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While many of the Golden State Warriors' recent picks in the NBA Draft have come under fire — Jordan Poole, James Wiseman, Moses Moody and Patrick Baldwin Jr., just to name a few — one that the Dubs front office nailed without even the tiniest bit of doubt was Brandin Podziemski. Billed as a promising lefty who had a sweet shooting stroke and knack for grabbing rebounds while coming out of Santa Clara, the 6'5″ Podziemski has proven to be so much more than that. And after a solid first season in which he finished 5th in Rookie of the Year voting, Podziemski expects a whole lot more as he continues on his NBA journey.
During an exclusive interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Brandin Podziemski shared with the NBA insider what his personal goals were for next season.
“Individually, I want to be able to be in the conversation and win Most Improved Player of the Year,” Podziemski told Medina. “I want to partake in the Rising Stars game again because it's in San Francisco next season. I want to participate in the Skills Challenge, that would be fun. Then I want to put my name up there as an up-and-coming star in the league. I'm ready to make that year two jump.”
What exactly does a year two jump look like for a Swiss Army Knife like Podziemski? Well, he could aspire to improve his three-point shooting percentage from 39 percent up to above 40 percent. He could look for his opportunity to score a little more, especially now with Klay Thompson gone. But here lies the problem with this exercise: using traditional stats as the basis to outline such a leap actually does a disservice to everything that Brandin Podziemski brings to the table.
According to advanced stats provided by NBA.com, Podziemski led the NBA in charges taken last season. In his interview with Medina, Podziemski noted that he's “mastered the art of how to fall,” a necessary skill for anyone who will be spending a substantial chunk of their time on the floor either flopping or taking charges. In addition to the hustle stats, Podziemski still found a way to shine among his rookie peers. Podz was 9th in scoring (9.2 points), 5th in rebounds (5.8), and 4th in assists (3.7). Don't be surprised if all of those numbers go up next season for the Warriors.
Will Steve Kerr allow Brandin Podziemski's Warriors role to continue to grow?
Last season Steve Kerr proved he was unafraid to bench Klay Thompson both at the start of games and down the stretch in tight games in favor of Podziemski, and he continued to tout the Warriors' talented rookie throughout the season, offering this glowing review of Podz even as he was in the midst of a seven-game shooting slump.
“He's got great feel for the game; he just sees it before it happens and that's pretty rare,” Kerr said on 95.7 The Game's Willard & Dibs Show (h/t Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area). “My favorite quality of his is his confidence. He just bounces back after tough nights and quickly. And that's real confidence and self-assurance. I love that and it drives some of the veterans crazy sometimes, because a rookie isn't supposed to behave that way.”
But as impressively beyond his years as Brandin Podziemski proved to be all throughout his rookie season, it's not lost on him that it took an all-out brawl for him to get his first extended opportunity to show what he could do in the NBA.
“I was in luck,” Podziemski told Medina. “I got my opportunity when Klay and Draymond got ejected against the Wolves. Then I took it from there. All you need is opportunity. If you continuously do the little things that you can control, over time you get more and more leash from the coach.”
In 38 minutes of action against the Timberwolves, Podziemski shined, scoring 23 points, pulling down 7 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. Despite the loss, Steve Kerr had officially discovered that the 19th overall pick was NBA ready.
Now, with a full season under his belt and high expectations set for himself, these sorts of outings will become increasingly common as Podziemski's career continues to develop.
