Patrick Baldwin Jr., the Golden State Warriors’ first-round pick of the 2022 NBA draft, is beginning to earn Steve Kerr’s trust in growing but sporadic minutes for the reigning NBA champions.
The 6’9” forward is averaging just over 5.5 points in eight minutes per game, with shooting stats of 43.5% from the field, 44.9% from three-point range, and 66.7% from free-throw line.
Patrick Baldwin Jr. was a consensus five star recruit in High School, and he’s now showing why the Golden State Warriors may have got him as a steal in last year’s draft.
‘PBJ’ decided to spend his one-&-done year playing for his father, the head coach for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The 20-year-old college freshman season was limited from a severe ankle injury, and the once projected lottery pick was ultimately available for Bob Myers to use the 28th pick on back in June.
Baldwin spent his summer in Las Vegas under the watchful eye of the Warriors training staff, and came to training camp largely healthy for the first time since his junior year in high school. He immediately impressed Kerr’s coaching staff with his potential — the ankle injury meant that his athleticism issues was perhaps a little overblown, while he always had a picture-perfect stroke from distance.
Baldwin’s first season has been a roller coaster ride, with assignments to the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, and emergency recalls to the road from Kerr’s struggling depleted second unit. He played just over nine minutes in the Warriors’ upset 120-114 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, knocking down two threes in a seven-point display.
Baldwin’s promising future will be a work-in-progress, even off the court where he’s only just tried the cuisine, peanut-butter jelly, that shares his initials and nickname. It will continue to be an unpredictable second-half of the season with more time spent in Santa Cruz should Golden State remain healthy. It could already be viewed as a successful season for Baldwin, and gaining lengthy playoff experience observing from the bench would be an ideal conclusion to his rookie year.