With the 2022-23 season having come to an end, we look back and review every player that took to the floor for the Golden State Warriors. Players are ranked on performance, with some of that based on preseason expectations.
Blessed with maturity well beyond his years, many expected Moses Moody to become a regular part of the Golden State Warriors’ rotation in his second season. Despite the pleas from many fans, that failed to materialize until the postseason.
Moody had shown promising signs in his rookie season — he demonstrated his offensive ability with a 30-point display against the Denver Nuggets during the regular season, and his capacity to fit into a team construct when playing meaningful minutes during last year’s Western Conference Finals.
An underwhelming second NBA season ended in positive and optimistic fashion for Golden State Warriors’ youngster Moses Moody.
The trajectory of Moody’s first season didn’t translate into the next though. The 20-year-old did play in 63 games during the regular season, but many of those saw sparing or garbage time minutes without a regular place in Steve Kerr’s rotation.
While his shooting percentages were fine across the board, Moody was largely nothing more than a catch-and-shoot threat, and not an overly elite one at that. His defense was the more disappointing aspect — a 6’6″ frame and 7’1″ wingspan gives optimism to his capacity on that end, but his lateral quickness (or lack thereof) was often exposed by guards who simply blew by him too easily.
A trip to the G League was confirmation of Moody’s inability to procure consistent opportunities with Golden State over the first half of the season. There were then reports that Moody was a trade candidate ahead of the February 9 trade deadline, but the reality was that his value was at a point where the Warriors were never going to get anything significant in return.
Much of the post-trade deadline period saw similar results, even if the absence of Andrew Wiggins should have theoretically opened more opportunity. Between Games 68 and 79 of the Warriors’ season, Moody saw two DNP’s and just four games with more than nine minutes of playing time.
Then, almost out of nowhere and as if Kerr had an epiphany, Moody played nearly 26 minutes in a vitally important game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 4. He scored 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, adding five rebounds and a block in an impressive display.
The 2021 lottery pick closed the regular season on a positive note, recording a season-high 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting in a blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers. It would ultimately set up Moody for a postseason where Kerr seemingly found trust in his second-year forward.
After a DNP in Game 1 against the Kings, Moody played a role in all of Golden State’s remaining playoff games, including at least 14 minutes in seven of those games. He had 13 points in Game 3 against the Kings, along with 10 points and seven rebounds in a Game 2 win over the Lakers.
Most surprisingly, for all the lack of opportunities during the regular season, Moody ended up in the Warriors’ closing five for the pivotal Game 4 in Los Angeles. Golden State crucially lost the game, but he acquitted himself well in the hostile playoff environment.
At his best, Moody can be a quality three-point shooter, good off-ball mover, willing passer, and a sneakily good athlete at the rim while having the physical tools to be a tough defender. It’s now about harnessing and developing all those attributes to a high level as he prepares for his third season in the league.