The two big contract extensions the Golden State Warriors needed to get done ahead of the 2026-27 season were Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski. The Curry deal ensured he will remain the face of the franchise for the next few seasons, and the Podziemski contract basically ensures that he will be the successor to the two-time MVP once No. 30 retires.
A five-year, $110 million deal isn’t completely crazy as a rookie extension for a player like Podziemski, but that doesn’t account for all the baggage he has, and how he’s rubbed some fans the wrong way with comments he’s made in the past.
He's clearly a very confident player and he’s wanted to have the spotlight on him, openly talking about how he thinks he’s the guy who can carry the torch when Curry, Draymond Green and all of the players from the championship years are retired or with other teams.
Whether he really can live up to that in reality is another question altogether, but he has his shot at it. The Warriors clearly like him and have seen a high ceiling for Podziemski for some time. His availability is definitely a plus as he played in all 82 games last season, yet there are still questions about his skills as a scorer.
Warriors need Podziemski to get better over the course of extension
He finally scored 30 points in a game late last season, but he’s been inconsistent at times and his defense has left a bit to be desired as well. The charitable view is that he’s not a finished product and will only get better, but when players get a big extension there can be a subconscious feeling that they just need to keep doing what they did prior to getting the contract, rather than striving to get better and prove that they’re worth all the money.
We don’t know whether that will be the case with Podziemski, but if he thinks his game as of right now is fully developed then the Warriors overpaid. They need him to continue to evolve and grow as a player. That’s the only way he'll make it worth it and it’s the only way he can win over a majority of the fanbase.
There will always be detractors who have a problem with Podziemski. That’s just how it is: he’s a polarizing player amongst fans whether that’s right or wrong. But he’s said he's focused on just playing basketball this season, so if he takes a step forward and doesn’t run afoul of fans with any comments he makes, that could go a long way towards changing perceptions of him.
The post-Curry era is going to be a strange and scary time for the Warriors. They’ll be searching for a new star but in the meantime they seem perfectly content to have Podziemski as the face of the team until they can bring in another superstar who moves the needle in a similar way to Curry.
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