What’s different about Giannis Antetokounmpo situation this offseason?
What’s different about the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation this offseason? Jim Owczarski discusses next moves for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brandin Podziemski grew up watching Giannis Antetokounmpo at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Now, the Greenfield native and St. John’s Northwestern Academies alum in Delafield is playing against him in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors the last two years.
Podziemski’s future Hall of Fame teammate, Steph Curry, has spent his entire career in Golden State just as Antetokounmpo has spent his entire career in Milwaukee.
So, what would Podziemski think if Antetokounmpo would leave the Bucks at any point?
Podziemski used Curry as a reference point to answer that question during his appearance on Kay Adams’ “Up & Adams” show on June 3.
“The same thing with any player like that, like Steph (Curry) not playing for the Warriors,” Podziemski said.
The 37-year-old Curry, who has won four NBA championships during his 16-year career, is signed with the Warriors for the next two seasons and it would almost be unimaginable to see Curry in a different unform before he retires. The same for Antetokounmpo, who is under team control with the Bucks for two more seasons. But after Milwaukee lost in the first round of the playoffs for a third straight year, Antetokounmpo’s future is what everyone wants to talk about.
“Anywhere else just doesn’t seem right at all,” Podziemski said about Antetokounmpo playing anywhere but for the Bucks.
For Podziemski, he mentioned that for “all guys who cemented their legacy with one team … you never expect it to change.”
Podziemski also talked about his comfort level growing in the NBA, picking up the game of basketball at a later age and not getting recognition in Jeff Harlow’s music video in his chat with Adams.
Brandin Podziemski on playing Giannis, making it in the NBA
What is it like for Podziemski to play against his hometown team and Antetokounmpo these days?
“I always love playing Milwaukee, whether it’s in Milwaukee or out here in San Francisco,” Podziemski said. “I saw Giannis get drafted (in 2013). I was at a lot of games his rookie year and throughout his development. So, to be out on the same court and compete is pretty cool.”
Personally, though, he said playing at Fiserv Forum his rookie year against the Bucks in 2024 was a “full-circle moment.”
That’s because when he was a freshman at Ilinois he didn’t see the court when the Fighting Illini played Marquette. Podziemski ended up transferring to Santa Clara where his game blossomed and he became an NBA prospect.
“I didn’t play in any minutes that game,” Podziemski recalled. “To go back there my rookie year, play well and to play a lot in front of those same people it was kind of refreshing for me.”
Podziemski and the Warriors pounded the Bucks in that game, 125-90, on March 6, 2024. He started and scored eight points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes.
He also had 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting and 10 rebounds in his first game against the Bucks his rookie year earlier that season.
Podziemski played 32 minutes in a Warriors win over the Bucks this past season at Fiserv Forum.
Brandin Podziemski didn’t start playing basketball until eighth grade
What Podziemski is doing is pretty noteworthy even if he shrugs it off. The left-handed sharpshooter didn’t start playing basketball until eighth grade and just three years ago he barely saw the court at Illinois.
While other kids his age were playing AAU basketball, he was playing baseball. But he was ready to give basketball a shot.
“I just wanted to try something new,” he said. “I wanted to try something more up-tempo. I knew I had to work every day.”
He did just that when he turned in his bat and glove for a basketball.
“I told my parents I wasn’t just trying it to try it,” he told Adams. “This is what I wanted to do. Being in the NBA is my end goal. It wasn’t just I want to pick it up and try it for a couple of months.”
He noted that his family and people close to him put him in “the best position to get here.”
Podziemski never looked back when he starred at St. John’s in high school. He won Mr. Basketball his senior year in 2021 and became the only player in WIAA history to score over 2,000 points in just three years of playing varsity basketball.
He was a first-round draft pick of the Warriors in 2023 after a breakout sophomore season at Santa Clara.
Now, Podziemski’s growth in the NBA is “on that same path as we were in high school. Checking boxes.”
Brandin Podziemski on Jack Harlow
Adams, who has family in Wisconsin, also had some fun with Podziemski. She brought up how Podziemski could be mistaken for rapper and singer Jack Harlow based on their similar characteristics.
“Yeah, there’s not many of us white guys with curly hair,” he acknowledged.
So, why did Harlow feature fellow Greenfield native and NBA star Tyler Herro in a single instead of Podziemski five years ago? It would have been the perfect collab.
Well, there’s an easy explanation for that.
“I was still in high school,” Podziemski said. Harlow titled the song “Tyler Herro” after the Heat guard helped Miami advance to the NBA Finals in 2020. Herro even appeared in the music video.
Podziemski hopes to meet Harlow someday.
Brandin Podziemski stats
Podziemski has played a key role for the Warriors in his first two years and upped his scoring from his rookie season from 9.2 points to 11.7 points.
He got the green-light from head coach Steve Kerr to fire away on offense in Year 2.
“It’s definitely a blessing,” he said. “Don’t take it for granted. I also know what I put into the game, how much time I put into it.”
The next part of his game he’ll look to improve is his frequency in three-point attempts and have more confidence in driving to the hoop.
Here were Podziemski’s stats from his second NBA season in 2024-25:
Games: 64 with 33 startsMinutes: 26.8Points: 11.7FG%: 44.5% Â FT%: 75.8%3P%: 37.2%Rebounds: 5.1Assists: 3.4Steals: 1.1Watch Brandin Podziemski on ‘Up & Adams’ with Kay Adams
Watch Podziemski’s full conversation with Kay Adams:
Brandin Podziemski photos
Here’s a look at Brandin Podziemski when he starred at St. John’s Northwestern Academies in high school:
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