Will Richard kicked off his second season in the NBA by helping the Golden State Warriors to an NBA Summer League Final victory, recording 13 points in the championship game against Memphis on Sunday.
Selected by the Memphis Grizzlies and later traded to the Warriors with the No. 56 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Richard was fresh off a national championship run with the Gators. He was a member of Florida’s three-headed monster of a backcourt that included Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin.
Richard was the first to commit to head coach Todd Golden’s staff after he transferred from Belmont following his first year. In his final season with Florida, he averaged 13.3 points and was named to the 2025 All-SEC and Final Four All-Tournament Teams.
In his rookie season in the NBA, Richard made 69 appearances, 21 of which were starts, averaging 6.4 points and 1.2 steals per game. Against Sacramento on Nov. 5, he recorded a career-high 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting to complement seven rebounds. The Warriors’ season came to an end at the hands of the Suns in the NBA Play-In Tournament, where Richard recorded just one minute on the court.
Following a rookie season filled with highs and lows, Richard used the 2026 NBA Summer League as an opportunity to start his second year on the right foot, but also to become a leader.
“He’s taken on definitely a pretty big vocal leadership role, and we encourage him,” Warriors Summer League head coach Khalid Robinson said. “He’s taken on that challenge. He’s been a really good leader, a good teammate in this environment.”
Richard finished the summer league averaging 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game, appearing in five of the Warriors’ six contests in Las Vegas. He also shot 44.7% from the field and 47.4% from beyond the arc.
Here’s a game-by-game recap of how Richard performed during the Warriors’ run in Las Vegas.
Summer League Openers vs. Dallas
To kick off their stint in Las Vegas, the Warriors defeated the Dallas Mavericks 101-90 on July 9. In the starting lineup, Richard was held to 6 points on 3-of-5 shooting and four rebounds.
However, he was effective in other ways, logging a team-high seven assists and two steals. He also recorded a block. His +26 plus/minus was tied for the team-best with Golden State’s first-round pick from this year’s draft, Yaxel Lendeborg.
A reigning national champion with Michigan, Lendeborg recorded a double-double with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 10 rebounds. He also had six assists.
Leading the Warriors was LJ Cryer, who went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft. Cryer logged 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a team-high five 3-pointers. The former Houston Cougar also tallied six rebounds and four assists.
Lachlan Olbrich (12) and Lajae Jones (11) rounded out Golden State’s double-digit scoring efforts in that contest.
Game 2 vs. Oklahoma City
In his second appearance in this year’s NBA Summer League, Richard played an effective role that was represented beyond scoring, helping the Warriors to a 104-79 win over the Thunder on July 12.
While he did record 9 points on 3-of-6 shooting, his sole 3-pointer gave the Warriors a 63-43 lead with 7:08 left in the third quarter, forcing the Thunder into a timeout. Richard also tallied a rebound, two assists and a steal to finish the contest with a +16 plus/minus.
Leading the charge for the Warriors was Nick Boyd, Lendeborg and Olbrich, who recorded 14 points each. Graham Ike (11), Chance McMillian (10) and Jones (10) were the other Warriors who recorded double-digit points.
On the boards, 2024 undrafted prospect Malevy Leons led the team with 11 rebounds, pairing well with his 9 points on 2-of-6 shooting.
Game 3 vs. Memphis
In his third game of Summer League, Richard and the Warriors faced the Grizzlies on Tuesday. However, Golden State took its first loss in this year’s Summer League, falling short 106-85.
For the first time this Summer League, Richard reached double-digit scoring with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field, including three makes from beyond the arc. He also tacked on three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.
However, Richard did struggle to take care of the ball, finishing the game with a team-high five turnovers. He finished the contest with a -16 plus/minus.
Lendeborg led the Warriors with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists. However, like Richard, he struggled to handle the ball, finishing the contest with four turnovers. As a result, the first rounder recorded a team-worst -28 plus/minus.
McMillian (11), Leons (10) and Jones (10) rounded out the Warriors’ double-digit scoring efforts against the Grizzlies.
The Warriors then faced the Knicks on Thursday, and despite Richard’s absence, they prevailed 87-77, securing their spot in the Summer League Semifinals against the 4-0 Los Angeles Lakers.
Semifinal vs. Los Angeles Lakers
With a place in the Summer League Championship Game on the line, the Warriors and Richard took care of business, taking down the Lakers 92-88.
Richard recorded 8 points, going 2-for-7from the field, with two rebounds and an assist. The former Gator made his mark defensively with two steals, the second of which came off the Lakers’ inbound pass as they were down 91-88 with seven seconds left, putting the game on ice.
Ike and Cryer led Golden State with 16 points each, while Ike also reeled in 11 rebounds to record a double-double.
First-rounder Lendeborg logged 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks. He finished with a team-high +11 plus/minus.
McMillian, who logged 12 minutes off the bench, was the final double-digit scorer for the Warriors with 14 points, including four 3-pointers.
With the win, Golden State secured its spot in the Summer League Final against Memphis on Sunday. The two met earlier during the Summer League on Tuesday, when the Warriors fell 106-85.
Final vs. Memphis
In their second meeting of this Summer League, Golden State came out on top 94-90, erasing a 10-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to take the Summer League title.
When it all mattered, Richard had his best offensive performance in Las Vegas with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, including three makes from beyond the arc. He also tacked on four rebounds and an assist.
Defensively, Richard was active once again, finishing the contest with two steals and a block.
Lendeborg led the Warriors with a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, winning Summer League MVP. He also had two assists and two steals.
Off the bench, Deivon Smith logged 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and nine boards. Cryer had 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, including a team-high four 3-pointers.
Leons was the final double-digit scorer for Golden State, with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
With the Summer League title secured, Richard will look to build off this experience to further cement himself in the Warriors’ rotation for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is a summer 2026 sports enterprise reporter and a third-year journalism sports & media major with a media, management and production minor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams
