Golden State Warriors two-way contract player Quinn Cook discussed his regular season experience with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors.
Quinn Cook is having a career season with the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors this year, which isn’t at all surprising to any of us that have witnessed him play in the G League.
Having played 111 G League games over the course of a three-year career, Cook has averaged 23.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 36.0 minutes per game, all while shooting an unparalleled 48.5 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from behind the arc and 90.0 percent from the free throw line.
Having played the majority of the past season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Cook averaged 25.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 8.1 assists, all of which are career highs. He also established career-highs in each of the primary shooting stats: 52.4 percent from the field, 43.7 percent from three and 95.8 percent from the charity stripe.
When discussing how Santa Cruz specifically helped him further his career, Cook explained that for him as a veteran, the opportunity in Santa Cruz really opened the door for him to develop his leadership skills.
“In Santa Cruz it was, for me, just being a leader, being — not one of the older guys, but guys with some G League experience and NBA experience,” said Cook. “I just wanted to be a leader.”
“It was fun, man. We had a lot of talented guys on our team, and obviously we didn’t end the way we wanted to, but we had a lot of guys that can play in the NBA for a long time.”
Despite the losing record, Cook explained that the G League season was an all-around learning experience, citing the fact that Aaron Miles, Kent Lacob and Ryan Atkinson — the head coach, general manager and assistant general manager of the Santa Cruz Warriors, respectively — almost always had something new to teach the team every single day.
When asked about the fanbase in Santa Cruz and the fanbase in Oakland, Cook says the fact that both are “so passionate” is what makes them so similar.
“I think Golden State has the best fans in the NBA, and Santa Cruz has the best fans in the G League,” said Cook.
“There’s a couple fourth quarters down in Santa Cruz where the crowd won us the game. They were just so loud and intense, it gave us some much-needed energy…and that’s how it is in Golden State. The fans see you on the street or anywhere, they just thank you and tell you how much they appreciate you. It’s the same way down in Santa Cruz.”
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Fresh off a career-high 30-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks last Thursday, Cook is averaging 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists over the last five contests. He also shot 48.7 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from behind the arc as Golden State’s primary scoring option.
He’ll be in uniform on Saturday when the Golden State Warriors face off against the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center.