They say don’t meet your heroes — unless your hero is your new teammate, that is.
Will Richard experienced that firsthand when he met Steph Curry for the first time this summer, and it was a memory the Warriors rookie certainly will remember forever.
“For me, I mean, [Curry] was my favorite player growing up, him and Klay [Thompson], so that was definitely a top three moment in my life, and just how it happened,” Richard said Tuesday during an appearance on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs.” “We were at the first Cali Classic game; I wasn’t able to play because the trade hadn’t gone through yet, and fans, they were calling me to go sign autographs, so I had to walk past [Curry]. And, you know, he’s Stephen Curry. You don’t want to go up and intrude on what he’s doing. So I went up past him by the fans and signed some autographs.
“When I was coming down the steps, he came up to me, shook my hand and was like, ‘Welcome to the Bay. We’re happy to have you, and I’m excited to work with you.’ So for me, that meant a lot. It was definitely some motivation, because you’re hearing that from a guy that you grew up watching, grew up loving, grew up wanting to be like, so it was definitely some motivation.”
The Warriors traded up to select Richard at No. 56 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft last month, acquiring a former Florida guard who helped the Gators win their first national championship since 2007 last season. Unsurprisingly, hoisting the NABC National Championship Trophy was right up there with meeting Curry in Richard’s list of top three life moments.
“I would probably say winning the natty, and let’s go with being born,” Richard told “Willard and Dibs” when asked to round out his top three. “It’s been a good few months, for sure.”
Richard is proving his worth so far for the Warriors during NBA Summer League play, averaging 12.4 points on 44-percent shooting with 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 2.0 steals across five starts.
While it remains to be seen exactly when or if Richard will join Curry on the NBA roster this fall, it’s nice to know the Warriors star already is well acquainted with his team’s latest draft pick. And for the 22-year-old rook, the time Curry took to speak with him meant everything.
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