Brandin Podziemski on Being Named to NBA All-Rookie First Team

Brandin Podziemski on Being Named to NBA All-Rookie First Team

Brandon congratulations uh how did you find out the news and what was your reaction uh found out I watched a video um that Raymond showed me and uh Steve Nash gave me a shout out so it was pretty cool what does what does this honor mean to you means a lot um you know in the offseason you think about you know your journey where you came from what steps it took to get here being a 19th p in an organization where not a lot of rookies get to play and ending up on firsto rookie you know it’s a credit to my work ethic but also to my teammates and you know the coaches in the front office for you know providing the opportunity and then me just you know taking full advantage of it but it means a lot it’s a something that I had on a on a goal list of mine coming into the year and I got to check that box so it’s uh pretty cool CU you can be a rookie one time in reflecting on your journey um what are some areas where you think you grew the most this year as a rookie yeah I think my my leadership role within the team increased um you know as a rookie in an organization like this you you know you come in and you want to listen and learn and then you kind of take what you can from that and try to apply it and for me being a natural leader I think towards the end of the season I was able to apply it more and um I think it just gave me more confidence you know not only on the court but you know off the the floor talking to teammates and stuff like that you talk about your journey um going back to Illinois I mean it’s a pretty good rise you know obviously from Illinois to here but when you think back on that one season there where you know you didn’t play much at all um how much of that experience kind of LED you or pushed you to where you are now yeah it helped me a lot um I was actually talking to my high school coach about it yesterday um and I just told him he’s like how did you handle that and for me it was kind of like obviously control the controllables that’s a given but I just used it as an an extended summer for myself you know I wasn’t playing from November through March when our season ended so I used that as an extended summer to work on my game get better um compete against the you know the first team guys and um you know it gave me a chip on my shoulder because the first couple games I didn’t play there you know I really questioned my ability was I good enough to play um you know so I really had to think about that and if it was really something I wanted to do to push through it and um I did because I love the game and you know here we are today um you know two years later from actually when I transferred from Illinois so um it’s been a pretty cool ride to you know see where I’ve grown developed what I’ve become you know as a person as a man as a player and my goal is just to continue to get better and see where things take me you know you discussed this before about why you ended up at Santa Clara there but um that year that you spent there how big was that as sort of a I guess an in between time between Illinois and getting here yeah it was a very critical year um it was nice to you know be welcomed and loved by coaching staff and and trusted with uh you know a heavy position on a team um you know they can say it’s mid- major or not but I think you know through this year I proved it doesn’t matter you know where you come from and um that year was just really good for me um you know herb and the staff came to me right when I hit the portal and had a vision for me that I may have not have even saw myself so to to get that opportunity after you know playing four minutes of game at Illinois and um them saying you know we just want you to do what Jaylen just did and that gave me the most confidence and me being a confident person already I think I just took that and uh took full advantage of the opportunity who told you you were confident uh I was just raised that way I think my my pops did a great job of that um but even at Santa Clara there they said they had a vision for you how did they convey that uh well they showed me what what Jaylen was going through and his journey um obviously he was there for three years so his growth and development um that was obviously something I really looked for um a program that was going to help me develop and get better and to see his numbers throughout every year getting better um even the guys that you know we sent overseas their numbers getting better just to see that growth and understanding that they’re really big in the Player Development especially in the summer and fall um I knew that’s something that I could use to help me during the season and I think through the whole process they were just you know super adamant about me being the guy there and um getting to kind of run the show and I thought that was you know very appealing for me in the course of this your rookie season what were two or three things that really stand out as points where you really grew from an experience something that happened whether it was good or bad yeah I think um you know a lot of things I think from you know playing good in that Minnesota game and the inseason tournament game that really kind of like got it going for me and really was like yeah I can can kind of do this at this level um cuz you know as a rookie you always try to get your feet wet and see where you fit in so I think that opportunity um playing in that situation kind of gave me the confidence like yeah I can belong and then just the throughout the course of the Season You Know Your Role changes people are out people are in um so being able to be adaptable and kind of fill in where needed I think I grew in that area and then I mentioned uh when Danny asked the question of um you know the maturity piece and the the leadership piece throughout the team I think I kind of grew in that area and it’s something I’m working on now and that I look forward to taking in year two you talked about your role change and everything coming in not in the rotation in the rotation of the starting lineup all those different things can you talk to me about how some of the coaches here and your teammates here helped you navigate