Even on a frigid night shooting for Stephen Curry, it was gasp-inducing. Up two with six seconds remaining in Portland on Sunday, the greatest free-throw shooter of all time missed the second of two. Right when it appeared the Warriors were headed for another foul-to-avoid-the-game-tying-3 situation, which they’ve already blown twice this season, Curry’s missed free throw presented the most unexpected scenario in the Warriors’ latest nail-biter. Adding to the plot twist, Portland did not call a timeout.
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The Warriors, who’ve spent the first quarter of the season finding ways to lose games, the hacking-est team in the league, needed a defensive stop to avoid yet another shiv-to-the-gut loss. With Curry, Chris Paul, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins on the court, a combined 27 All-Stars between them, it was the rookie who made the play.
Brandin Podziemski hustled back on defense, with uber-explosive Blazers wing Shaedon Sharpe sprinting towards him, and drew a charge to seal the victory. The Warriors now have their first winning streak in over a month.
Podz saves the day with a heads-up play ‼️ pic.twitter.com/hsBjStzdye
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 18, 2023
“That’s just like making a game-winner,” Klay Thompson told NBC Sports Bay Area during an on-court interview after the game. “So thank goodness for his just heady play because we did not go into overtime. He really won us that game at the end with just his focus.”
He made the play because he was on the court. And he was on the court because Steve Kerr wants him there. And that alone might be proof of ice cubes in Hades.
Podz, as the streets have dubbed him, is enjoying a luxury not granted to rookies during the dynastic era: trust. We’ve never seen Kerr give the keys to a rookie like this, at least not in a season that matters. We’ve never seen the Warriors’ championship core take to and believe in a rookie like this. He doesn’t turn 21 years old until February. Tuesday against Boston will be his 21st career game. Yet, he already seems indispensable.
“He’s got that dog in him,” Jonathan Kuminga said. “He got that one chance, that opportunity I feel like he needed. And look at him now. He’s rolling.”
Sunday’s 118-114 win over Portland, Podziemski’s third consecutive start, was his sixth game playing at least 30 minutes. Only once during the Kerr era has a rookie played so much — the 2019-20 season, one of the worst in franchise history.
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With Thompson and Curry missing all and most of the season, respectively, after Kevin Durant departed and Andre Iguodala was traded, the Warriors just didn’t have the bodies. They leaned heavily on rookies Eric Paschall, Ky Bowman, Jordan Poole and Michael Mulder. Paschall had 31 games with at least 30 minutes. Poole 13. Bowman 10.
Take away that lost season, and Kuminga had the most 30-minute games under Kerr’s Warriors as a rookie with six in 2021-22. Kuminga played 70 games that season. Patrick McCaw played 71 games as a rookie in 2016-17, starting 20. He only had four games of 30 minutes or more. Moses Moody had three in 2021-22. James Wiseman had two in 2020-21. With a roster topped by superstars, and laced with veterans, rookies tend to end up on the back burner.
“He showed flashes in training camp,” Kuminga said. “I was afraid for him because I didn’t know if he was going to play as a rookie. You know how it goes over here. You’ve got CP. You’ve got Cory Joseph. You’ve got Steph. So, I really didn’t know if he was going to play. But he showed flashes that he was going to be good.”
How did we get here? Why is Podziemski the chosen one?
An easy answer is ball-handling and passing. It has added value in the Warriors’ read-and-react style of play. And we all know Kerr leans heavily toward ball security when it comes to young players. Turnovers drive him crazy, but he has to accept it from Curry and Draymond Green. He’s not tolerating them from young players. But Kerr has always valued a sure ball-handler and decision-maker on the court with the superstars. From Iguodala to Shaun Livingston to Paul. They are the coach’s comfort blanket.
Podziemski provides that, even if it looks a bit wild as he’s speeding up the court, in and out of the paint.
But it’s more than that. Podz is an ideal confluence of talent, confidence, skill, and the intangible trait of “knowing how to play,” as Curry said. But it’s not by accident. It’s the product of his awareness, attention to detail and spongy brain. Often, especially earlier in the year, Podziemski could be found in the locker room by himself. With everyone else gone, he’s hunched over in his locker. After games, he’s in no rush to leave.
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“Everything I need is right here,” Podziemski said. The practice court. The weight room. The lounge area. The trainers. The coaches. The championship teammates to learn from. He was learning through immersion.
His presence has been jarring behind the scenes, even before he became a starter. He didn’t stay silent in the corner like other rookies. He wasn’t a shrinking figure worried about stepping on toes. Instead, he trusted his own ability to read the room. He’d trash talk with Kevon Looney and ask Paul questions about yesteryear.
You hear him in the locker room. You see him. He makes you ask yourself, “Who is this dude?”
When he got his chance, he revealed himself.
Saturday night against Brooklyn, the Warriors’ 12th consecutive close game, Podziemski was inserted at the 1:09 mark of the fourth quarter. Not even 30 seconds later, he was bringing the ball up court for a critical possession, with the Warriors up a basket.
He did the smart thing: get the ball to Curry, who was flaming the Nets. But when Brooklyn double-teamed Curry, he passed the ball back to Podziemski, Curry’s outlet from the trap. The Warriors’ rookie was all by himself at the top of the key. Thompson was on the court. So was Paul. And, obviously, a scorching hot Curry.
What happened next was a small thing that illustrated why Podziemski has become a big deal: The rookie launched the open 3.
Never mind that he missed. Never mind it could be argued it wasn’t the best shot, considering the vacancy in the paint since Nets center Nic Claxton was the one charging at him. How many players, outside of the ones likely headed to the Hall of Fame, would have the audacity to take the shot? Some really good players are on the list of Warriors who, over the last decade, hesitated in that moment, who wondered if they were worthy to take the big shot while sharing the court with legendary shooters.
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Podziemski doesn’t blink. It seems the only thing shaky about him is the curly mane on his dome. Thompson recognizes that youthful bravado.
“BP’s pretty confident,” Thompson said when asked if he was as confident as a rookie. “It’s probably one of his best attributes, honestly, his belief in himself. I saw that this past summer. I don’t know. I was pretty confident. I was shooting some shots back then. I was shooting the same shots I do (now) but as a rookie. So that’s a wash.”
It certainly feels like Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy nailed this pick. Podziemski doesn’t yet appear more talented than McCaw, Poole or Patrick Baldwin Jr. He doesn’t have the tangible upside of Kuminga or Moody, both lottery picks with NBA size. Podziemski is 6-4 at best, with limited athleticism, a funky shot and no reliable interior offense. He didn’t check the boxes on Golden State’s list of needs.
Yet he fits the Warriors like a pair of Skims. He’s the love child of the basketball philosophies of Kerr and Dunleavy. A melding of skill and toughness, of smarts and fearlessness, of hubris and humility. It’s good enough to get him on the court, even at the end of games.
And it’s good enough to put the incumbent stars on notice.
GO DEEPER
Klay Thompson leads Warriors in road win over Trail Blazers
(Photo: Soobum Im / USA Today)
