Warriors’ Steve Kerr absolutely loving rookie who ‘looks like he’s in his 7th year’

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Warriors’ Steve Kerr absolutely loving rookie who ‘looks like he’s in his 7th year’

Kenzo Fukuda, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Wed, Oct 22, 2025 ·

4 min read

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The post Warriors' Steve Kerr absolutely loving rookie who 'looks like he's in his 7th year' appeared first on ClutchPoints .

It's hard for second-round rookies to stick around in the NBA, let alone make meaningful contributions in their first season. But after a strong training camp, Will Richard is quickly working his way into Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors ' rotation, and he might be around for the long haul.

Richard looked comfortable in Golden State's 119-109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers , collecting 5 points on a perfect two-of-two shooting in 14 minutes. With Moses Moody out with a calf injury, Richard gave the Dubs some much-needed two-way wing depth. He took reps guarding the Lakers' premier scorers in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves , while remaining a threat offensively.

After the game, head coach Steve Kerr praised Richard's performance, awarding him the game ball .

"Usually I know when it's somebody's first [basket] and I make sure we get the ball from the officials right away," Kerr said. "I completely forgot tonight. And I told the guys the reason I forgot is because Will [Richard] looks like he's in his seventh year. He doesn't look like a rookie out there."

Richard's most impressive sequence of the night came in the first quarter. He shifted all the way from the weak side to steal a pass to DeAndre Ayton in the post and then found Gary Payton II for a lob finish in the ensuing transition opportunity he created.

Kerr also talked about what made him realize Richard could play real NBA minutes despite his second-round rookie status .

"It was after the first couple of exhibition games that he played in," Kerr said. "You just constantly see him making the right cut, being in the right place at the right time, like he was on that late clock offensive rebound that he scored on."

Will Richard 's potential

Richard fell to the 56th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft because of his relatively older age as a prospect. Having spent four years in college, three of them at Florida, scouts viewed his age as a negative, limiting his potential. But in the era of NIL, with players staying longer in college, it's looking like real gems can emerge late in the draft, given how the NBA views age as a downside.

For Kerr, the fact that Richard got real reps at Florida, leading the Gators to a National Championship this past season, is actually a positive. Last week, Kerr emphasized how Richard's experience helps him be NBA-ready right away.

"The last couple of years, we've seen this with Quintin [Post] and with Will, you get these guys who went to college for four years. They've just had so many more reps. It's almost like Brock Purdy or something," Kerr said.

"It matters because you just see these pictures over and over and over. Quentin and Will came in with a different level of awareness and understanding and the ability to adopt what they've learned immediately, because they've seen things so often."

It also helps that Richard's been soaking as much insight and knowledge from his hall-of-fame teammates as possible .

"For me, knowing that this is a veteran team, I had to catch up kind of quick, 'cause they're not gonna wait on you," Richard said last week. "Just asking a lot of questions, trying to learn as much as possible from these vets, and just trying to be on the same page as everybody so I can know what's going on when I get that opportunity to go out there."

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