Fumbling two top 10 lottery picks in consecutive years is starting to really hurt the Golden State Warriors, but at the very least they can look at Brandin Podziemski as the shining light of their recent draft results.
Despite being controversially benched for Game 6 on Friday night, Podziemski has remained a big factor for the Warriors in averaging nearly 29 minutes during the first-round series against the Houston Rockets.
Yet it's not just Podziemski's own form that's making him appear an even bigger draft steal, but also the stagnated development of his rivals that were taken around the same time just outside the 2023 lottery.
Brandin Podziemski is looking a far better prospect than Jaime Jaquez Jr.
There was significant debate last season on who got the biggest steal -- the Miami Heat with Jaime Jaquez Jr. at 18, the Warriors with Podziemski at 19, or the Rockets with Cam Whitmore at 20. While fans of the respective teams would argue on that, they could at least come together and thank the Los Angeles Lakers for foolishly taking Jalen Hood-Schifino at 17.
Both Jaquez and Podziemski earned All-Rookie First Team honors, with the Miami guard shading his counterpart as the pair finished fourth and fifth in Rookie of the Year voting. However, since then Podziemski has created space in the conversation, not only through his own improvement but because Jaquez and Whitmore have gone backwards in their second year.
Jaquez could barely crack the Heat's rotation in their obliteration at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first-round of the playoffs, with The Ringer's Zach Lowe viewing it as an underrated aspect to the team's struggles.
"Not enough has been made about Jaime Jaquez Jr. going from jewell of a potential Damian Lillard trade, to just not being able to get on the court over Pelle Larsson in the playoffs," Lowe said.
Whitmore's regular season meanwhile yielded less minutes, points and rebounds per game, while also holding worse shooting percentages than his rookie year. The talented forward has now found himself out of Ime Udoka's playoff rotation, proving Golden State made the right decision in bypassing him for Podziemski despite Whitmore being highly touted heading into the draft.
Based on his production so far and the potential he still holds as a 22-year-old, there's little doubt Podziemski would go top 10 in a 2023 Re-Draft. The Warriors deserve credit for that initial selection, but also there decision not to trade Podziemski in a deal for Lauri Markkanen last offseason given the Finnish forward has since had an underwhelming year with the Utah Jazz.