The Warriors young guard sure sounds confident heading into his second NBA season.
The Golden State Warriors have put a lot of faith in Brandin Podziemski. After letting longtime shooting guard Klay Thompson depart in free agency, the Dubs were reportedly hesitant to include Podziemski in offseason trade talks, even for All-Star talents. Despite the pressure that comes from those decisions, Podziemski does not seem shaken by the developments. During a radio appearance with Willard & Dibs on 95.7 The Game on Thursday, Podziemski shared that he doesn’t think he’s felt himself improve this much over an offseason since high school.
“From a skill development standpoint I feel like this offseason has been up there with the one from my junior/senior year of high school,” Podziemski said. “For me, I’m feeling really good. Took out the floaters, took out the hook shots. Kinda put in more mid-range stuff, more threes off the dribble, more threes off the catch. So just adding different things and then defensively trying to take that challenge being out there with Steph every night.”
It obviously remains to be seen whether Podziemski will take a significant step forward in his second NBA season, but the 2023 first-round pick has a chance to build off a promising rookie campaign. Podziemski appeared in 74 games (28 starts) and averaged 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 26.6 minutes per game. The lefty left room for improvement at the free-throw line (63.3%), but made 38.5% of his three-point attempts.
Still, Podziemski was far from an aggressive scorer. Despite his efficient shooting numbers throughout college, the Wisconsin-native was hesitant to shoot, particularly early in the season. Instead, he often prioritized driving and/or continuing to move the ball elsewhere. With Thompson no longer on the roster, Golden State will likely need Podziemski to be more willing to call his own number. From the sounds of it, he seems to feel prepared to do exactly that.
