The fearless mindset of the Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski: ‘He’s got a delusion to him’
February 21, 2024
The fearless mindset of the Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski: ‘He’s got a delusion to him’
5 comments
Don’t think this has been posted here – great little read from The Athletic on Podziemski, his mindset, and what he’s brought to the team. A couple interesting excerpts:
> Chuck Hayes, currently in the Warriors front office, was working for the Rockets at the time. He remembers Podziemski killing the workout while letting the gym know about it.
> “BP,” Hayes called out before a recent game. “You remember talking trash to John Lucas in the Rockets workout?”
> “Oh, yeah,” Podziemski replied. Podziemski and Lucas, the former NBA point guard and legendary development coach, were arguing about who was the greatest lefty guard in the building. It was an early peek into the mindset that has earned Podziemski so much respect.
> “He talk s— all day,” [Draymond] Green said. “That’s all he do.”
> Podziemski thought he crushed his workout in Miami. He figured the Heat might draft him 18th. They went with Jaime Jaquez Jr., also a Warriors’ favorite. Golden State was up at No. 19. Podziemski thought he fit, but didn’t feel quite as optimistic about how he performed at his group workout in San Francisco. The Warriors were sure.
> “He was great on the court,” [Kent] Lacob said. “Like, really good. Clearly the best player in the workout.”
> The Warriors then brought him into the film room and had him break down two games of tape. They don’t often learn much in these sessions. Podziemski was different. They slowed down some of his pick-and-roll decision-making against Gonzaga and defensive possessions.
> “He could reference personnel on the other team,” Lacob said. “Names, tendencies, opponent actions. His memory recall was super impressive.”
> Podziemski popped in the Warriors’ analytics model, put together by their vice president of analytics Pabail Sidhu. They value it with increased frequency. Podziemski’s 8.8 rebounds per game led his conference. That juiced the analytics model. When it was all wrapped together, Podziemski finished top-10 on the front office’s consensus final draft board.
> “There was a belief that he was clearly a Steve Kerr system fit, but also a consensus belief it was more than that,” Lacob said. “The talent combined with the IQ and the personality was something to bet on.”
***
> Green sprained his left ankle just before training camp. He missed about a month. In his ramp-up to return, the Warriors set up a scrimmage in Sacramento the morning of their second game. Podziemski was out of the rotation, so they had him play on Green’s team. They lost the first scrimmage after Green turned it over.
> “We can’t have a turnover for game!” Podziemski told Green. “You cannot turn the ball over for game.”
> Green was stunned. They’ve had rookies who barely say a word to him the entire season.
> “I was like, ‘OK, cool, you got it. No problem,’” Green said. “Here we are playing a pick-up game, a game to get me ready and he’s yelling at me. That to me said a whole lot. I was like, ‘You know what? No problem. But make sure you speak up like that all the time.’”
***
> Podziemski trails Curry for postgame workouts and studies what makes him great. He might be the most active member of the team’s group chat, according to Green, and told Green he was coming for him via text messages.
> “I wouldn’t do this if I were you,” Green warned. “I don’t play fair.”
> Podziemski then sent a bunch of old photos of Green to the team, the funniest he could find.
> “He was like: ‘Wham. Wham. Wham,’” Green said of the flood of texts and then remembered he hadn’t retaliated. “I still gotta popcorn his car.”
What a pick.
I like JJJr a lot but Podz is fitting well with this team.
He’s def a Warrior and a keeper.
In hindsight what incredible fortune to have either podz or JJJ at 19th.
Podz has been fantastic for us but JJJ would’ve been good too.
Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson are so outrageously good at their jobs. The Athletic’s lapping ESPN.
Thanks for posting the article. BP looking great and perhaps keeping the two timeline light years ahead dream alive for us? We’re winning 2 more rings I’m calling it. In 2021 the youngins barely contributed while vets carried. This next ring will require big contributions from both. The last ring our young guys will carry while vets ride the bench. Curry retires with 7 rings and is consensus GOAT. Poetry.
