The Golden State Warriors' 2023-24 season has been anything but smooth, but one of the brightest points has been the emergence of rookie guard Brandin Podziemski.
Despite coming off the bench and getting inconsistent minutes to begin the season, Podziemski has become a regular starter for the Warriors and established himself as one of the team's most valuable players. And now that everyone has seen what he is capable of, Podziemski said he has bigger goals in mind, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
“I want to be an All-Star,” Podziemski said. “You know, Jonathan (Kuminga) has taken that next step of really being in that conversation. To see his growth just this year has been pretty special. So going into the summer after this year elevating my game to another level, doing the things that I’m deficient in now and making them as efficient as possible, I think I can get there. I’m never gonna just settle for being a role player, especially after my first year. I got a long career ahead of me.”
In 26.4 minutes per game, Podziemski is averaging 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 38.5% from three-point range. He began starting in mid-December after Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely by the league following his altercation with the Phoenix Suns' Jusuf Nurkic, and in the eight consecutive games he was in the starting lineup, the Warriors went 5-3, which included a five-game win streak. Since then, Podziemski has made sporadic starts, but he may become a permanent starter now that Klay Thompson has been moved to the bench for the foreseeable future.
At the All-Star break, Golden State is 27-26, putting them at 10th place in the Western Conference. After going 8-2 in their final 10 games before the break, however, the team is only five games back from fifth place. If Green can manage to stay on the court, and if Chris Paul can return from injury to be a positive contributor, the Warriors could be a very tough team come playoff (or play-in) time.
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