GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 20, 2026

Will Richard

Media Conference

Q. What's up, Will? How would you describe your first 82-, 83-, 84-game season in the NBA?

WILL RICHARD: For me I think it was a great year. I learned so much. I learned life in the NBA, how to make sure I'm keeping my body right and being able to go through fatigue of the season and just what it takes to be successful at this level. It's been a great year for me.

Q. You hit the wall at some point. How long did it take you to get through that, if you ever got through it?

WILL RICHARD: I hit it a few weeks before All-Star, and it kind of lingered on 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 predraft workouts, Summer League, training camp. It's been nonstop. I've been asking the vets questions about how to push through that and the mental fatigue it takes, so they've helped a lot with that.

Q. How much growth was there from so many guys having to take on bigger roles because of the injuries? I know there were some devastating injuries. Also, all the mixing and matching that went on, do you think that can be a positive for a lot of the young players going forward despite how tough it was at times?

WILL RICHARD: For sure I think there was a lot of growth, just from the opportunity with some of the injuries we had and guys having to be able to step up and make plays and get thrown in that fire a little bit. I think that definitely benefited a lot of our young guys and will help them moving forward.

Q. How much of a challenge was that at times, and just maybe some of the strength that you guys showed as a group to withstand those lows?

WILL RICHARD: For sure. 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 try to be in that fight. It definitely was a challenge, but I think we handled it the right way, and we fought every time we were on the court.

Q. Where do you feel like your game grew the most as a rookie? What do you want to work on in this off-season?

WILL RICHARD: I would say it probably grew the most in just the mental side of the game, being more locked in and disciplined to scouts and stuff, actually studying other team's players, their traits and tendencies and stuff like that. So being more locked in mentally.

Where I want to grow in the summer, getting stronger, faster, being able to shoot on the move, making plays off the dribble. Just keep growing off the season I had this year and building off of that.

Q. Steve is your first coach in the NBA. His future is questioned right now, we'll see what happens next. What did he mean to you, and what is your interaction, your first remembrance of Steve Kerr?

WILL RICHARD: Just a great coach in general. Just from the way he poured into me from when I first got here and the trust he put in me early on in the season, it means a lot from a coach like that. It's definitely great to have a coach like that, just somebody who trusts in you, pours into his players, and wants to see you succeed. It was great having him as a coach.

Q. What's the summer kind of look like for you in terms of playing and the things you're going to do?

WILL RICHARD: I need to rest first. I'm tired for sure. Going to see family. I'll take a little vacation and then right back to work because I know it's a big summer.

Q. Are you doing Summer League?

WILL RICHARD: I will, yeah.

Q. You're one of only a handful of players that are signed with this team long term. How do you view kind of the uncertainty going forward with the roster?

WILL RICHARD: For me, I can only control what I can control. I've just got to make sure I'm ready and doing what I need to do to make sure I'm ready for next season.

Q. What was the biggest lesson you learned from the vets this season, just reflecting on all that?

WILL RICHARD: It's so much, to be honest. Just how much work it takes to be great. I've asked Jimmy, Steph, Draymond, Al. I asked them questions, and I just started taking notes of everything they said just because those guys have played for a long time and done it at a high level for a long time.

If I can take something from every single one of them, I feel like I'll have a very successful career.

Q. Notes-wise, do you use a phone? Is it like a journal? How are you taking that information?

WILL RICHARD: Yeah, I use a journal. Especially last few weeks when I wasn't playing, Draymond had some big challenges. He had to guard Kawhi and had to guard Shai. I was just asking him what was his mindset guarding those different players.

Just keys like that, that's something that can help you for a long time in your career, being able to guard those guys at a high level like he did. So just little things like that have benefited me.

Q. Have you journaled in the past? Is that something you do outside of basketball as well too?

WILL RICHARD: This is really my first year. Just because I knew this first year is about learning as much as possible. I wanted to make sure I was taking notes to make sure I could keep them in mind and learn from them.

Q. Guys come into the league and often say they thought they were prepared for the speed of the league. How would you say you handled the speed of this league, and were you surprised by some of that?

WILL RICHARD: It's definitely a big difference just because guys are so much talented and quicker and faster. I think I got adjusted pretty quickly. We kind of played fast in college, so it wasn't too bad of a transition for me. It's definitely a notch up just with how talented the guys are.

I think I transitioned pretty smoothly into the speed of the league.