Nash congratulates Podz on ‘deserved’ NBA All-Rookie honors originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
On Monday, Warriors point guard Brandin Podziemski found out he won the 2023-24 NBA season First Team All-Rookie Honors in one of the coolest ways possible.
Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, who was also a two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year at Podziemski’s alma mater, Santa Clara University, congratulated the 21-year-old via video message on the first of what Golden State hopes to do so. many league honors.
“Brandin, big congratulations on making the All-Rookie team,” Nash said. “Very well deserved. It’s been a lot of fun watching you play, watching you develop, becoming a big part of what the Dubs are doing. I can’t wait to see the rest of your career unfold. Keep working.”
“Many congratulations and good luck, my man.”
Nash and Podziemski are both former Broncos, with the young Warriors guard opting to transfer to Santa Clara after he failed to crack the rotation at Illinois. The move paid off, as Podziemski was selected 19th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft by Golden State, where he found and created enough success to earn All-Rookie honors this season.
“I discovered when I watched the video that [Warriors senior vice president of communications Raymond Ridder] showed it to me, and Steve Nash gave me a shout. So it was really cool,” Podziemski told reporters 90 minutes after the All-Rookie team was announced on Monday.
Nash ended up at Santa Clara after the university was the only team to recruit him out of high school and the school retired his number 11 jersey in September 2006. Nash left Santa Clara as the 15th overall pick in the 1996 draft and became eight One-time NBA All-Star.
Unlike Podziemski, however, Nash was not selected to the All-Rookie team after entering the league. And while it’s certainly a tall order, perhaps the Warriors guard could be on his way to becoming Santa Clara’s next great player.
