San Antonio Loves Josh Richardson -- And the Feeling is Mutual

While the San Antonio Spurs lost a beloved member of the organization when they traded away Derrick White, the presence of Josh Richardson has made the transition a bit more painless.

On the court, the seventh-year veteran has been scorching the nets, shooting 44.6% from deep on 4.0 attempts per game since his Spurs' debut on February 16th. He's also made 24 of his 25 free throws attempted. He was the key player in the Spurs' recent upset win over the Golden State Warriors:

Richardson has been embracing his teammates and new environment, and the city has responded in kind.

As someone who'd faced the Spurs several times throughout his first six years in the league, Josh always admired Gregg Popovich and the organization from afar before he ultimately found himself joining the cause.

Richardson is one of the more active Twitter users on the team, and he frequently uses that to find victims he can beat down in FIFA 22, sometimes taking down Spurs fans in the process.

“He’s got a little bit of a nastiness to him," said Coach Popovich in a recent postgame conference. "He sticks his nose in. He's a serious professional. I think it is great to have him with this young group."

Richardson has logged at least one steal in seven of his last eight games played and is proving to be an underrated piece of the White trade that netted back a 1st round pick to convey this summer. At age 28, he's one of the elder statesmen on the team, and everyone has been benefitting from what he brings to the locker room.

The presence of Richardson has undoubtedly been a factor in the Spurs suddenly being a real contender for the NBA Play-In tournament, and his performance has made this offseason that much more interesting. He's still under contract for one more season at $12.1 million, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the front office dangles his expiring out there this summer for the right return.

For now, the city will continue to embrace Josh Richardson as they embraced the other new Josh last summer, and he'll be doing the same.