$Signed a three-year, $15 million contract extension with the Hornets in March of 2023.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Nicholas Richards was born Nov. 29, 1997 in Kingston, Jamaica. He has one sibling, Sharique, and credits his mother, Marion Tenn, as the biggest influence in his life. Outside of basketball, Richards is a bigger soccer fan who lists Cristiano Ronaldo as his favorite athlete of all-time. In high school, Richards was a consensus five-star prospect while playing for The Patrick School. The accolades started pouring in early, as he was named 2017 Mr. Basketball in the state of New Jersey, in addition to participating in the McDonald's All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and the Nike Hoop Summit. He received interest from several elite programs before ultimately choosing to attend school at Kentucky. While there, he majored in Community and Leadership Development. You can follow Richards on social media at @iamnickrichards (Twitter), @nickrichards_ (Instagram) and @nicholas.p.richards (Facebook). A five-star prospect with a mountain of accolades, Richards started 37 games for coach John Calipari and the Wildcats in his freshman season. That year, he put up 5.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks before Kentucky was bounced by Kansas State in the Sweet Sixteen. Richards also appeared in 37 games his sophomore year, but only started three. His averages dipped to 4.0 ppg and 3.3 rpg, but he still led the team in total blocks and posted a career-high 19 rebounds Nov. 8 against SIU. Richards had a massive leap in his junior year, increasing his averages to 14.0 points and 7.8 rebounds. He also shot a career-best 64.4 percent from the field, leading the team in that category along with rebounds and blocks (again). His career high of 27 points came in a victory over Mississippi State on Feb. 4. While the season was cut short due to COVID-19, Richards still had personal success, getting named first-team All-SEC and making the All-SEC defensive team before declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft.
Produces off bench in return
CCharlotte Hornets
December 1, 2024
Richards (rib) supplied 12 points (3-5 FG, 6-7 FT), six rebounds, three blocks, one assist and one steal across 25 minutes in Saturday's 107-104 loss to the Hawks.
ANALYSIS Though he ended up coming off the bench in his return from a 14-game absence due to a right rib fracture, Richards saw more playing time than starting center Moussa Diabate (22 minutes). The Hornets will likely prioritize Richards ahead of Diabate and could even move Richards back into the starting lineup beginning with Tuesday's game against the 76ers, but Mark Williams (foot) may not be far behind Richards in returning from a multi-week absence. Once Williams is back to full health, Richards might have a tough time consistently finding anything more than a 20-to-25-minute role.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
Loading Split Stats...
Advanced Stats
Loading Advanced Stats...
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Stat Review
How does Nick Richards compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
66.0%
Effective Field Goal %
63.2%
3-Point Attempt Rate
2.6%
Free Throw Rate
76.3%
Offensive Rebound %
13.5%
Defensive Rebound %
24.4%
Total Rebound %
18.7%
Assist %
9.5%
Steal %
0.8%
Block %
9.1%
Turnover %
11.5%
Usage %
15.1%
Fantasy Points Per Game
32.5
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.2
Loading Player Stat Review...
Loading Player Stat Review...
Loading Player Stat Review...
Loading Player Stat Review...
Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
Loading Historical Fantasy Stats...
NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
Loading Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats...
NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
Loading Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats...
Historical ADP
Loading Historical ADP...
Hornets Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Nick Richards was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Sorare
Loading Average Minutes...
Loading FanDuel Points...
Loading DraftKings Points...
Loading Yahoo Points...
Loading Head2Head Points...
Loading Sorare Points...
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Nick Richards See More
Juan Carlos Blanco highlights who to start and sit for Week 7 of the NBA fantasy season, including Payton Pritchard, who's enjoying a breakout campaign thus far.
Jeff Edgerton highlights his favorite plays for Monday's nine-game DFS slate on FanDuel, including LaMelo Ball, whose red-hot shooting makes him an intriguing option.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
After barely playing during his first two seasons in the NBA, Richards was able to carve out a meaningful role for himself during the 2022-23 campaign. In 18.7 minutes per night, he put up averages of 8.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, shooting 62.9 percent from the field and a respectable 74.9 percent from the line. Although Mark Williams is now firmly established as the starting center in Charlotte, Richards should serve as the primary backup. His role should replicate what he was able to do last season, putting him on the radar as a specialist target in slightly deeper formats. If Williams misses time at all during the season, Richards could make for a must-add player, even in 12-team leagues.
Richards compiled a productive Summer League, making a proper claim for more minutes entering the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, he will be battling the likes of Mason Plumlee, P.J. Washington and Mark Williams, all of whom could be ahead of him in the rotation. Based on what is currently known, the best case scenario would be to view Richards as a potential streaming option if and when other players are sidelined.
ANALYSIS Richards is a very productive center when healthy, boasting averages of 11.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.5 blocks through six regular-season games. He also has an appealing contract, as he's owed $5 million this season with a non-guaranteed $5 million for the 2025-26 season. Although teams will try to pry him away from Charlotte, the Hornets may be hesitant to do so with so many question marks surrounding the health of Mark Williams, who remains sidelined by a foot issue.