“We think we have a future All-Star. We really do.” Joe Lacob set the bar high for Brandin Podziemski after his impressive rookie season. Well, he did shock everyone with his performance and made last year’s All-Rookie First Team. Unfortunately, Podz hasn’t carried that momentum to his sophomore season as his numbers have recorded a significant decline. Sure enough, Dub Nation has begun to vent their frustrations, especially after his continued struggles cost the Warriors tonight’s game against the Spurs.

Yes, Podziemski failed to impress yet again as he went scoreless on an abysmal zero of three shooting. That seems to be the story this season as his averages have dropped to 7.7 points and he is shooting only 18.9% from deep. As expected, that has led to Steve Kerr reducing his playing time. It seems like the right move as Podz is averaging even lower minutes than in his rookie season.

One reason for his sophomore slump could be the pressure he is under from the media and fans as Draymond Green pointed out in a recent interview, “What he’s trying to work through is y’all fault. It’s hard having a great rookie season and then coming back and having a second year as good or better. It’s tough.” Draymond continued, “I think for him, he’s just put so much pressure on himself for the player that he wants to be and that he thinks he should be.”

Although it is an understandable argument, the pressure to perform is something every great player has to deal with throughout his career. And Podz will have to get used to it if he hopes to become an All-Star someday.

NBA world roasts Brandin Podziemski after scoreless night: “Next Klay Thompson”

As expected, Dub Nation is not pleased with Brandin’s decline and gave him an earful after the Warriors got blown out by Victor Wembanyama and Co. Comments like “Speaking of absolutely horrible, BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI everyone!!” began flooding in.

One netizen even brought out the old meme of Matt LeFleur’s comment about kicker Andres Carlson, “When he goes out there, I just pray” linking it to Podziemski’s inconsistency as a scorer.

Frustrated with his performance, many netizens mocked Podz by claiming that he would be kicked out of the league to play in China soon. One deemed him “‘GUARD OF THE FUTURE’ for Shanghai Sharks” while a fan even shared Adam Silver’s meme quote saying “Get ready to learn Chinese buddy.”

Meanwhile, one fan even scoffed at the idea of Podz being the “Next Klay Thompson” by taking the thought in a different direction, “Yes, I guess. I can see flashes of Klank Thompson from him.” Instead of comparing him to prime KT, the fan compared Podz to the later end of Klay’s time with the Warriors as he too went scoreless in his final game with them.

One fan claimed that this Warriors squad is closer to last year’s team than the one that won the title two years ago. That’s because the starters led by Stephen Curry have done a great job so far, but the second unit led by Brandin Podziemski and other youngsters has not lived up to expectations. “In 21/22 we had (James) Wiseman losing us games, now we have “Podz” doing it.”

Well, the criticism will continue to come Brandin’s way until he proves them wrong by playing like he did last season and showing why the organization trusted him to be a star. Do you think he can end his struggles and change Dub Nation’s mind?