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SAN FRANCISCO — As the jumpers and dreams fly outside of Chase Center, Brandin Podziemski sits inside in one of the large black courtside chairs that circle the court, calmly describing what he wants to accomplish with the Golden State Warriors. Young players are competing in a three-on-three basketball tournament just outside, hoping to make enough shots to play inside the billion-dollar building one day.
Podziemski has achieved the dream, but as he enters his third NBA season, he wants to take his game to new heights.
“There’s a next step in evolving emotionally, and as a leader,” Podziemski told The Athletic. “Having confidence from your teammates is one thing, especially the vets, but them trusting you in big moments that could define their career. Could add another piece to their career. For them to have trust in you is a different thing, and you got to earn that over time, and I think that’s a goal of mine going into this season.”
There is depth behind the words that Podziemski speaks. He wants to be a key piece for a Warriors team with three potential Hall of Famers and championship aspirations, but he also wants to prove he can be the Warriors’ future cornerstone.
“When they leave this thing, they got to leave it with somebody,” Podziemski said of the Warriors’ veterans. “How can I have their trust? And they can go to (owner) Joe (Lacob) and (general manager) Mike (Dunleavy) and be like, “Hey, we want to leave it with him. He’s going to continue what we’re leaving. So, I think about that all time, and I set myself up in that position, to have that. And there’s a lot of other things than just skill that you need to be in that position.”
As Podziemski describes his point, he offers a glimpse of why the Warriors’ locker room feels as strongly as it does playing behind its stars each night: the intangibles.
“Nobody wants to play so hard for Steph (just) because he can shoot the s— outta the ball,” Podziemski said. “Nobody wants to play hard for Draymond (just) because his voice is the loudest. It’s doing the right things consistently, being at the right place, the right time, always taking young guys under their wing, showing them the way. That’s the reason why game days, people play so hard for Steph. If someone knocks him down we’re always right there, got his back.
“It’s not because he can shoot the ball that that’s the case. It’s so many other things. So, you want to take that and grab your own version of it and apply it. So, when the younger guys come in, and this is my team, if I get that opportunity, they have a reason to play hard for me too.”
Podziemski knows that in order to earn that type of ownership within the group, the biggest key will always be how he performs on the floor — but as he enters into his third season he understands that the kind of level he aspires to get to will also be defined by how he carries himself each day.
As Warriors coach Steve Kerr made his way to the podium after the first official practice of the season last week, he did so with the uncertainty surrounding Jonathan Kuminga’s contract situation still hovering over the organization. When Kerr sat down in front of a makeshift podium on the ninth floor of Chase Center overlooking San Francisco Bay, he did so with some frustration that the saga was still going on. The normally accommodating coach, who did not speak during media day, deflected two extra questions about Kuminga and wanted to focus on basketball.
When asked about Podziemski’s game, Kerr’s tone changed. He praised the young guard for taking a “big leap” during the second half of last season. He described how important it was for Podziemski to go through the playoffs and deal with the emotional highs and lows the postseason spotlight offers.
But it was what came when asked what a potential next step looks like for Podziemski that was most noteworthy.
“Honestly, you’ll laugh,” Kerr began. “But leaving the refs alone. That’s important. It’s important to his energy, his mindset, it’s important for our team’s mindset. And taking that next step in terms of being more even-keeled. One of the hardest lessons I ever learned as a player is when you have that bad night you have to move on quickly, and you can’t let it get to you. You can’t carry it over into the next day’s practice.”
Podziemski wants to follow through on his coach’s direction, but he’s still learning.
Last season, after an emotional, last-second loss to the Denver Nuggets in early December, Kerr publicly called out Podziemski for some of his poor decisions during the game, including pleading against a call that didn’t go his way. Podziemski said at the time he welcomed the criticism and wanted to get better, but he followed that up by shooting 11-for-35 over his next five games.
“I think it’s a conscious effort to think about it,” Podziemski said of keeping his emotions in check. “Especially when you’re playing pick-up in the summers when you’re working out, you miss a couple in a row during training camp, just a conscious effort to work on it and know that that holds a lot of weight and that’s a part of getting the respect and trust of your teammates.
“That they know I can hold myself emotionally mature in high-pressure moments, it gives them a sense of confidence that they don’t have to be on 110 percent all the time. And they can rely on somebody else (besides) themselves to get wins. And I think part of it is, if I’m going to sit here and b—h, complain at the ref, can’t change it. They might have messed it up, but I can’t change it.”
