Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski often made headlines for the wrong reasons last season. It seemed he just repeatedly stuck his foot in his mouth or made comments that were interpreted as being arrogant or overly cocky.
Whether that's fair or not, there are narratives surrounding Podziemski and he remains a controversial Warrior amongst some segments of the fanbase. It seems he has learned his lesson though based on comments he made at Golden State's Media Day earlier this week.
Brandin Podziemski has learned lesson from past statements
When asked about his past comments, Podziemski said, "It’s better if I don’t say anything and just let my play do the talking.”
That's a smart, mature response. While some of the backlash to Podziemski's comments last season were probably a bit over the top, and I myself was probably even guilty of that, it was an important lesson for a young player like Podziemski to learn.
It's more than okay to be a confident player. In fact, it's probably preferred to a guy who completely lacks confidence and needs to be talked up all the time. Yet the way a player goes about displaying that confidence really does matter, especially when playing alongside Hall of Fame veterans like Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler.
The impressive thing from Podziemski is that even amongst all of the controversy and off-the-court noise last season, he still had his best year yet. The 23-year-old played in all 82 games for the Warriors which is miraculous given all the injury carnage the team had. Not only that, but he averaged nearly 14 points per game, shot 45% from the field, and averaged over 28 minutes per game.
He proved that he can indeed be a solid NBA player and chances are he will be rewarded with some sort of contract extension before the season begins.
Brandin Podziemski can prove that he's elite this season
The question still remains what Podziemski's ceiling is though. We know that in his mind, he's a star player who can carry a team. In reality, he's probably a solid starter who should be the fourth or fifth-best player on a good team.
Podziemski will get a chance to prove himself early this season with players like Butler and Moses Moody sidelined for at least half the season, meaning now is his chance to back up some of the claims he's made in the past.
The fact that he went through the controversies of last season and came out on the other side seemingly stronger and more mature is a good sign. It's typically best when players let their play on the court do the talking, so let's hope Podziemski is true to his word on that.
Add us as a preferred source on Google