Brandin Podziemski finally gets the monkey off his back with Warriors fans

It took a long time, but Brandin Podziemski has finally scored 30 points in a game for the Golden State Warriors. It came in a loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night and the young guard can finally take the monkey off his back after fans, and his teammates, had been giving him grief about reaching that benchmark for quite a while. 

It took until the final seconds of the game when Podziemski had to drain a free-throw to finally get to 30, but he did so as his teammates celebrated despite the Warriors suffering a 124-118 defeat.

Brandin Podziemski finally getting back in the good graces of Warriors fans

Podziemski commented on it after the game and even alluded to a social media account that swore not to post again until the Santa Clara product hit 30 points.

True to their word, they were resurrected on Friday night:

For Podziemski, it's another nice mark on his resume in what has been a fairly tumultuous year for him. After some comments he made ahead of the season about wanting to be greater than Stephen Curry provided fodder for fans all season whenever he struggled, he's been really impressive the last few months and has been the most durable player on the team, not missing a single game all year.

When Curry was out for over two months with his knee issue, Podziemski stepped up and played some of his best basketball as he really had to be the primary scorer on the floor most nights for Golden State.

There are still detractors who will point to his overconfidence or weaknesses in his game, or even his hair, and say that he is no good and the Warriors should get rid of him. For as bad as this season has gone for Golden State, it almost certainly would have been even worse had Podziemski not been on the team.

He has averaged nearly 14 points per game and has shot 45.7% from the field and 37.1% from three. No, those are not Steph Curry numbers and that shouldn't be the expectation for anyone, but they're still solid and respectable.

The 23-year-old has proven that he can be a solid piece moving forward for the Warriors. He certainly can’t carry a team on his own, but when the veterans are gone, Podziemski is still a solid piece who could fit into a winning team if surrounded by other good players.

He doesn’t need to average 30 points per game or do anything crazy, but if he can build upon the things he’s done well this season while cleaning up some of his mistakes, then maybe the segments of the fanbase that love to criticize him will eventually come around.