When the Golden State Warriors went into the 2025-26 season, they expected to get most of their production from their seasoned veterans — Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Al Horford, etc. — while being supplemented by some of their young players, such as Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga.

The season didn't turn out anywhere close to what they hoped or expected due to injuries, but there were still some positives to glean from the season.

Their lone rookie draft pick, Will Richard, was selected from the national champion Florida Gators, and though he initially wasn't expected to see much playing time, he ended up filling a quality role thanks to injuries and an NBA-ready skillset.

In his end-of-season press conference, Richard evaluated how the season went for him and what he was able to learn as a rookie.

"I think it was a great year. I learned so much. Learned the life of the NBA, how to make sure I'm keeping my body right, being able to go through fatigue of the season, all of that. Just being able to learn what it takes to be successful at this level."

Richard also commented on his experience with the infamous "rookie wall," where many young players stall at some point in their first season.

"I hit it a few weeks before All-Star (Weekend), and it kind of lingered all the rest of the season, I'm not going to lie. It's been a long season, just from playing in the national championship to 18 pre-draft workouts to Summer League to training camp. It's been nonstop. But I've been asking the veterans questions of how to push through that and the mental fatigue it takes, so they've helped a lot with that."

Richard's stats did take a hit after the All-Star Break, even though he averaged more minutes per game in the second half of the season. However, with the confidence he maintained and an offseason to work through it, there are many reasons to believe he'll be much improved come next year.

It was largely thanks to various injuries, starting with Moses Moody in the first two games of the season, that allowed Richard to find a foothold for some minutes, and he didn't look back.

"I think there was a lot of growth, just with there being a lot of opportunity with some of the injuries we had. Guys having to step up and make plays and get thrown in that fire — I definitely think that benefitted a lot of our young guys and helped them moving forward. It's definitely a challenge. We had some injuries to some very key players. Everybody had to do a little bit more for us to win games and just be in that fight. It was definitely a challenge, but I think we handled it the right way. We fought every time we were on the court."

On the season, Richard ended up playing 69 games with 21 starts, averaging exactly 20 minutes per game. His numbers were solid, especially for the 56th pick in the draft.

Richard averaged 6.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 33.5% from the three-point range. Though that three-point percentage is a bit lower than desired, Richard's willingness to be a confident shooter, taking 3.1 attempts per game, and his track record as 36% three-point shooter at Florida bode well for his development in that aspect moving forward.

Ultimately, Richard had an unexpectedly quality season for the Warriors, and he should continue to be a valuable part of the rotation heading into next season.