The Golden State Warriors produced a stunning 51-26 fourth-quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, allowing them to overcome a 21-point deficit to claim a 129-123 victory at Chase Center.
At the heart of the comeback was rookie guard Will Richard, with the 56th overall pick impressing again as he quickly emerges as the latest gem that the Warriors may have unearthed late in the second-round of the draft.
Will Richard might be the Warriors’ latest draft steal
While his numbers — 11.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals — didn’t necessarily blow people away at summer league, Richard was clearly the biggest positive from an otherwise underwhelming team display at the California Classic and in Las Vegas.
The 22-year-old has continued on from that impression, showing strong signs of his defensive capability during Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers. More of that was on display against the Trail Blazers, but this time the offense came with it in recording nine points in his nearly 17 minutes.
Richard made two of his three field-goal attempts, yet crucially got to the free-throw line on six occasions (making five) which helped give the Warriors as much time as possible to execute the remarkable comeback.
Richard’s nine points went with two rebounds, two assists and a steal, while he also finished as a +21 in his minutes — ranked second of Golden State players behind LJ Cryer’s +25 (all in the fourth-quarter).
In fairness, all of Richard’s minutes have come in ‘garbage time’ against lesser opposition over the first two games. He has impressed enough though to question whether or not he should get further opportunity across the remaining preseason games, particularly over a similar type player like Gary Payton II. Neither are likely to get rotation minutes once De’Anthony Melton returns from his ACL injury, but there could be an opportunity over the next month until that happens.
Either way Richard already looks like a potential steal late in the second-round, particularly given the Warriors executed a pair of trades to actually get access to him at that selection. While we haven’t seen 52nd overall pick Alex Toohey in preseason to date, Mike Dunleavy Jr. is clearly building quite a reputation when it comes to identifying talent late in the draft.
Quinten Post, Golden State’s 52nd pick in 2024, led Wednesday’s comeback with 15 fourth-quarter points and a team-high 20 for the game, while the franchise still retains hope in Trayce Jackson-Davis, the 57th overall pick of 2023, despite more limited minutes in the last 12 months.
Richard could be the most recent of these surprising players to emerge from a pick in the 50s, particularly given the Warriors have already shown faith by placing him on the main roster and giving him a four-year contract (two years guaranteed) before even playing a game.
