insulate a player like Richard. Primarily an off-ball, catch-and-shoot threat, Richard found himself struggling to navigate an NBA defense without the gravity his veteran teammates typically provide. His season ended with a sobering stat line: 6.4 points per game across 69 appearances, with his team-wide efficiency metrics dipping as he logged more minutes.
However, the narrative of his sophomore leap is already being written in the weight room. Returning from his Caribbean reset, Richard underwent a seven-week bootcamp at Chase Center, focusing on building muscle and adding the explosive "wiggle" that scouts noticed was lacking against high-level defensive pressure. The physical transformation is evident, but the internal shift is perhaps more critical. Richard consulted with veteran teammate Al Horford, seeking guidance on how to maintain a professional baseline when his output began to wane.
"He was basically just saying to home in on the things that got me on the floor," Richard noted. "Bringing energy and effort, stuff like that. Keeping it simple. Me and Al are both heavily rooted in our faith. So he was like, when the season gets hard, just lean in on that, and it’ll help you out."
The early returns are promising. In his summer league debut against the Los Angeles Lakers, Richard posted 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including a 4-for-5 mark from deep, while recording three steals. While summer competition acts as a controlled environment, the performance served as a pointed signal to the front office. As the Warriors navigate potential moves for players like LeBron James, Richard is making a defensible case that their rotation solutions might already be in the building. He is, by all accounts, a more robust version of the player who hit the floor last November.
The test for Richard in his second season will be the sustainability of his 3-point efficiency—which plummeted from his early-season highs—and his ability to remain a disruptive point-of-attack defender even as his usage increases. Steve Kerr has been vocal about his desire for "young legs" in this roster iteration. If Richard can bridge the gap between his explosive, high-ceiling performances and his low-energy defensive slides from last winter, he won't just be fighting for a spot in the backcourt rotation; he will be the stabilizer the Warriors desperately need to avoid another post-season disappointment.
Sources
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- Kenzo Fukuda original
- sfstandard.com original
- Sam Gordon original
- Sean Deveney original
- bluemanhoop.com original
- nba.com original