Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski gets 100% honest on offensive approach amid long-range struggles

It’s a major testament to Podziemski’s two-way feel and processing speed he’s already carved out a lasting niche with the Dubs despite failing to live up to pre-draft expectations as a three-point shooter.

He splashed 43.8% of his long balls last year in college, but was clearly still adjusting to the length of the NBA line at Las Vegas Summer League in July. Podziemski’s hit only 33.3% of his “wide open” threes with the Warriors, per NBA.com/stats, the shot type that accounts for nearly three-quarters of his total attempts from deep. A silver lining in his advanced long-range shooting splits? Podziemski has connected on 20-of-44 pull-up three-point attempts, a small sample size that nevertheless hints at the near-elite shotmaking potential he showed at Santa Clara.

Podziemski will play a decade or more of high-level rotation minutes in the league even if his jumper never improves. He’s at least been a credible three-point shooter so far, with opponents reacting accordingly. It’s not like Podziemski’s average accuracy and volume is an active hindrance to Golden State’s offense, defenders shrinking the floor and daring him to shoot like they do Draymond Green, Gary Payton II and even Jonathan Kuminga.

But Podziemski will only scrape his ultimate ceiling if he becomes the type of knockdown shooter who commands hard close-outs and constant attention from defenses. The 21-year-old has creased the paint with semi-regularity in his first NBA go-around despite limited burst and wiggle off the bounce. Just imagine how much more dangerous he’ll be as a driver and playmaker once Podziemski drains more of his catch-and-shoot threes, ups his frequency on pull-up tries and learns to let fly from varied platforms while sprinting around screens.

That pivotal development, unfortunately for the Dubs, surely won’t come to pass before the end of 2023-24. Given his collegiate track record, obvious touch and unimpeachable work ethic, though, it could just be a full offseason’s worth of training until Podziemski cements himself as a court-shifting three-point shooter.