Not only has Brandin Podziemski been one of the biggest surprises at the Golden State Warriors this season, but the 21-year-old has been a league-wide shock after being taken 19th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft.
In NBA.com’s latest Kia Rookie Ladder on February 28, Podziemski was ranked fourth behind three players — Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren and Brandon Miller — who were each taken as a top two pick.
Golden State Warriors’ guard Brandin Podziemski may still be going under the radar among the NBA’s best rookies this season
Wembanyama may be running away with the Rookie of the Year award over Holmgren, having again won Western Conference Rookie of the Month for February. In the East, Miller won his second consecutive Rookie of the Month after also claiming it in January.
In a statement on X/Twitter on Monday, NBA Communications recognized that Holmgren, Utah Jazz’ guard Keyonte George and Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson had been in the mix for the Western Conference honor.
That certainly drew the attention of Podziemski who took to social media himself to ensure fans that he’d taken notice of the NBA’s decision to omit him from the group of contenders.
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It’s not the first time Podziemski has taken issue with such an absence, having done exactly the same thing after he was left out of the group of contenders for Rookie of the Month in December.
Podziemksi averaged 31.8 minutes in Golden State’s 14 games during February, recording 10.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. He also had the second-best plus-minus on the team behind Stephen Curry, with the Warriors finishing with an 11-3 record for the month.
The rookie guard has missed the first two games in March, having dealt with a knee issue that forced him out of Golden State’s 120-105 win over the Toronto Raptors and the blowout defeat to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Warrior head coach Steve Kerr confirmed Podziemski would return for the team’s upcoming three-game home-stand starting with the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
