Golden State Warriors youngster Brandin Podziemski recently revealed that former Warriors teammate Klay Thompson called him and said they’ll be brothers for life, even now that Thompson is with the Dallas Mavericks.
"Getting a call from him a couple days ago, and him telling me I'll always have a brother in him for life."
Podz details his heartwarming conversation with Klay 🥹 pic.twitter.com/xB4jfLUQI0
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) July 20, 2024
Thompson and Podziemski were teammates on the Warriors during the 2023-24 campaign. Podziemski — who was drafted by the Warriors with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft — was a rookie at the time, while Thompson was in his final season with Golden State.
In his swan song with the Warriors, Thompson averaged 17.9 points per contest on 38.7 percent shooting from deep (the second-lowest 3-point percentage of his NBA career) to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
The 34-year-old’s time with the Warriors came to an end earlier this offseason when he agreed to terms on a three-year, $50 million deal with the Mavericks, who represented the Western Conference in the 2024 NBA Finals. A sign-and-trade was completed to officially bring the veteran to Dallas.
Now that Thompson is no longer with the Warriors franchise, perhaps that will allow for Podziemski to carve out a larger role with the squad in the upcoming 2024-25 season after a strong maiden season in the pros.
In his first season in the NBA, Podziemski averaged 9.2 points per game while shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range. He also proved to be an effective rebounder for his size, with the shooting guard pulling down 5.8 rebounds per game.
Impressively, Podziemski averaged the second-most rebounds per game of any player on the Warriors behind only Draymond Green. The 21-year-old even averaged more rebounds per game than big man Kevon Looney, who averaged 9.3 the season before Podziemski joined the NBA.
Podziemski’s impact as a rookie earned him a spot on the All-Rookie First Team alongside Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandon Miller.
Folks can expect Podziemski to improve upon his 2023-24 campaign when his second NBA season rolls around now that he has a year of experience playing in the league under his belt.
