Posted by: Matt George – Cowbell Kingdom
“With the 22nd pick, the Charlotte Hornets select Malachi Richardson out of Syracuse,” echoed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in the 2016 NBA Draft. After shaking Silver’s hand wearing the Hornets draft cap, the then 20-year-old shooter quickly found out that he was headed to Sacramento, potentially being the missing piece of the Kings’ shooting guard puzzle.
Before Sacramento’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks Friday night, Richardson spent a couple of minutes in the locker room with Cowbell Kingdom, and he spoke about the first half of the season as an NBA player.
“Looking back at it, I never could’ve imagined how everything would go, how the season would be. I never knew it would be anything like this,” Richardson said.
In the early stages of the season, Richardson spent a lot of time bouncing between the Kings and the Reno Bighorns. True to its name, the Kings were hopeful that the young shooter could get the reps he needed in the NBA’s Developmental League instead of riding the bench with the main roster.
“It definitely helped me a lot, getting to go down to Reno and get some games in,” Richardson said. “Those are guys who have either been in the NBA or overseas, who are just trying to get a job in the NBA. It (was) good to go out there and compete, getting to show what I can do…”
In 11 games with the Bighorns, Richardson averaged 21 points on 42 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent from beyond the arc. Along with four rebounds and just under two assists a night, his confidence in his outside jumper earned him a quick call up to the main roster, where he has remained since Dec. 12, 2016.
His last game, on the 11th of December, he scored 32 points on 54 percent shooting in a loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
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