Warriors lose Will Richard to torn thumb ligament with seven-game streak on the line

The Golden State Warriors will be without guard Will Richard for an undetermined stretch. The second-year guard has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, ESPN reported in an Associated Press story. The team listed him on Sunday's injury report and ruled him out of Monday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center.

Golden State held no practice or media session Sunday, so there is no timetable yet and no word on whether surgery is planned. NBC Sports Bay Area noted that the injury is to his non-shooting hand. The ESPN report pointed to a recent case with the same injury: Sacramento's Keegan Murray had surgery and missed the first 15 games of last season.

The loss comes just as Richard had settled in. He has started three of the team's 10 games and come off the bench in the rest. Over that span he has averaged 5.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in about 17 minutes a night, and he has made 42.9% of his 3-pointers. He started against Phoenix and Miami this past week and scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting against the Heat. His defense got the most credit, though. After the 116-113 win over the Suns, Stephen Curry told reporters, "Defensively, he's just been a pest out there," according to ESPN.

The Warriors are also thinner on the wing than usual. NBC Sports Bay Area reported that Golden State had again leaned on Richard while Moses Moody recovers from a torn patellar tendon, and Moody is not expected back until at least December. NBC Sports named Gary Payton II and De'Anthony Melton as the likeliest players to pick up his minutes.

Richard, 23, was the 56th pick in the 2025 draft after leading Florida to a national championship.

What it means for Monday against New Orleans

Monday's game closes a six-game homestand. Golden State is 7-3 and has won seven in a row after losing its first three games, at the Lakers, against Memphis and at Phoenix. During the streak the Warriors won at Denver by 20 and at Minnesota, then swept the homestand so far: the Lakers, the Clippers, Phoenix, Miami and, on Saturday, Orlando, 126-119 in overtime. Richard played 12 minutes against the Magic. The defensive energy Curry praised now has to come from Payton, Melton or someone further down the rotation.

The absence has not moved the market much. Across the 11 venues on our board, the Warriors are clear favorites. Novig has Golden State at -344 on the moneyline and New Orleans at +335. The best Pelicans price anywhere is +337 at Polymarket, nearly the same number. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 4.0% to 5.2%.

The spreads differ more. Novig lists the Warriors at -8.5 (-115) and the Pelicans at +8.5 (+104). BetRivers offers New Orleans the most points, +10.5 at -110. That two-point gap is the widest disagreement on the board. The total sits at 231.5 at most venues. Novig prices the over at -111 and the under at -100, BetMGM has the over at -110, and BetRivers has the under at 232.5 for -118.

The next update on Richard should come once the Warriors return to practice and announce a treatment plan.