Why Warriors Need Struggling Guard to Find Last Year's Form

Brandin Podziemski is not making a third-year leap.

In fact, the 6'4" guard has regressed from how he played down the stretch last year.

It's been a surprisingly bumpy road for Podz. We need to go back down that road to provide proper context for his struggles.

Timeline of Podz's Season

Podz made a number of comments about his career ambitions before the season, many of which appeared in this article from The Athletic. One in particular was reportedly not received well.

"Podziemski said he 'wants to be better than [Stephen Curry],' an answer that elicited some eyerolls and continued references from several within the organization," ESPN's Anthony Slater wrote.

Some speculated that Draymond Green's agendas remark after the blowout loss to the Thunder was partially in reference to Podz's comments.

Green then revealed on his podcast that Steve Kerr challenged Podz after the Thunder game.

Podz seemingly responded well to that challenge, as Kerr upped his playing time to 29.3 minutes per game over the next six contests.

On Monday against the Jazz, Kerr called a timeout to yell at his team after Podz left Keyonte George wide open for his fourth three of the first quarter. Kerr then benched Podz for the entire second quarter.

On Wednesday against the Rockets, Kerr was visibly frustrated after Podz committed two fouls in the third quarter while the Warriors were over the limit, gifting Houston four free throws.

In the fourth quarter, Podz made a heady play to get a trip to the free-throw line. He proceeded to miss the first two, was given a third try due to a lane violation, and missed that too.

After the game, a reporter told Podz that Jimmy Butler said the Warriors players needed to care more about doing the little things right.

"I think we all care," Podz said. "It just looks a little worse because we lost and we've been losing."

What the Stats Say

After Butler made his Warriors debut on Feb. 8, Podz had the best stretch of his career. He has not picked up where he left off this season:

	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	EFG%
24-25 Last 25 Games*	31.1	15.6	6.0	3.7	56.4
2025-26	28.2	12.2	4.6	2.9	53.4

(*I filtered out one game in which Podz played just 44 seconds due to an injury)

His plus-minus in the 25 games to end last season was plus-209. His plus-minus this season is plus-19.

Why Podz Finding Last Year's Form Is So Important

Two of the allures of Podz are his basketball IQ and competitiveness, so it's been jarring to see Kerr frustrated with his lapses and Green and Butler seemingly saying the team is lacking in those areas.

When he's playing his best, Podz is making defenses pay with his secondary playmaking, he's rebounding like a man five inches taller, and he's taking advantage of the attention on Butler and Curry to score efficiently.

He's regressed in all of these areas.

Podz has not been the Warriors' biggest disappointment–that title goes to either Buddy Hield or Al Horford—but he has been the most disappointing among the five or six players Golden State is really counting on.

So it's fair to say one of the keys to the Warriors getting into the contender tier is Podz finding his form.

By and large, the four other Warriors who keyed the team's 23-8 run to finish last season—Curry, Butler, Green and Moses Moody—have met expectations.

That's not say it's all Podz's fault that Golden State is 10-10. And I'm not sure Green and Butler publicly calling out their teammates is helping.

But it does seem that Podz hasn't been fully locked in and that this regression is more mental than physical, which suggests he can turn it around with a change in mindset.

De'Anthony Melton's eventual return will help Golden State's rotation, but it won't change the fact that the best version of the Warriors has Podz thriving in a significant role.