Donte DiVincenzo firming as pivotal piece for the Golden State Warriors

After an injury-interrupted 2021-22 campaign that also included a mid-season trade, there was some uncertainty about which version of Donte DiVincenzo the Golden State Warriors would get when they signed him in free agency.

Reservations remained when a hamstring injury sidelined the 25-year-old early in the season, but since then DiVincenzo has firmed as a steadily increasing presence in Steve Kerr’s plans.

Donte DiVincenzo is proving a savvy offseason signing and a pivotal piece to the Golden State Warriors’ hopes of turning around their stumbling season.

While Jordan Poole is rightfully gaining the plaudits for 29 and 43-point performances in the absence of Stephen Curry, DiVincenzo is also proving an important piece as Golden State seek to stay afloat without their superstar.

The 2021 NBA champion has now started in four straight games, having averaged around 33 minutes per game in that period. It’s DiVincenzo’s versatility that’s making him almost like a guard-version of Kevon Looney — nothing flashy but hugely effective and extremely reliable.

Okay, those five threes in the first period against the 76ers were flashy. However, it really defines his ability to pop up and give the Warriors a little bit of everything. He’s shooting 37.2% from three-point range this season on 3.7 attempts per game — extremely solid.

Along with his shooting on the offensive end, DiVincenzo is a competent ball-handler and decision-maker. His assist-to-turnover ratio is fourth on the Warriors of players averaging 15+ minutes — only behind Looney, Draymond Green and Stephen Curry.

Defensively, he’s a tenacious perimeter defender who has the length to contest jumpshots, and the movement to battle over screens and stay in front of ball-handlers on their way to the rim. He has the third-best defensive rating on the Warriors, and although that can often be a misleading statistic, the fact he sits behind the team’s two key defenders, Green and Andrew Wiggins, certainly speaks volumes.

He’s also a committed and underrated rebounder, an important aspect if he’s going to play in second units with either of the Green’s as small-ball centers. DiVincenzo’s averaging 4.1 rebounds per game and his rebounding percentage of 9.8% is fourth on the Warriors behind three centers — Looney, James Wiseman and JaMychal Green.

It makes players all the more valuable when they can impact the game in a multitude of ways, ultimately making them much more consistent. You can’t get much better for the second guard off the bench, and we may be talking about DiVincenzo in a similar vein as Gary Payton II last season had the Warriors got off to a brighter start.