Golden State Warriors' guard wronged again in All-NBA Rookie predictions

Brandin Podziemski has been one of the shining lights for the Golden State Warriors this season, with the rookie guard providing surprising impact after being taken with the 19th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Such is his impact on winning, Podziemski briefly supplanted future hall-of-famer and franchise legend Klay Thompson for the starting shooting-guard spot. While he's now back to a bench role to close the season, Podziemski is still averaging the fifth-most minutes of any Warrior.

Brandin Podziemski's impressive season may not necessarily result in an All-NBA First-Team selection for the Golden State Warriors' guard

Podziemski is fifth among all rookies in assists per game, sixth in rebounding and tenth in scoring, while only Chet Holmgren has a better net rating of any rookie to play in at least 15 games this season.

There's little doubt about Podziemski's place in one of the All-NBA Rookie teams, with the only question on which one it will be. According to Bleacher Report's Dan Favale, a Second-Team selection is more likely for the Santa Clara product.

"Leaving him off the first team is tough. His shot efficiency isn't quite there for me. He's knocking down over 43.3 percent of his pull-up threes, including an 11-of-20 clip on step-back treys. But his runners can be all over place, and he doesn't always deliver the volume necessary to maximize the pressure he puts on defenses. The free-throw-shooting struggles are weird, too."

- Dan Favale

While the frontcourt of Brandon Miller, Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama is hard to argue with, the backcourt positions are far more worthy of discussion. Podziemski believes he's been hard done by on a couple of occasions already this season, with this another where he may feel wronged.

Favale has Cason Wallace and Jaime Jacquez Jr. ahead of Podziemski in the First-Team, both of whom probably benefit from being on a team higher in the standings. Jacquez averages more points than Podziemski, yet averages significantly less in rebounds and assists per game.

The bigger gripe may come with Wallace who's averaging six less minutes per game, and subsequently averages 6.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists compared to Podziemski's 9.2, 5.8 and 3.7.

In fairness, Wallace is far more efficient from the floor and from beyond the arc, and the 20-year-old's defensive value to the Oklahoma City Thunder doesn't necessarily show up in the raw box score numbers.

While this feels like one that could go either way depending on how much weight voters put into team record, Podziemski nonetheless has a strong case to be honored as one of the five best rookies in the NBA this season.