While he may be only one year into his NBA career, it's fair to say Brandin Podziemski is well on his way to outperforming draft day expectations after he was selected 19th overall by the Golden State Warriors in 2023.
Podziemski had an incredible rookie season, averaging over 26 minutes per game with the Warriors which culminated in All-Rookie First Team honors and finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.
Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski has defied all expectation so far, including some now regretful takes from draft night
There's no shame in getting a Podziemski projection wrong -- few, if any analysts would have predicted him to seize the starting two-guard spot from a franchise legend in Klay Thompson prior to the All-Star Break.
Now with Thompson having departed for the Dallas Mavericks in free agency, not only is Podziemski expected to start alongside Stephen Curry in the back court next season, but the 21-year-old is also likely to take on the back up point guard duties vacated by another veteran in Chris Paul.
Some of the draft night Podziemski takes are funny to look back on with the benefit of over a year's hindsight. Many analysts like The Athletic's Sam Vecenie had the Santa Clara product further down their draft board, but conceded he was an excellent fit for Golden State at 19.
It wasn't all positive though, with many draft night grades ranking the Warriors poorly in comparison to other selections. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report gave the franchise a 'C+' for the Podziemski pick, yet also gave the Los Angeles Lakers a 'B' for taking Jalen Hood-Schifino two spots earlier.
That immediately looked like the wrong call from early last season, with Podziemski quickly announcing himself as a rotation player for Golden State while Hood-Schifino averaged 1.6 points in 5.2 minutes for Los Angeles across 21 games. The Lakers decision to draft Hood-Schifino over the following three picks -- Jaime Jaquez Jr., Podziemski and Cam Whitmore -- has resulted as nothing short of a disaster.
Adam Finkelstein and Kyle Boone of CBS Sports also provided their immediate draft grades, giving the Warriors a B- for the Podziemski selection. While that doesn't appear overly dramatic on the surface, it was actually the third-worst grade given to any member of the 30-player first-round, only behind the Orlando Magic's decision to take Jett Howard with the 11th Pick (C+), and the Denver Nuggets choice to select Julian Strawther with the 29th pick (also C+).
Of course, June 22, 2023 was a big day for Golden State beyond just the draft. Earlier in the day they'd traded Jordan Poole in a package for Paul, leading to mixed opinion among fans on the decision to trade the young guard.
Warriors journalist and analyst Cyrus Saatsaz was critical of the entire day's proceedings, giving the franchise an overall 'F' while suggesting that they could have traded down in the draft, still selected Podziemski, and got an extra pick or two in the process.
I don’t have much of an issue with Podziemski except for the fact he was very likely available later in the draft. If the @warriors had any ingenuity or vision they would’ve traded down and snagged another pick or two in a very deep draft.
— Cyrus Saatsaz (@SurfJournalist) June 23, 2023
Warriors’ grade for June 22 is 𝐅.
Podziemski is already starting to make a career out of proving people wrong, but now the time has come to see if he can meet his own lofty expectations, having already spoke about his desire to win Most Improved Player and be recognized as one of the up-and-coming stars of the league.