As Podziemski, the 19th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, tries to take another step in his own leadership progression, the confident guard also wants to change the way people think about the Warriors whenever the team’s veteran core pieces have to miss games.
“We didn’t have a good record without Steph last year,” Podziemski said, referring mainly to the team’s struggles against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals, where they lost four straight after Curry went down in Game 1 with a hamstring injury.
“So, the narrative is ‘They only can win with Steph,’ and I heard it throughout the playoffs and through the offseason, ‘They only can win if Steph plays,’” Podziemski said.” They only can win if Jimmy and Steph play.’ As a player, that motivates you.”
Podziemski knows what the numbers say. He knows what people think. But he trusts in the extended time he’s invested into his game in the offseason and believes that will make a big difference whenever he is asked to do more in the event of a veteran’s absence.
After a win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Sunday’s preseason opener, Kerr pointed to the fact that Podziemski was a plus-16 in 18 minutes of play. Podziemski keeps things moving on the floor and finds different ways to contribute. He had four assists and two steals and Kerr continues to praise the young guard’s playmaking ability. If Podziemski can continue to contribute, even on nights when he doesn’t have things going offensively, it will be another way to find the growth in his game.
“When they’re out and we start winning,” Podziemski said. “I expect the same people to be like, ‘Yeah, they can win without them now.’”
The man Podziemski and the rest of the Warriors look up to is sitting at the podium inside Chase Center. Curry is adjusting to a new routine of his own. Instead of being the last person to speak to the media after games, he is now the first. It’s a schedule change longtime Warriors PR czar, Raymond Ridder, suggested before the season — and Curry is testing it out on a trial basis. The 37-year-old is a man used to routine, and this new wrinkle is an adjustment. As he fields questions, Curry pauses for a moment when asked what it takes for him to trust a younger player.
“It happens over time,” Curry said after the preseason win over the Lakers. “Everybody’s a little different, just based on the baby steps of how you show up to practice. Are you doing the little things to come up with the right energy on a day-to-day basis? And then eventually that translates to getting an opportunity on the floor, which then translates to, are you impacting winning? Everybody has a different pace when it comes to that, but I think there’s a level of comfort that you feel.”
The example that Curry has set for all his young teammates, the one Podziemski respects so much, is defined by the mental toughness to keep playing the same way no matter how the circumstances change on any given night. He’s also used another Curry example, in a different way, to try and lift up his own mentality: Don’t worry about the shots that didn’t go in — worry about the next one.
“He shoots 10 3s a game,” Podziemski said. “He’s not gonna go 10-for-10. And, sometimes, he’ll go 1-for-10, but it’s the confidence to shoot ’em, which I think I’ve developed. It’s just being free, being me and living with the results.”
It’s another mentality Podziemski is trying to uphold. He is intent on giving the Warriors everything he’s got, but this year he knows he can offer the group something greater in ways he didn’t fully understand before.
“The hard part is, how do you find that balance of not giving a f—, but still having that competitive edge? Podziemski said. “Because I think, for me, I have that competitive edge, it’s why you see it emotionally from me, is because I want to win so bad. So, it’s like, how do you find that balance of really not caring, but also being, like, competitive as s—? “Where it means a lot, but you’re able to internalize it and display it through your play, instead of with your voice.”
That’s the challenge Podziemski must conquer as he navigates his way through a season filled with the type of expectations that can overwhelm a lesser team, or an up-and-down player. It’s also why Podziemski’s goals for the season don’t have numbers attached to them.
“First year it was like, How can I be first team All-Rookie?” Podziemski said. “Last year, I wanted to be [the] Most Improved Player. This year, I was just like, “Why really have a goal?” I know there’s a purpose for it — like, I wanted this so it’s something to look at, but I really don’t have one …
“Obviously, some people will look at it and be like, ‘Oh, that means he doesn’t really care as much about getting better,’ but I think it’s the opposite. I want to be a third option for this team. I want to be a guy where Steph and Jimmy are out, like they can rely on me to help win games.”
Podziemski wants to be a player the Warriors can trust. He knows it’s a recognition that comes through time, a reward that can only be achieved through doing the work every day. It’s a blueprint that Podziemski has watched Curry thrive within, leadership footsteps he hopes to follow. It’s the challenge Podziemski is ready to accept this season.
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Nick Friedell is a Senior Writer for The Athletic covering the Golden State Warriors and the NBA. Nick spent 14 years at ESPN covering the NBA, most notably as a reporter as well as a TV and radio commentator. He is a graduate of The Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Follow Nick on X @NickFriedell.