your rookie season and sort of ever evolving and changing role yeah the coaches did a great job um like I said before controlling what I could control um it’s really out of my control whether I play or I don’t and I think where I had the advantage was like mty said of playing in Illinois and going through something similar like that and not playing um a lot of guys that are in my position that got picked in the first round of this year’s draft have never had to kind of go through that and face that piece of adversity of not playing and knowing what that feels like how to keep your mind right through those situations so I think for me having that experience at Illinois and um you know using that at the beginning of the season of you know not being okay with just going down to Santa Cruz and playing and how do I you know fight my way into the rotation I think that experience had helped me Trace was this close one vote from making the second team what do you think about what Trace did and what do you think what’s your reaction to seeing him miss out just like that I mean it makes me set for him um obviously you know we’ve been through everything together and just to see um from a guard’s perspective his impact on our games and how he’s helped us win games this year um you know I think maybe the voters should take in winning more more of an account and um you know it sucks to see him not make it I think he was welld deservedly of it but um I know I know him I know he’s going to use it as a chip on his shoulder for next year and I think that’s just going to make him even better you talked about this being a goal of yours this award what are some of your other goals and just some things that you want to improve upon and motivate you uh in the offseason yeah I want to win the championship as soon as I can um obviously you know we have some guys that are getting older so you know the time’s ticking and um our young guys are are there to help them and uh trying to win the championship I want to win most improved um at some point and then you know eventually being an Allstar that’s the goal and and I’m going keep pushing and going so I can get there what does your offseason look like so far I know this is the first time in a in a few years at least that you’ve had kind of like a standard set offseason with set goals and expectations yeah so um after we lost to sack and took two weeks off kind of mandatory um and then um not last Monday but the Monday before I started working out here you know on my own getting shots up um in the weight room you know constantly improving my body I know that’s somewhere I got to get better at um being a better athlete so that’s what I’ve been doing and then just working on um situations I’m going to be put in uh this this year then watching the playoffs I don’t know how much you’ve watched but what are some things that you’ve taken away from watching the playoffs or learned yeah I think it’s just more physical I think um it’s more defensive oriented in the playoffs um when I was back home Milwaukee I went to game five of Pacers in Milwaukee um and just to see that environment and what the rest were letting go what they were calling um you know how you see the all stars and them R to the top when when time matters um you know it gave me the chills and kind of was like this is fun and this is something you know I want to be a part of and you know like I said I want to be an officer at some point so I want to be put in those situations you mentioned getting shots up and and working in the weight room are there one or two things youve sort of isolated besides obviously working on your body that you want to try and I guess um fix up before you get to uh training camp basketball wise or but my body both yeah I think I think my bodywise um just being quicker laterally and vertically um being more explosive instead of you know always having to riant touch shots around the rim stuff like that and on the basketball floor you know really opening and expanding that mid-range game for myself um shooting jumpers in the paint all kind of stuff that you know as a guard you know I work on I watch a lot of Jaylen Brunson um Luca T.J McConnell all guys that you know are super effective around the rim and not the most athletic um and then continuing to to shoot that three ball um it’s talking with Mike and Steve they wanted me to you know shoot more and they know I’m capable so I’m hearing that from them that’s really what I’ve been working out off the dribble off the ball screen um off dhos catch and shoot all kind of stuff uh any questions on Zoom if so just uh identify your name and your affiliation quiet group Zoom going once going twice who’s on there we got Sam on there I know Sam got a question yeah Sam’s got a Sam’s got a step up here and D I got one I got one congrat BB um this with San Francis Chron um what was your what was your favorite moment just a high personal highlight throughout the course what was your favorite favorite experience um probably playing in Milwaukee playing back home um as Monty had mentioned the Illinois days I remember playing at Marquette um when I was Illinois bunch of people there and I didn’t you know take my warm-up off so to have that feeling and then come back two years later and play and play well even though we lost um you know I think it was a kind of a full circle moment cuz those same people got to come back and watch me again appreciate you yep all right next soon looks like we have one more DP how you do man Jason what’s up man much question do you uh do you on uh involving yourself in any of the pro runs this summer any of the uh men’s leagues and if so when where what’s what’s that kind of look like to get into some R yeah I think uh I think I’m going to go where kind of makes sense whether it’s in La um back Home Milwaukee we have a bunch of Pros overseas that come back and obviously all of our NBA guys come back so kind of wherever it makes sense um just something that’s going to push me and make me better um that’s kind of where I’m going to be at well appreciate you congrats yep thank you all right anything else on Zoom

Golden State Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski met with the media after being announced to All-Rookie First Team.