Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski responds to Steve Kerr’s challenge

SAN FRANCISCO – The first three games of the season were tough third-year guard Brandin Podziemskiespecially with some pressure on the shoulders. His head coach, Steve Kerr, admitted entering the Memphis Grizzlies matchup with just three total assists and multiple offensive stops. his guard struggled.

“He’s not at his best right now,” Kerr said before the game. “I think it’s a little bit of pressure. Brandin always wants to be great, and sometimes he needs to relax and be good, and that’s when he becomes great.”

It didn’t take long for Podziemski to take Kerr’s words to heart as he lasered in a 3-pointer on the game’s first possession. From there, Podziemski stayed cool and composed, helping out Golden State Warriors 23 points, four rebounds, six assists, 5-of-7 from beyond the arc in a comfortable 131-118 win over the Grizzlies. The main takeaway from the Warriors’ 19th overall pick in the 2023 comeback performance was how natural the flow of the offense came to him.

after the game Steph Curry spoke about what was different in Podziemski’s game compared to the first three games.

“Just to keep the game simple. Certain defenses created problems for us and the team, it’s all changing five types of teams and things like that, where there are no clear driving lanes,” Curry explained. “These types of games, there’s moments like tonight where you just have to keep the game simple. If you have a shot, cool down, shoot, have confidence. If not, get out of it quick, it’ll come back to you. . . . Those are the ways you make the game easy for yourself.”

Podziemski kept things straight, and it paid off.

The young core stepped up

In addition to Podziemski, Jonathan Cumminga and Moses Moody also stepped up to lead the Dubs to victory. The triple combined for 68 points on 10-of-16 from behind the arc. Their offensive performance allowed the Warriors to play Curry just under 30 minutes, as well as Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, just 31 minutes. This was especially important given the fact that this was the front end of a back to back.

After the game, Kerr talked about watching the young core thrive, especially in the context of complicated starts their careers.

“It’s exciting,” Kerr said. “We’ve seen it in spurts, we probably haven’t seen all those guys in the 20s (in terms of points). I guess it’s the first time that’s happened. It’s huge, but it’s a reminder that these young guys are putting in the work and they’re getting better every year. We always say progress isn’t linear when you’ve got all of them up and down you’ve had to think about everything. The last few years… It’s impressive that they’ve stuck with it and kept fighting to play at really high level together. It’s really exciting.”

With every guy who’s stepped into a franchise as successful as the Warriors, it’s been difficult for them to find their role next to a player in the prime of their career in winning mode. They didn’t have the runway to develop like other young NBA players; they didn’t play on lottery teams in meaningless games, they competed for minutes and playing time. The “two timelines” plan was largely described as a failure, as none of the young guys turned into clear heirs to the Dubs dynasty.

However, those same first-rounders are finding ways to contribute significantly this season. They may not be household names, but they are essential to the Warriors’ 82-game run.

Underground is moving forward

The Warriors will need more play from Podziemski moving forward. There will certainly be nights when the Warriors rest Curry. Nights like these, where he plays in the flow of the game and lets the offense come to him, show how effective he can be when everything is buzzing. On nights like this, you feel comfortable letting the young guys take the car keys.

After the game, Kerr gave his praises it’s a performance by Pod Ziemia.

“Well, it helped that he knocked down the first batter of the game,” Kerr said. “But he just looked like a guy that we’ve seen all training camp and all of last year or the second half of last year, when he got going. Yeah, it’s a great night for Brandin. He and Moses (Moody) combined to knock down 10 3-pointers. It was impressive and fun to watch. We feel like we have a lot of weapons, a lot of depth.”

Steve Kerr of the Warriors on Brandin Podziemski’s comeback game after a rough first 3 games:

“It helped that he knocked down the first shot of the game. But he looked like the guy we saw throughout training camp and all of last year.” pic.twitter.com/cRstzKI5bo

— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) October 28, 2025

The Warriors will try to build on the win in their divisional matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers. After that, they’ll hit the Midwest with road trips against the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers.