Brandin Podziemski #2 of the Golden State Warriors
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Brandin Podziemski #2 of the Golden State Warriors
It was obvious, at the time, what Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski meant. Back before the season began, Podziemski was asked about teammate Stephen Curry, and whether he wanted to be as good as him. Podziemski, never lacking for confidence, said he did not just want to be as good as Curry, he had even higher aspirations.
“I want to be better than him,” Podziemski said, back in October. “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.”
There was nuance to the answer, but nuance does not matter much when it comes to mass media. For most fans and observers, the only part of the Podziemski answer that resonated was that he wanted to be better than Stephen Curry, which a sort-of third-rail thing to say for a young Warriors guard.
Warriors Have Not Seen Improvement This Season
If Podziemski had taken a massive leap here in his third NBA season, that quote might have lingered as a positive–a young Warriors player so confident in his ability that he was not going to cap his potential, even at Curry’s level. Instead, Podziemski has shown virtually no growth here in Year 3.
He’s averaging 12.9 points and 5.2 rebounds, with 3.8 assists. That’s pretty much where Podziemski’s numbers were a year ago, on a per-48-minute basis. In fact, his shooting (44.4% from the field and 36.1% from the 3-point line) hasn’t been bad, but rates as the worst he’s put up in his career.
Podziemski has shown himself to be a very useful sixth man on a good team. But he has not lived up to the standard that he himself set.
Warriors’ Steve Kerr ‘Understands’ Views on Brandin Podziemski
That’s made him a divisive figure among Warriors fans and media. When that was mentioned to coach Steve Kerr this week, he pointed right back to Podziemski’s unfortunate quote on Curry.
“Yeah, I understand it,” Kerr said on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco. “I mean I don’t see it, but people tell me that so I’m aware of it. And it makes sense. He’s a really interesting, unique player and I think a lot of the reactions from fans, to be blunt, he laid the expectations out there for himself. Like, you know, in the beginning of the year, saying he’s going to be better than Steph.”
Brandin Podziemski Made a Media Mistake
Again, the quote from Podziemski was more detailed than him simply saying he is going to be better than Curry, but five months later, Kerr is still distilling it in the same way most fans are distilling it.
It’s really not a bad thing for Podziemski to want to be as great as he can. As he said, “It’s how can you find that balance of what you want to do, and be as great as you can be.”
But, Kerr said, as a young player dealing with the media, Podziemski made a mistake in putting out a headline quote.
Said Kerr: “So, one of the things you learn as a young player is how to handle the media and I think that one was a sign of his confidence, which I like, but there are other ways of showing your confidence than saying you’re going to be better than Steph Curry. I think he’s a lightning rod, but he’s put some of that on himself and when you’re brash and confident, that’s kind of the way it works.”