NBA Draft

Undrafted Rookie Plays Notable Role in Warriors Win Against Rockets

Golden State got significant contributions from an undrafted rookie in the Warriors’ most recent win against Houston.
Randall Sweet|
Oct 17, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard LJ Cryer shares a laugh while warming up before facing the Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center.
Oct 17, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard LJ Cryer shares a laugh while warming up before facing the Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center. | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

The 2025-26 NBA season hasn’t gone as planned for the Golden State Warriors.

Veteran wing Jimmy Butler suffered a torn ACL that ended his season, and Steph Curry has also dealt with a few injuries.

Additionally, the Jonathan Kuminga saga continued until the trade deadline, when Golden State finally moved on from the former top-10 pick. In return, the Warriors received Kristaps Porzingis, who has played in one game since being traded.

Despite the setbacks, Steve Kerr’s team still holds the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference with a 32-30 record as of March 6.

The team’s most recent win came against the Houston Rockets, another squad jockeying for postseason seeding, on the road in overtime. With Curry still out of the lineup, Brandin Podziemski led Golden State to a 115-113 win in overtime.

Alongside 26 points and 9 rebounds from Podziemski, undrafted rookie LJ Cryer gave the Warriors valuable minutes in the victory.

Cryer tallied 12 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and one turnover in 20 minutes off the bench, tying Quinten Post for the most minutes of any Warriors bench player. The former Baylor Bears and Houston Cougars standout shot 4-of-9 from the field and 4-of-8 from the field, finishing as a +6 in the box score.

Cryer’s strong showing comes in just his fourth NBA appearance, marking the young guard’s first time playing more than 3 minutes, 21 seconds in the NBA. Despite not having much experience, Cryer stepped up and helped the Warriors win an important contest against the Western Conference’s No. 4 seed.

The 24-year-old went undrafted in 2025, signing with Golden State’s summer league team before earning a spot in the G League and eventually signing a two-way contract. In 7 G League contests this season, Cryer is averaging 17.3 points, 6 assists and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 53.5% from the field and 54.9% from 3-point range on 7.3 attempts per contest. 

Listed at 6-feet tall, Cryer’s height likely caused him to go undrafted, but his perimeter shooting touch and feel for the game has given the first-year guard a chance to make an impact at the NBA level early in his career.

In college, Cryer played on a national championship squad as a freshman at Baylor, and starred for a Houston team that reached the NCAA title game as a fifth-year senior at Houston. The rookie's experience in big moments on winning teams paid off against the Rockets on Thursday night.

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.

Published
Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall Sweet is a 2022 Oklahoma University graduate who has formerly written for the Norman Transcript and OU Daily. Randall also serves as the Communications Coordinator at Visit OKC.

Home/NBA Rookies