There are quite a few beliefs surrounding Brandin Podziemski’s profession trajectory. Some view him probably turning into the subsequent Klay Thompson, whereas others see him growing into the Warriors’ subsequent nice cornerstone.
The 2024-25 season marks simply his second yr, however Brandin Podziemski has made a major leap for Golden State.
He began 33 out of 68 video games whereas averaging 26.8 minutes per contest. A number of statistical enhancements emerged in comparison with his rookie marketing campaign, together with averaging 11.7 factors versus 9.2 factors final season.
His steal common elevated to 1.1 per recreation whereas his efficient subject objective share jumped to 53.7%. One key issue behind this growth includes having Stephen Curry function his main mentor.
Podziemski has by no means hesitated to acknowledge Curry’s influence on his profession trajectory. He talked about Curry amongst his main inspirations, having began taking part in basketball in the course of the period when the two-time MVP dominated the NBA with Golden State.
“I picked the sport up late, eighth grade. Like eight, 9 years in the past. So, 2015 the place I form of went Steph actually was in his prime. That’s after they gained their first championship, so I’ve been actually a Steph fan for a very long time,” he revealed on Kay Adams’ podcast.
Nevertheless, Podziemski additionally credit one other former champion who considerably influenced his growth throughout his adolescence.
“Clearly my favourite participant rising up was Manu Ginobili. I believe there’s quite a lot of resemblances in our video games,” Podziemski defined.
“Positively watch quite a lot of like European highlights, as a result of I knew I wasn’t all the time going to be the perfect athletically and so actually growing like an IQ for the sport, how essential dribble, move, and shoots if you are able to do all of it three at a excessive degree,” he added.
Maybe one factor Podziemski nonetheless must be taught from Ginobili is the right way to strategy the playoffs, since he lacks that mentality this season.
This mix of influences seems evident in Podziemski’s courtroom efficiency. His floater recreation attracts inspiration from each Curry and Ginobili, whereas their shared left-handedness contributes to distinctive offensive types.
Podziemski’s versatility echoes Ginobili’s multifaceted function with San Antonio, demonstrating functionality in ball-handling, offensive facilitation, and scoring when alternatives come up.
The mix of Curry’s capturing prowess and Ginobili’s artful playmaking has helped form a well-rounded second-year participant poised for continued development, both with the Warriors or some other place.
