Second-year Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski, on April 3, became just the third player in franchise history to make eight threes, with 25+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists. The southpaw had a starmaking performance against the Lakers as the Warriors pulled off a vital 123-116 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
Podz’ eight made threes were also a career high.
After the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr praised Podz for carrying his team through the first half. The Warriors took a 60-47 lead at halftime courtesy of a buzzer-beater by Podziemski, which swayed the momentum in the away team’s favor.
“Yeah I mean he carried us in the first half and made a big one just inside half-court,” Kerr said of Podz. “We were all over him last week. He turned down a half-court shot in a game I think it was maybe New Orleans. So he took that to heart and took that shot. Obviously made a lot of big ones and yeah, Brandin was amazing.”
PODZIEMSKI BEATS THE HALFTIME BUZZER… FROM HALF
He’s got 22 PTS, 6 3PM at the break on TNT! pic.twitter.com/BUG8n0mp3w
— NBA (@NBA) April 4, 2025
Finding His Rhythm After Injuries
A lot was expected of Podz entering the 2024-25 season, with Warriors governor Joe Lacob anointing him a “future All-Star” and a replacement to the departing Klay Thompson. Even Podz placed undue pressure on himself by saying he had the mental makeup to fill the void of Thompson, who departed for the Mavericks as a free agent.
However, Podziemski was plagued by injuries in the early part of the 2024-25 season and struggled to find his role on the team when available.
Draymond Green felt Podz Podziemski had finally found his role on the Warriors.
“Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the opportunity to play much meaningful basketball at this level,” Green said of Podz. “So for us, we plan on doing that. For him, we need these games to prepare for what’s to come. For Moses [Moody], JK [Jonathan Kuminga] — those guys won a championship, but they didn’t play a ton of minutes.
“They are key pieces to what we’re trying to do now. Getting these guys these games right now that mean something and seeing them step up the way they are is huge.”
Kuminga Steps Up For Warriors
“I think we need to kind of just let this guy play basketball,” Curry said of Kuminga. “We don’t have to have a declaration after every game. We don’t have to be in a situation where we’re judging every minute he’s out there. I understand he’s next in line to come into his own as an NBA player, but I wish my fourth year wasn’t, ‘Was this the greatest game ever? Was it the [worst] game ever?’ He’s figuring it out. If we’re going to win at the highest level, he has to be a part of it.”
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