Go ahead and book your seat on the Patrick Baldwin Jr. hype train. If the early impression he's made on the Golden State Warriors proves a harbinger of the rookie's career trajectory, it might be only a matter of time until Baldwin proves a draft-night steal.

CJ Moore of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday that at least one Warriors staffer has been left “shocked” by Baldwin's performance leading up to training camp, calling the No. 29 overall pick of the draft a “very exciting” prospect.

“I’ve been shocked by what I’ve seen in an exciting way,” Golden State's anonymous coach told Moore. “…He’s an exciting prospect. Very exciting.”

Baldwin didn't play for the Warriors in Summer League, still striving toward a full recovery from a badly sprained left ankle he suffered as a senior at Hamilton (Sussex, WI) High School in December 2020. Discomfort followed him to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where Baldwin disappointed playing under his father. He averaged 12.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 turnovers per game as a freshman, shooting 41.8% on twos and 26.6% from beyond the arc—ugly marks for any player, let alone one with a reputation as an elite shooter.

But the touch that made Baldwin among the most decorated players of his high school class didn't just vanish, and neither has his prototype positional size. If ankle issues now behind him really did play a major factor in Baldwin's dispiriting freshman season and wholly underwhelming athletic testing numbers at the NBA combine, murmurs of Baldwin impressing Warriors staffers shouldn't be surprising. Consensus top-five prep recruits don't garner that standing by accident.

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Baldwin understands the supporting role he's most likely to play with Golden State, at least early in his career. No team in the league could have too many 6'9 knockdown shooters, and the Warriors' active, versatile defensive system could help Baldwin mask some of his athletic deficiencies on that side the ball.

Still, the 19-year-old maintains dreams of long-term stardom. That Patrick Baldwin Jr. is already raising eyebrows with Golden State certainly raises the odds they ultimately become reality.