SAN FRANCISCO – Brandin Podziemski showed as much promise and production as a Warriors rookie has had in a long time throughout the 2023-24 NBA season. The 21-year-old guard became the first Warrior to be named to the All-Rookie First Team since Eric Paschall in 2019-20, and just the fourth to do so since Steph Curry earned the honor as a rookie 14 years ago.
The Warriors’ blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings in the NBA Play-In tournament left a bitter taste for Podziemski that only increased the hunger for someone whose many goals boil down to one thing throughout this offseason: taking his game to the next level.
Podziemski’s NBA debut was a mixed year in the summer league. The impact he would quickly make in the pro game wasn’t immediately apparent at the California Classic or in Las Vegas. His 43.8 percent three-point shooting in Santa Clara didn’t immediately catch on.
Now, a year later, Podziemski knows that the mentality of trying to prove to Steve Kerr and management that he can fit into the Warriors’ system may have gone too far. After such a successful rookie season, he views his second consecutive summer league differently.
“I think this year it’s more about how can I maximize my touches and be as efficient as possible and make the guys around me better,” Podziemski said Monday at Chase Center.
As a rookie, Podziemski led the NBA in steals (38) while also leading the Warriors in total rebounds (427) and plus/minus (plus-264). He was second to Chris Paul in steals, fourth in total assists behind Paul, Steph Curry and Draymond Green and fourth in 3-pointers behind the final-season back duo of Curry and Klay Thompson, and Andrew Wiggins’ 91 3-pointers were one more than Podziemski’s 90.
To take your game to the next level, you need to start from scratch, with basic skill on the surface so beginners can pick up a ball.
“Scoring the ball more,” Podziemski said without hesitation.
“You know I rebound, I play hard, I pass the ball naturally,” he added. “So I just focused on scoring, shooting more. Steve was very insistent on getting as many threes as we could.”
Defense at the point of attack has also been a focus of attention.
No player will be able to replace Klay Thompson and replace the franchise icon who left for the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent. Podziemski could also be first on the list.
Kerr’s first replacement for Thompson in the Warriors’ starting lineup was not an established veteran but a rookie who had played in 46 NBA Games, starting 13 of them. From that point on, including Thompson’s first game off the bench, Podziemski averaged 8.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from 3-point range. Over that span, he shot an average of three shots from beyond the arc.
Curry averaged 11.8 3-point attempts per game last season, and Thompson made nine per game.
Nearly half of Podziemski’s points as a rookie came within 10 feet of the rim. He plays bigger than his size in every aspect of the game, and Podziemski showed a combination of craftiness with his floater and an ability to try to attack the rim. The Warriors now, entering Podziemski’s second professional season, need his offensive game to look more like the one that made him the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in Santa Clara, when he was shooting nearly six 3-pointers per game.
“Who can get that seven to 10 shots a game?” Podziemski mused. “Because three is better than two, but it also opens the door for (Jonathan Kuminga) and (Andrew Wiggins) and that helps them a lot as well.”
Since May 1, two weeks after the Warriors’ season ended, Podziemski has been training at Chase Center. Back home, during his few visits to the Milwaukee area in Wisconsin, he trained twice a day with Travis Diener, who spent five seasons in the NBA. On any court Podziemski has been on, he has been coached in every possible shooting scenario from deep, whether it’s running off screens, ball screens, off the dribble, handoffs with the ball on the dribble or catch-and-shoot.
Think footwork action and Podziemski has been trying it these past two months.
“I think for him it’s just a testament to the work he’s been putting in,” Warriors summer league head coach Anthony Vereen said. “He’s an unbelievable shooter. We trust him and he’s confident in shooting. I hope you all see that as this summer league goes on.”
The Chase Center will remain Podziemski’s primary work location for the next few days as a member of the Warriors’ summer league team. In mid-June, Kerr approached Podziemski with the opportunity to be part of the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s All-Select Team. It was announced on June 28 that Podziemski and Warriors teammate Trayce Jackson-Davis were part of the 15-man roster that will practice against Kerr and Team USA from June 6-9.
Curry, Kerr and Team USA will play Team Canada on June 10 in an exhibition game. Podziemski, Jackson-Davis and the Warriors’ summer league team will be at Chase Center to play the Kings in the California Classic. Both are expected to play all four games in Las Vegas.
He may be his new starting backcourt partner, but Podziemski is eager to face Curry at Team USA practices, along with Jrue Holiday, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton.
“Any point guard they have,” Podziemski said. “I think those are the main four that I’m excited to play against. But I really just want to see (Kevin Durant), (LeBron James) and all those guys, how they go about their day.”
The ever-confident lefty will be competing against a group that is already being compared to the Dream Team or even better. His competitiveness is what shined the brightest in his debut NBA season. He’s also the rookie who came out to watch Curry for the entirety of his famed pregame workouts to be a spectator, an observer and a learner.
Coaches and teammates laugh at his brashness, but hold him in high regard for being an enthusiastic sponge.
“I think this is a step forward,” Podziemski said of the U.S. national team. “Some players who played on the 2020 national team, like Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, are now on the Olympic team in 2024. Seeing that is something I want to repeat so I can play on the 2028 Olympic team.”
Whatever remained of his impressive and encouraging rookie campaign is a thing of the past. Podziemski will have the ball in his hands and be the main option in the summer league. He will be close to the giants of the sport to prepare them for the Paris Olympics.
The Warriors are building an entirely new program and Podziemski, barring a trade, has a path to being named a mainstay. The only thing that matters, as he made clear, is getting to the next level.
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