The Golden State Warriors are in the early stages of the 2025-26 campaign, but 22-year-old guard Brandin Podziemski is already thinking about his future.
As fortunate as he has been to be teammates with future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry, Podziemski spoke ahead of Thursday’s game about not shying away from the challenge of working with such greatness, but rather trying to surpass him one day.
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"To be honest, not everybody wants to be as great as Steph Curry,” Podziemski said via Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Some people say it, but not everybody wants to. So it’s how can you find that balance of what you want to do, and be as great as you can be.
"I want to be better than him, I think that’s a tall task, but I want to maximize my talent in the league and get as much out of it as I can," Podziemski said.
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Another one of Podziemski’s future Hall of Fame teammates noted his confidence ahead of this season in Draymond Green.
"You don't reign it in too much," Green said. "(Then) you change the guy. So you just let 'em run rampant, and then when they f- it up, you call 'em in and then you try to help them out … I agree with people having confidence. You should have confidence. You worked your a- to have confidence. So there's no correcting it, nor should you try."
So far this season, Podziemski is averaging nine points per game on 43.8 percent shooting. There is a lot of time left to keep improving his craft, but he is about 11 All-Star appearances, four rings, and two MVP honors away from Curry.
Still, it’s good for the 6-foot-4 Santa Clara product, still all of 22 years old, to aim high. Across two contests thus far this season for the 2-0 Warriors, Podziemski has been averaging 9.0 points on .438/.300/.500 shooting splits, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals a night.
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