Where Podz wants to improve despite recent Summer League success originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Brandin Podziemski finished just three assists shy of a triple-double in the Warriors’ 92-82 win over the Chicago Bulls in NBA Summer League action Sunday night, but the young guard knows he has plenty to work on ahead of his second pro season.
The 21-year-old also tallied a game-high seven turnovers, placing what he views as a blemish on his 21-point, 12-rebound, seven-assist performance in the victory.
“What I didn’t like was my turnovers, but what I did like was I was able to have the combination of scoring and getting my teammates involved,” Podziemski told reporters in Las Vegas after the game. “I think against [the Sacramento Kings in the California Classic], I was just out there trying to do stuff that I had worked on, and I wasn’t really playing within the flow of within the team.
“Yesterday I played, [and] it felt easier for me and today it felt even better, so knowing that I’m going to score naturally through the offense and I don’t necessarily have to force anything is something that I’m always reminded of. I love getting my teammates involved because it inspires them to do the same thing.”
Podziemski was effective in all offensive facets Monday and scored in a number of different ways, whether it was shooting off the catch, off the dribble, or with an impressive under-the-hoop finish like his layup to end the first half.
And after a less-than-stellar showing in Golden State’s California Classic finale against the Kings, Podziemski has shown why he earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors last season over the Warriors’ last two Summer League games. Still, he understands that turnovers — which were a huge issue for the Warriors during the 2023-24 NBA season — can’t happen.
“A bunch of them are just stupid, like why would I do that?” Podziemski said Monday of his seven turnovers. “And a lot of them are in transition, trying to make passes, but I feel like in the regular season, I’m going to have guys in different spots. Just our spacing was a little jacked up, but that’s on me to get that over.”
Some of that might have come as Podziemski attempted to do all he could to record a triple-double — something Warriors Summer League coach Anthony Vereen noted to the youngster mid-game.
“I didn’t want to say nothing about it, but I had to eventually say we got to play basketball,” Vereen told reporters after the win. “… That’s just a competitive guy. He wants to showcase himself, and I’m not mad at it if you’re hunting assists. If you’re hunting points, I’ve got a problem with it, for sure. …
“He’s trying to be a three-level scorer, and he’s showing he can do that. I thought he did an amazing job of it — he just took what the defense was giving him, he moved it when he had to and he scored when he could.”
Even the NBA’s biggest and brightest stars have things they need to work on. And it’s clear Podziemski is well aware of the improvements he needs to make as he moves forward.
NBC Sports BayArea
