Brandin Podziemski on Monday became the first Warrior to earn NBA All-Rookie First Team honors since Eric Paschall in 2020. His three previous rookies to do so before Paschall were Harrison Barnes in 2013, Klay Thompson in 2012 and Steph Curry in 2010.
The Warriors also came very close to having two All-Rookie selections for the first time since 1981. Like they were one vote away.
Trayce Jackson-Davis received 42 points from voters. The 42 went to the second team, each of which scores one point. GG Jackson II of the Memphis Grizzlies received 33 second-team votes, but also five first-team votes, giving Jackson 43 total points as the fifth and final member of the All-Rookie Second Team.
“It makes me angry for him,” Podziemski told reporters Monday at the Chase Center and over Zoom. “We’ve been through everything together.”
The Warriors found the steal of the Draft in the second round, No. 57 overall, adding Jackson-Davis with the second-to-last overall pick. The 6-foot-9 center tallied his accolades in his four-year career at Indiana, but his age at 23 (Jackson-Davis turned 24 in February) was detrimental to his draft stock in an era where the NBA values potential. on the production of perspectives.
Jackson-Davis played in 68 games for the Warriors and averaged 7.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks as a rookie. The Grizzlies also got a gem from Jackson in the second round at 45th overall. Jackson, at 19, was the youngest player in the NBA and still averaged 14.6 points per game for the Grizzlies who won 27.
The two were in very different circumstances. Although Jackson-Davis played in 20 more games than Jackson, the Grizzlies forward averaged 9.1 more minutes per game than the Warriors big man: 25.7 versus 16.6. Jackson put points on the board, including a 35-point game and a 23-point game against the Warriors, but he also shot 42.8 percent overall and 35.7 percent on 3-pointers. Jackson-Davis, on the other hand, shot 70.2 percent from the field, and his numbers per 36 minutes would have left him at 17.2 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
Golden State went 9-2 to close the regular season with Jackson-Davis as the starting center. The Warriors in that span ranked seventh in offensive rating (116.6), fifth in defensive rating (108.6) and sixth in net rating (7.9).
“Just to see from a guard’s perspective his impact on our games and how he helped us win games this year, I think maybe voters should take wins into account more,” Podziemski said Monday. “It’s a shame to see that he doesn’t make it. I think he deserved it.”
Keynote USA Sports Bay Area spoke with Podziemski in late April, a conversation in which he explained why he believes he should be part of the all-rookie first team, but also stated that Jackson-Davis should at least make the second team.
“Trayce’s rise from where he came to now is incredible,” Podziemski told Keynote USA Sports Bay Area. “So I think we should both be there.”
As he watched the rest of the NBA pass him by 11 months ago, Jackson-Davis tweeted, “Everyone will regret it…I promise,” on draft night.
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You will all regret it… I promise you.
-TJD (@TrayceJackson) June 23, 2023
Podziemski, after knowing the All-Rookie results, sent his own message to social networks that no one will have to decipher.
“I know him and I know he’s going to use it as a grudge for next year,” Podziemski said. “And I think that will make it even better.”
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