The Golden State Warriors have named former Warriors’ guard and six-time NBA All-Star Mitch Richmond as a Special Assistant, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.
Richmond, 39, joins the team’s front office following an outstanding 14-year NBA career, the first three of which were spent with the Warriors. In his new role, Richmond will provide assistance to the entire Basketball Operations staff, including Mullin, General Manager Rod Higgins and Head Coach Mike Montgomery. Additionally, his expertise will be utilized in player development and scouting.
“We're thrilled to welcome Mitch back to the Warriors organization,” said Mullin. “Obviously, he has been a fan favorite in the Bay Area - and Northern California - for many years and it is always good from a team perspective to make a connection with the past and the present. Mitch was a highly successful player in this league and was a consummate professional, two intangibles that will serve him well in his new position.”
“I'm really looking forward to this new opportunity,” said Richmond. “I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent playing with the Warriors and the special connection that I felt with the tremendous fans in the Bay Area. This opens a new chapter for me in my life and I'm eager to help Chris Mullin, Rod Higgins and Coach Montgomery in any way possible to help this team achieve some of its goals.”
Originally selected by the Warriors in the first round (#5 overall) of the 1988 NBA Draft, Richmond was named NBA Rookie of the Year and was the league’s only unanimous All-Rookie First Team selection after averaging 22.0 points per game. In his third season, the Kansas State product teamed with Mullin and point guard Tim Hardaway to produce the highest scoring trio in the NBA, as “Run-TMC” combined to score 72.5 points per game and all three finished in the top-11 in the NBA in scoring.
After being traded to Sacramento prior to the 1991-92 campaign, Richmond made six consecutive trips to the NBA All-Star Game, being named MVP of the league’s annual showcase in 1995. He finished fourth in the NBA in scoring at 22.3 points per game in 1997-98, joining Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan as the only four players in league history to top 21.0 points per game in each of their first 10 seasons.
A member of the gold-medal winning “Dream Team III” at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the bronze-medal squad at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Richmond was traded to Washington in 1998-99 after leading the Kings in scoring for all seven of his years in Sacramento. After a three-year stint with the Wizards, Richmond signed with the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the 2001-02 campaign and punctuated his career by winning the 2002 NBA Championship. He concluded his 14-year NBA career sporting career averages of 21.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 976 games.