March Madness has officially begun, and has already entertained us with some unexpected upsets, ruining many people's brackets in the process (including mine, thank you Texas). Therefore, it feels like the perfect time to reflect on the current Golden State Warriors who participated in last year's tournament and assess their impacts on this tumultuous season.
Few could have predicted that the two leading scorers in the National Championship game would end up donning the Warriors' blue and yellow jersey, but they did.
Will Richard helped the Florida Gators win their first national championship since 2007, when another Warrior, Al Horford, powered his team to the title with an 18-point, 12-rebound performance. In his own championship game, Richard finished with a team-high 18 points, only bested by LJ Cryer's game-high 19 points. In his second season with the Houston Cougars, Cryer averaged 15.7 points on 42.4% shooting from three.
From the national title game to the Warriors
Golden State acquired the draft rights to the No. 56 pick from Memphis and used it on Will Richard, sending the rights to the No. 59 pick and a protected 2032 second-rounder in return. The 6-foot-3 guard started the season on the roster, logging 13 minutes on Opening Night against the Los Angeles Lakers. He went 2-for-2 from the field for five points along with one rebound, one assist and one steal in his first outing with the Warriors.
LJ Cryer had to battle through some adversity before making his NBA debut. After going undrafted, he joined the Warriors for the 2025 Summer League. His best game came against the Spurs in the California Classic, when he scored 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three.
His productive first impression with the Warriors earned him playing time in Golden State's preseason games. He reached double-figures in two of them: 11 points against the Blazers on 3-of-3 from deep and 11 points against the Lakers a couple of days later.
But despite flashing a natural ability to hit the deep shot, the Warriors waived him on October 18 and he was added to the Santa Cruz Warriors' roster. He played in seven G-League games with the Sea Dubs, averaging 17.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists on 54.9% from three.
His good performances along with the Warriors' guard depth being bitten by the injury bug, resulted in a two-way contract signed on December 2. He logged his first minutes on January 19 in the now infamous blowout win over the Heat and drilled his first three-pointer in three minutes of garbage time.
Different roles, different impacts
Richard's hallmark has been the defense. He currently ranks second in total steals with 74 of them (most by a rookie since Curry in 2010), has recorded nine games with 3+ steals (tied for most on the team), averages 2.5 deflections per game (3rd-most) and is the only Warrior with a six-steal game this season (against the Wolves on January 26).
With his offense wavering at times, he's managed to stick in Kerr's rotation thanks to his hustle and defensive IQ. When his offense has clicked, though, it has shown real promise. On November 5, he became just the fourth rookie since Steph Curry in 2010 to tally 30 points in a game — Klay Thompson (2012), Eric Paschall (2019) and Moses Moody (2022) are the other three. The rookie also added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal.
While Richard has been a part of the rotation for most of the season, Cryer had to bide his time before meaningful opportunities came up.
Symbolically, it was in Houston that Cryer, a Texas native, proved he could be a factor going forward. After missing eight games due to a left hamstring injury, the Warriors, decimated by injuries, called his number, and he delivered. In his 20 minutes of action against the 5th-seeded Rockets, the generously listed 6-foot-1 guard put his knack for shooting the ball on full display, going 4-for-8 from deep on his way to 12 points, a career-high at the time.
From that point on, he's been a constant spark off the bench. Over his last six games he's averaged 9.5 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 40.6% from deep on over five attempts per game, a welcome nudge for a team ranking 28th in three-point shooting percentage over its last 15 games (33.2%). He also set a new career-high in the Warriors’ March 10 loss to the Bulls, scoring a team-high 17 points and posting an impressive +18 in a six-point defeat.
While the Warriors don't have much to play for at this point in the season — beyond what would likely be a short-lived playoff run — LJ Cryer is competing for his NBA life. If he can put together more productive performances over the regular season's home stretch, the Warriors — or another NBA team — could be tempted to reward him with a contract over the summer.