Young Warriors Player Gets Surprising Vote for NBA's Most Underrated

Anonymous player voted for a young Warrior as the league's most underrated player

Will Richard, Jalen Brunson and Brandin Podziemski | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Golden State Warriors are not exactly swimming in young talent, but one anonymous player thinks they have something in Will Richard.

Josh Robbins, Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic surveyed 161 players with an assortment of questions, and 151 of them answered the prompt for who is the NBA's most underrated player.

Jalen Johnson and Derrick White tied for the most votes. Richard was the only Warrior who got a vote.

Richard Had Solid Rookie Season

It's not common for a player drafted late in the second round to play the fifth-most minutes on their team in their rookie season, but that's what happened with Richard.

The 56th pick of the 2025 draft averaged 6.4 points and 20.0 minutes in 69 games (21 starts). His defense stood out the most, as he averaged 2.1 steals per 36 minutes, ranking tied for seventh in the league.

As is the case for so many players, Richard's swing skill is his three-point shot. He fell off after a hot start, finishing at just 33.5 percent. To be a rotation mainstay, Richard will need to improve that percentage substantially.

The 23-year-old is under contract for next season. He'll have an opportunity to earn a bigger role with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody out for at least half the 2026-27 season with knee injuries.

Other Warriors Mentioned in The Athletic's Player Poll

Brandin Podziemski got two of the 81 votes for the "most overrated player" question. I'd argue he is not overrated, but it's not surprising that such a polarizing player would get a couple of votes.

Steve Kerr got votes on both ends of the coaching spectrum.

Six of the 100 players surveyed voted that Kerr was the least impressive coach in the league.

One even explained why, telling The Athletic that it was Kerr's handling of Jonathan Kuminga that made them reach that conclusion.

Though it's silly to suggest that Kerr is the worst coach in the NBA, I'd argue some of the criticism Kerr gets for his handling of Kuminga is valid.

As for the positive end of the spectrum, four of the 146 players voted Kerr as the most impressive coach in the league.