5 comments
Don’t think this has been posted here – great little read from The Athletic on Podziemski, his mindset, and what he’s brought to the team. A couple interesting excerpts:
> Chuck Hayes, currently in the Warriors front office, was working for the Rockets at the time. He remembers Podziemski killing the workout while letting the gym know about it.
> “BP,” Hayes called out before a recent game. “You remember talking trash to John Lucas in the Rockets workout?”
> “Oh, yeah,” Podziemski replied. Podziemski and Lucas, the former NBA point guard and legendary development coach, were arguing about who was the greatest lefty guard in the building. It was an early peek into the mindset that has earned Podziemski so much respect.
> “He talk s— all day,” [Draymond] Green said. “That’s all he do.”
> Podziemski thought he crushed his workout in Miami. He figured the Heat might draft him 18th. They went with Jaime Jaquez Jr., also a Warriors’ favorite. Golden State was up at No. 19. Podziemski thought he fit, but didn’t feel quite as optimistic about how he performed at his group workout in San Francisco. The Warriors were sure.
> “He was great on the court,” [Kent] Lacob said. “Like, really good. Clearly the best player in the workout.”
> The Warriors then brought him into the film room and had him break down two games of tape. They don’t often learn much in these sessions. Podziemski was different. They slowed down some of his pick-and-roll decision-making against Gonzaga and defensive possessions.
> “He could reference personnel on the other team,” Lacob said. “Names, tendencies, opponent actions. His memory recall was super impressive.”
> Podziemski popped in the Warriors’ analytics model, put together by their vice president of analytics Pabail Sidhu. They value it with increased frequency. Podziemski’s 8.8 rebounds per game led his conference. That juiced the analytics model. When it was all wrapped together, Podziemski finished top-10 on the front office’s consensus final draft board.
> “There was a belief that he was clearly a Steve Kerr system fit, but also a consensus belief it was more than that,” Lacob said. “The talent combined with the IQ and the personality was something to bet on.”
***
> Green sprained his left ankle just before training camp. He missed about a month. In his ramp-up to return, the Warriors set up a scrimmage in Sacramento the morning of their second game. Podziemski was out of the rotation, so they had him play on Green’s team. They lost the first scrimmage after Green turned it over.
> “We can’t have a turnover for game!” Podziemski told Green. “You cannot turn the ball over for game.”
> Green was stunned. They’ve had rookies who barely say a word to him the entire season.
> “I was like, ‘OK, cool, you got it. No problem,’” Green said. “Here we are playing a pick-up game, a game to get me ready and he’s yelling at me. That to me said a whole lot. I was like, ‘You know what? No problem. But make sure you speak up like that all the time.’”
***
> Podziemski trails Curry for postgame workouts and studies what makes him great. He might be the most active member of the team’s group chat, according to Green, and told Green he was coming for him via text messages.
> “I wouldn’t do this if I were you,” Green warned. “I don’t play fair.”
> Podziemski then sent a bunch of old photos of Green to the team, the funniest he could find.
> “He was like: ‘Wham. Wham. Wham,’” Green said of the flood of texts and then remembered he hadn’t retaliated. “I still gotta popcorn his car.”
What a pick.
I like JJJr a lot but Podz is fitting well with this team.
He’s def a Warrior and a keeper.
In hindsight what incredible fortune to have either podz or JJJ at 19th.
Podz has been fantastic for us but JJJ would’ve been good too.
Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson are so outrageously good at their jobs. The Athletic’s lapping ESPN.
Thanks for posting the article. BP looking great and perhaps keeping the two timeline light years ahead dream alive for us? We’re winning 2 more rings I’m calling it. In 2021 the youngins barely contributed while vets carried. This next ring will require big contributions from both. The last ring our young guys will carry while vets ride the bench. Curry retires with 7 rings and is consensus GOAT. Poetry.
E: 6 rings. Am bad at maths