The Golden State Warriors announced some surprising news on the team’s injury report for Monday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Per the Dubs official release, second-year guard Will Richard is out indefinitely with a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left thumb. A 2023 study found that NBA players who suffered in-season thumb UCL tears missed on average 7.4 weeks of action (although there was a wide range of outcomes). Kings forward Keegan Murray suffered a similar injury last
year and missed the first 15 games of the season.
Whether Richard is out for a month, three, or more, head coach Steve Kerr will now have a fourth player on the roster unavailable to him in the rotation. Richard joins Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody, and Kristaps Porzingis on the Warriors list of players with prolonged absences. Richard was off to a promising start to his sophomore NBA season prior to the injury, averaging 5.1 points and 1.8 rebounds on 47.5%/42.9%/80.0% shooting in 17.2 minutes per game across 10 games (3 starts).
The Warriors acquired Richard on a draft night trade back in 2025, acquiring his rights via the 56th overall pick. Richard had helped Florida win a National Championship in his final collegiate season and quickly made an impression in Golden State, looking like an early steal. Richard exploded for 30 points in his seventh NBA game and quickly became a mainstay in the rotation. However, he never again reached those heights and became a solid role player whose effectiveness ebbed and flowed with his jump shot.
Thus far this season, Richard was making his threes, but he was also continuing to show veteran savvy as a backcutter in the Warriors offense. Moreover, he was one of Kerr’s go-to point of attack defenders against quick guards. Golden State already lacked point of attack defense, and the current roster does not have any obvious replacements for that component of Richard’s role. Gary Payton II will likely receive more opportunities with perhaps a few minutes for two-way wing Malevy Leons.
