A young Golden State Warriors player comes on the scene. He has a reputation for being confident and borderline cocky with some of his comments. He makes some about Stephen Curry that make headlines. These statements could all apply to both Yaxel Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski, but the former has been largely celebrated for those traits while the latter has been largely castigated.
It was clear right away that Lendeborg had a wealth of confidence after the Warriors drafted him. He stated that he used to hate Curry when he was younger since he was a fan of Kyrie Irving. His confidence even earned him some light chiding from veteran Draymond Green.
A big reason why Podziemski was in so much hot water last season is because of his overconfidence. He said that he wanted to be greater than Curry. He called himself the white Shohei Ohtani. He was ridiculed and mocked for this and there has to be part of him that’s a little annoyed to see Lendeborg be celebrated for his cockiness and brashness, particularly after going up against Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic on Wednesday night while Podziemski sat on the bench due to a back injury.
It’s not entirely the same situation and Lendeborg’s comments after the game were not universally loved by Warriors fans, but it’s interesting to see how one player’s confidence gets ridiculed while another’s is celebrated. Maybe Lendeborg simply has more charm or is more likable than Podziemksi, but whatever is at play is an interesting dynamic.
Brandin Podziemski may limit his confidence to the court this season
The lesson that Podziemksi seems to have learned from last season is “talk less.” He said that he wants to let his play do the talking this season, and if he stays true to his word, we may not hear the confident proclamations in press conferences.
Meanwhile, players have had Lendeborg’s back after his tiff with Doncic. Draymond Green said he liked seeing that fire from Lendeborg and so did head coach Steve Kerr. That encouragement means we are likely going to see more brashness from the rookie as the season goes on.
One hopes that Podziemski continues to play with an internal confidence and swagger on the court. Part of what makes him good is his belief in himself and he cannot lose that, but that dynamic of the outward confidence from Lendeborg and the, potentially, inward confidence of Podziemski will be really interesting to watch.
They’re both young players who could end up being a big part of the future of the Warriors. Seeing how they display their confidence going forward, both on the court and at the podium, will be something to keep an eye on.
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