Second-year Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski, on April 3, became just the third player in franchise history to make eight threes, with 25+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists. The southpaw had a starmaking performance against the Lakers as the Warriors pulled off a vital 123-116 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
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Podz’ eight made threes were also a career high.
Podziemski vs LA:
28 PTS
8 REB
6 AST (1 TOV)
8-10 3P (career-high)
Joins The Splash Bros as the only Warriors to record a 25/5/5 game with 8+ threes.
After the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr praised Podz for carrying his team through the first half. The Warriors took a 60-47 lead at halftime courtesy of a buzzer-beater by Podziemski, which swayed the momentum in the away team’s favor.
“Yeah I mean he carried us in the first half and made a big one just inside half-court,” Kerr said of Podz. “We were all over him last week. He turned down a half-court shot in a game I think it was maybe New Orleans. So he took that to heart and took that shot. Obviously made a lot of big ones and yeah, Brandin was amazing.”
PODZIEMSKI BEATS THE HALFTIME BUZZER… FROM HALF 😲
He’s got 22 PTS, 6 3PM at the break on TNT!
Finding His Rhythm After Injuries
A lot was expected of Podz entering the 2024-25 season, with Warriors governor Joe Lacob anointing him a “future All-Star” and a replacement to the departing Klay Thompson. Even Podz placed undue pressure on himself by saying he had the mental makeup to fill the void of Thompson, who departed for the Mavericks as a free agent.
However, Podziemski was plagued by injuries in the early part of the 2024-25 season and struggled to find his role on the team when available.
Draymond Green felt Podz Podziemski had finally found his role on the Warriors.
“Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the opportunity to play much meaningful basketball at this level,” Green said of Podz. “So for us, we plan on doing that. For him, we need these games to prepare for what’s to come. For Moses [Moody], JK [Jonathan Kuminga] — those guys won a championship, but they didn’t play a ton of minutes.
“They are key pieces to what we’re trying to do now. Getting these guys these games right now that mean something and seeing them step up the way they are is huge.”
Kuminga Steps Up For Warriors
It wasn’t just Podz who had a stellar game against the Lakers on April 3. Jonathan Kuminga, the other Warriors youngster with All-Star potential, had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, besides playing exceptional defense.
After the game, Green praised the fourth-year forward for stepping up to the plate on defense, especially when switched onto Lakers star Luka Doncic.
“Luka, LeBron everybody he guarded, Austin Reaves at times, he was asking for those matchups,” Green said of Kuminga. “Says a lot. We challenged him in private. We challenged him publicly to step up on the defensive end and he did that. He was great offensively but he was even better defensively.”
Stephen Curry urged Warriors fans and the media to preach patience with Kuminga and let him blossom into a quality player.
“I think we need to kind of just let this guy play basketball,” Curry said of Kuminga. “We don’t have to have a declaration after every game. We don’t have to be in a situation where we’re judging every minute he’s out there. I understand he’s next in line to come into his own as an NBA player, but I wish my fourth year wasn’t, ‘Was this the greatest game ever? Was it the [worst] game ever?’ He’s figuring it out. If we’re going to win at the highest level, he has to be a part of it.”
