Florida's Will Richard picked in second round of NBA Draft
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Will Richard ended his college career on a high note, scoring a team-high 18 points in the Florida Gators’ 65-63 victory over Houston to win the 2025 national championship. Now he’s taking his talents to the NBA.
Richard was selected No. 56 overall by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Thursday. He’s the third draft pick for the Gators and joins Walter Clayton Jr., who was taken in the first round Wednesday, and Alijah Martin, also a second-rounder.
The Warriors traded up from No. 59 to select the Florida Gators guard/forward.
Richard set career bests as a senior with 13.3 points per game, 531 total points, 80 3-pointers, 74 assists, 66 steals, 81 free throws and 185 field goals. He was named to the Final Four and SEC Tournament All-Tournament teams, averaging 16.7 points per game in Nashville to help the Gators win the SEC Tournament title.
Richard was the first commit for UF coach Todd Golden and his staff and a foundational member of the program that ultimately led Florida to its third national championship in school history.
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“I point to Will Richard as kind of being the starting point for us. He was the first young man that committed to our program when we got the job. I can’t say enough about what Will has done for us as a program since he’s been here,” Golden said of Richard. “He was the first one, man, the first one that we saw him hit the portal. We looked at his numbers at Belmont, incredibly efficient as a freshman, high-usage player, great rebounding rates, great steal rates, great block rates. We meet with him in Nashville. The kid is an incredible light bulb, incredible human being. We get him down to campus and meet his father, Al, and his mother, Helen. We’re like if we can get 13 Will Richards on this roster, we’re going to make the Final Four.
“I go back to the Carolina game. The first time we were down four, and I’m looking at Will’s eyes. He feels super comfortable, like there’s not any sort of lack of confidence being exuded by these guys in those moments. Obviously we come back, we win that game. We’ve done it a number of times now. These guys just expect to win. … They’ve earned the confidence in which they show by the work they put in.”
