In preseason, NBA teams don't typically give much attention towards winning games. Player development is of utmost priority, as there's no better time for teams to assess the readiness of players to contribute for the upcoming season. But the Golden State Warriors ask: ‘why not both?' This was the case when the Warriors came back from an 11-point deficit against the Washington Wizards during their last preseason tilt in Japan, with Patrick Baldwin Jr. playing a huge role in the comeback.

Baldwin drained four triples and was active on the glass all game long, en route to a team-high +23 in a 104-95 victory. It's foolish to use single-game plus-minus in assessing a player's impact, but in this case, the aforementioned stat supports the eye-test. Baldwin simply looks better and more confident than he appeared to be coming out of college. And Steve Kerr is impressed with what he's seen thus far from the 19-year old forward.

“He was terrific,” Kerr said, per The Athletic (subscription required). “Just a really good basketball player. He understands the game. You can see with his flow, his movements, his shooting, his passing. He made a great pass in transition. He just gets it.”

The 28th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Patrick Baldwin fell down on draft boards due to concerns regarding his athleticism and his college performance. However, the franchise knows what the man affectionately known as “PBJ” is truly capable of. Baldwin was given the Summer League off so that he could regain the clean bill of health he's sorely needed ever since going through a myriad of ankle problems.

And if Baldwin's latest game against the Wizards is any indication, it appears the Warriors have struck gold again after betting on someone's talent.

“I’ve noticed a big difference from when I came out of the college season to now,” Baldwin said. “It’s a big difference the way I’m moving and how confident I am in that ankle.”

The Warriors will surely bring Patrick Baldwin along slowly, as they've done with prospects such as Jordan Poole, James Wiseman, and Jonathan Kuminga in recent seasons. It's difficult to think of a more ideal situation for the 19-year old than to land with the reigning NBA champion Warriors. He could just freely play his game and work on the little things that contribute to winning that coach Kerr loves to instill in his players.