SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly a year ago on the dot, ike Dunleavy, the Golden State Warriors’ future general manager, and Kent Lacob, an ascending front offe personnel voice, hopped in a car and made the quick 50 mile trip south to Santa Clara’s campus.
They were primarily there to see Maxwell Lewis, the possible lottery pick out of Pepperdine. Lewis played fine. He’d eventually get selected 40th in the 2023 NBA Draft. But he wasn’t the best player on the floor. Brandin Podziemski, a 6-foot-4 guard who was only beginning to creep onto the draft radar, made every significant play to lead Santa Clara to victory. His 23 points mattered. But it was the 18 rebounds that had Dunleavy’s and Lacob’s antennas up.
“Mike and I walked out of the game like, ‘Um, that guy might be a first-round pick,’” Lacob said.
Podziemski competed in the NBA Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend last Friday. He leads all NBA rookies with 14 games of at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists, making him a clear candidate to finish on the All-Rookie first team.
He turns 21 this week, but has already pushed his way past Klay Thompson into the Warriors’ starting and closing lineups, a vital glue piece of head coach Steve Kerr’s favorite five-man group, which has outscored opponents by 57 points in 107 minutes.
The relationship between Podziemski and the Warriors can be traced to that February night. That’s when they first began to take Podziemski seriously as a prospect. In the ensuing 12 months — with a bunch of important inflection points along the way — he has won over every level of the organization, most crucially his veteran teammates.
Podziemski’s future surfaced recently in the visiting locker room in Salt Lake City. He’s a prototype role player right now, but has dreams of becoming an All-Star. There are roadblocks ahead and limitations to overcome. But anyone who has doubted Podziemski to this point has continually been proven wrong.
“The ceiling is high,” Draymond Green said. “He’s still learning. Still figuring s— out. But when you start looking at people who are going to succeed him…”
Green points three lockers down. Stephen Curry is getting dressed after torching the Jazz. Curry’s prime may extend until 40. But he turns 36 next month. When Curry is 40, Podziemski will be 25.
“It won’t look the same,” Green said. “Totally different. But you’re very comfortable when he’s out there on the court. That says a lot for a rookie on this team — that you feel the amount of comfort you do when he’s out there running the show.”