Is Golden State Warriors’ guard Jordan Poole the real deal?
The rise of Warriors’ guard Jordan Poole has been one of the most incredible transformations in recent NBA history.
From being demoted to the G-League early last season, Poole has begun his third NBA season in devastating form, averaging 25 points on 52/44/90 across 23.4 minutes of action in three preseason games.
The Golden State Warriors’ third-year guard Jordan Poole has been thriving, but can the young stud continue his ascension to stardom?
Over those three games, Poole has looked more like Steph Curry than, well, Steph Curry. It’s the kind of form that has to be seen to be believed, and even then it’s hard to fathom.
Just four months ago, in the aftermath of a successful latter end of the season, I wrote this article trying to evaluate what Poole’s ceiling may be in the NBA. Truth is, the extraordinary rate of improvement makes it difficult to ascertain what that ceiling may be.
At that time I noted that Poole ever becoming an All-Star caliber player seemed ‘quite unlikely’. Yet, after just over one hour of competitive basketball, that sentiment doesn’t seem to farfetched.
Could this be a Jeremy Lin situation, one where a player gets hot for a short period then reverts back to what fans may consider as normal? It could be. But at the same time, it appears this thing, whatever it is, that Poole has going, isn’t just some flash in the pan.
Just listen to how Steve Kerr and his teammates are talking around him in the media. For every jaw-dropping move that’s exciting fans, they’ve seen it ten times before in practice. It’s also about how he’s conducting himself in the media.
His on-court confidence has been the source of so much discussion, now reaching a point where he feels empowered to attempt Curry-like shots.
But he’s also handling himself off-court like a player who knows he’s good, a certain swagger that’s now following him whether on or off the hardwood.
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Will the Jordan Poole ride continue? Who knows. But one thing’s for sure, it’s brought new life to fans, an optimism that this team could be really good again.