The Golden State Warriors wrapped up the NBA preseason with a 106-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The more important news, though, was that Dubs guard Brandin Podziemski took a scary-looking fall and exited the game with an injury, which is not great on the eve of the regular season.
“Brandin Podziemski is writhing in pain at midcourt as Steve Kerr calls timeout,” ClutchPoints Warriors beat reporter Kenzo Fukuda tweeted, describing the scene. “Looks like he’s gonna walk off with assistance from the training staff but he’s definitely hobbled. Not what you’d like to see in the Warriors final preseason game.”
Brandin Podziemski went to the Warriors' locker room after a hard fall on this play pic.twitter.com/vQStnqA0An
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 18, 2025
Luckily, Podziemski seemed to recover from the injury scare in due time and even returned from his “hip contusion.”
“Brandin Podziemski is back in the game, checking in for Stephen Curry,” Fuhuda later reported. “Audible sigh of relief from the Chase Center crowd.”
While Warriors fans are glad Podziemski is alright and not out for any extended period of time, some took to social media to question the play he got injured on. While taking the ball up the court, Podziemski purposefully weaved in front of Clippers defender Kobe Brown to try to draw a foul.
This is a dangerous play that could result in the injury of either player involved, and it's also foul-baiting at its worst. In this situation, Podziemski initiated the contact, then may have even flopped, which led to his injury.
While the NBA should look at getting plays like this out of the game, all is well that ends well in this particular situation. After returning to the Warriors' final preseason game, there is no reason that Podziemski shouldn't be ready for the 2025-26 season opener.
Now, the Warriors prepare for their regular-season debut against another LA squad. Golden State will take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Oct. 21.