At the end of every NBA season, before taking a few weeks off from the grind, coaches usually like to conduct one-on-one meetings with each player to discuss their year and what they can work on during the summer. When Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr met with Brandin Podziemski, his message to the young guard was clear: keep that same mentality you had over the last six weeks.
What kind of mentality is the 61-year-old coach alluding to? Driving to the basket more, getting to the free-throw line at a higher rate, and shooting a higher volume of threes are the main components. The reason Podziemski got to put an emphasis on those aspects of the game was that, over the last few weeks of the season, he was granted some opportunities as the number one option. With both Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler unavailable for long stretches, Podziemski had the ball in his hands a lot more. The numbers clearly show that jump in production.
Podziemski spent the summer working to sustain his late-season momentum
Using the All-Star break as the cut-off point in his shift in mindset (27 games), Podziemski's scoring average went from 12 points on 9.5 shots before the break to 17.5 on 12.7 attempts after. To dig deeper into the data, his usage rate increased from 18.5% to 21.4%, he attempted 1.6 more threes per game (from 4.5 to 6.1), shot 1.6 more free throws (from 2.4 to 4), and recorded 3.8 more drives per game. Danny Emerman of the San Francisco Standard smartly pointed out the list of players who finished their season with at least six threes and four free throws attempted per game. There were 18 of them, all elite bucket getters.
"You look at any young player, the jumps that they've made have been because of three-point volume and drive-to-the-basket volume," he said during his media day presser. "Best scorers in the world shoot a lot of free throws."
So what did Podziemski do during the summer to help carry that momentum over to this season? First, he went overseas, to the Sanctuary in Spain — an NBA Players Association retreat and training facility — and worked out with about 20 of his colleagues in the league. In addition to cutting his hair due to the Spanish heat, he used that time to ask his peers questions. One of those inquiries was addressed to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who just won the Most Improved Player award after upping his scoring average by over 10 points.
Before one of those workouts in Andalusia, Podziemski caught a glimpse of the Hawks guard warming up, and his routine intrigued him. So he went up to him and asked him about it. It turned out Alexander-Walker had stopped lifting weights and started working with his body weight only. Fast-forward a few weeks, and Podziemski is up in Canada working out with Nem Ilic, Alexander-Walker and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's personal trainer.
A few days ago, Podziemski admitted that multiple people around the organization had told him about how he looked stronger, more filled out, when in reality, he's remained at the same weight.
"Everything is all how can I generate as much force with my own body instead of having to use a weight," Podziemski said on Saturday after practice.
His new workout routine might not have added weight to his frame, but it sure has brought him more confidence. In the team's five-day camp in Hawaii, Podziemski was one of the standouts. Fresh off a new extension and entering his fourth NBA season, the young guard needs to show consistency.
"I think he's more confident, a lot more confident," Draymond Green said of Podziemski.
He's always been a glue guy, a connector that does the little things right and makes every lineup around him more effective. Last season, he was one of just 18 players to appear in all 82 games. He led the Warriors in minutes, rebounds, and steals. When he was on the floor, the team posted a 110.4 defensive rating, the third-lowest mark among players with at least 50 games (Moody and Post posted lower marks). Since entering the league in 2023, only Jalen Brunson has drawn more charges than him, which is why new assistant Frank Vogel called Podziemski a rim protector, despite his somewhat unimpressive 6-foot-4 frame.
"He's one of our best players," Kerr said in Hawaii. "He can dribble, pass, shoot, you can put him in any spot, out of the timeout, really emotional player, and obviously crucial to make the whole thing work."
Podziemski is battling for a starting role
Three of the five starting spots are still up for grabs — with Curry and Green being the only locks — and Podziemski appears to be battling with De'Anthony Melton for the guard position alongside Steph. It's no secret that any player alongside Steph needs to be able to guard the ball and be aggressive. That was one of the reasons why Steph and Klay were so complementary and successful together. Last season, the Curry-Podziemski duo posted a +5.1 net rating in the 601 minutes they shared the floor.
The numbers have shown over the last two seasons that Podziemski needs another ball handler next to him to shine his brightest. According to Cleaning the Glass, the team's net rating last season went from +5.6 in the minutes he lined up at shooting guard to -2.4 when he was running the point. The main difference comes on the offensive end, with the offensive rating falling from 117.8 to 110.5. Back in 2024-25, the team's elite 123.6 offensive rating with him at the two crumbled to 106.7 in the minutes he played at point guard.
Given the way this year's roster is constructed, Podziemski should always have another ball handler in the backcourt with him. Whether it be with Steph in the starting unit or Melton or Brandon Williams in the second unit, Podziemski won't have to navigate the ball-handling duties all by himself.
Now with a productive summer of work under his belt and a new contract in the books, it's time for Podziemski to take another step: prove to that skeptical part of the fan base the worth of his extension and validate himself as a building block of this franchise's future, like he's always wanted.
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