GOLDEN State Warriors point guard Brandin Podziemski hasn’t rested on his laurels after a stellar rookie campaign in the NBA.
The former Santa Clara standout had a busy summer, wrestling with Team USA and then playing for the Warriors in the Las Vegas Summer League.
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In early July, Podziemski, 21, joined the select team tasked with tiring out Team USA — featuring LeBron James and Steph Curry, among others — in the early stages of their pre-Olympic preparation.
The 6-foot-1 point guard earned the call after thriving in Golden State’s system thanks to his versatile play during the 2023-24 NBA season.
Podz averaged 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 38.5% from 3 to earn first-team All-Rookie honors and finish fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.
He made 28 appearances during the campaign and eventually found his way into manager Steve Kerr’s final squad in a sign of his rapidly growing role.
The three-day friendly games with the Paris-led Olympians only reinforced his belief that he has a bright future in the NBA. the Wisconsin native told The US Sun during the Las Vegas Summer League.
“Team USA gave me a lot of confidence, being able to compete, going up against the best players in the world, being able to be successful,” Podziemski said.
“It kind of gave me this confidence going into the season, like, night in and night out, I know I can bring it and I know I can be a special player in this league.”
Podziemski said facing the NBA’s Creme de la Creme left him breathless at first.
However, as soon as the ball went up in the air, everything went as usual.
“When you’re out of line, it feels surreal and you think, ‘Wow, this is crazy. All the best players in one gym,’” the Warriors star said.
“But then when you get between those four lines, it’s just a hoop.
“And I think that’s something special about me – I’m really not impressed when I’m playing basketball.
“It doesn’t matter who is in front of me, I just try to do my best. Whether it’s LeBron, whether it’s a rookie, whoever it is, I just try to do my best.
“I feel like that’s how I was raised and I’m going to continue to do that.”
Warriors owner Joe Lacob recently said NBC Sports that the franchise sees a future All-Star in Podziemski after emerging as last season’s “revelation” — so much so that Kerr had “trouble getting him off the floor.”
With an already significant role with the Dubs, Podz was part of a group – also including Houston Rockets forward Cam Whitmore and Miami Heat star Jaime Jaquez Jr. – whose presence in Summer League surprised many.
The Golden State guard acknowledged that he didn’t need to play in the tournament for the second year in a row – but decided to do it anyway.
He thought the extra reps would be a “big step” for him entering Year 2 of the NBA.
Podziemski explained that he wanted to see how the work he did between April and June would translate into the game’s setting.
“And I think so far I’m very satisfied,” he said.
“Obviously, you can always clean some things up, but I’m really pleased with how my second year looks.”
Podziemski averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the first two Summer League games, helping the Warriors reach the semifinals in Las Vegas with a 5-0 record. .
With the guard and his Dubs teammate Trayce Jackson-Davis done for the rest of the tournament, Golden State missed the championship game with Friday’s 102-99 loss to the Heat.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
