How many times does life give you second chances? Fortunately for the Golden State Warriors star Brandin Podziemski, his second chance came quite early. Previously, in the 148-106 win against the San Antonio Spurs to close March, the second-year Warriors star had the perfect opportunity to make an end-of-quarter half-court shot. But unexpectedly, he passed the rock to Jimmy Butler. In a choice to presumably protecting his shooting percentage, the No. 2 and former Heat star ran out of the clock. It was a given, the teammates would react.

You see, it’s a sort of an unwritten rule: In late-quarter heaves, either take it or pass it to someone in time who would. With Brandin making an incorrect choice against the Spurs, Draymond Green reacted, “We’re all like what are you doing? No, you have to take that shot.” So, when the shooting guard caught himself in a similar situation, he didn’t repeat the mistake.

In a star-studded road game between the Warriors and the LA Lakers, it was Brandin’s one shot that made headlines. In the second quarter at the Crypto.com Arena, Podz received the inbound. With 2.6 seconds left in the half, he sprinted to the frontcourt and threw a 35-foot-deep buzzer beater three. Result? A nod from the 4x NBA champ.

“Well, him and Steph shoot half court shots against each other every day and I know you’d imagine that the standards are like Steph, I’m not sure what their count is, but BP could be possibly leading. Like he hits those shots very frequently. So again, in the game against San Antonio at the buzzer, he threw it to Jimmy and we’re all like ‘What are you doing? No, you have to take that shot.’ He took it tonight and made it so that’s why you see everyone’s reactions from the bench going crazy and he’s driving off like ‘Give me my money!’… It was a great moment but it’s good to see him make that shot.

“It was a huge shot. I think they had just hit a three. So, it was a huge shot. Completely shifted the momentum going into the half back to us. But the stickler on taking those shots is Steph… He hates that. So, it’s kind of creates that culture in the team where you got to take that shot. If you don’t want to, then don’t go grab the ball. Give it to somebody who’s going to take it. But he stepped up, took the shot, and it was a huge shot.”

Going into the half, the Lakers had cut the lead to 10. But Podziemski’s heave returned the momentum to the Warriors’ favor as they led 60-47 at the half. And on one of the biggest nights of the season, Brandin was the catalyst to the Warriors’ pivotal win. Aside from his 28 points, Podziemski also added 8 rebounds and 6 assists and was a pesky defender. And while this was the highlight of the night, Brandin had more showstoppers to boost his team.

The half-court buzzer beater was his sixth made three-pointer. Another was his eighth and final three for the night left wing shot from beyond the arc with a minute and 32 seconds remaining on the game clock. With a stellar outing with 8 of 10 three pointers made, Podz also broke the franchise record for being the youngest Warriors players to hit eight or more three-pointers in a single game, leaving Steph and Klay Thompson behind. Looks like a new version of Splash Brothers is in town.

Likewise, with him playing with such a high level of confidence, the Warriors have another direction they can go to. If there’s one thing about the playoffs, it’s having unlikely players step up. In that regard, Podziemski is stepping in the right direction.

Top Comment by Manny

BP will be a major boost to the Warriors in the playoffs????

Share your take

Debate

Brandin Podziemski is brimming with confidence

Podziemski had been remarkable over his last 10 games. The 6’4″ guard is averaging 15.7 points with 42.92% shooting from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc. Against the Lakers, though, he picked it up a notch. He hit a career-high eight threes, including the surreal buzzer-beater. In the past, Podz refrained from taking these hail mary’s in the game as Draymond Green revealed.

But maybe tonight wasn’t just a one-off. As Steve Kerr sees it, the pressure from Green and the locker room has given the promising guard the confidence to shoot such shots.

“Yeah I mean he carried us in the first half and made a big one just inside half-court. We were all over him last week. He turned down a half-court shot in a game I think it was maybe New Orleans. So he took that to heart and took that shot. Obviously made a lot of big ones and yeah, Brandin was amazing,” the Warriors head coach added.

It has been a challenging season for the sophomore who was slated to have a drastic impact this season. In the first half of the season, Podziemski didn’t have a single month where he averaged even 10 points per game. That impacted other facets of his game too. But the second half has been a complete turnaround.

Not only is he shooting more threes than before, but his impact is visible in all departments of the game. His resurgence is a major factor behind the Golden State Warriors being such a formidable force after the trade deadline. And as they inch closer to securing a playoff spot, Kerr will likely rely heavily on his contributions during the important part of the season.