As a rookie, Brandin Podziemski brings a veteran disposition to a more-experienced Warriors team.
And at just 20 years old, the guard out of Santa Clara University already is offering sound advice to Golden State superstar Steph Curry.
On the latest episode of “Dubs Talk” with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole and Dalton Johnson, Podziemski explained what James Harden-esque technique he jokingly tells Curry to utilize on a game-by-game basis.
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“I tell Steph [Curry] all the time,” Podziemski shared with Johnson and Poole. “If he played more like [Harden], he could average 40 points a night because he would shoot 15 to 20 free throws every night, along with the shots he already makes, which are very high-skill.”
Podziemski playfully described how NBA stars, specifically Harden, masterfully draw foul calls from officials who are likely to blow their whistles for basketball’s best players.
And Curry, averaging 27.9 points per game and 5.9 free-throw attempts per game, could benefit from more trips to the charity stripe.
Podziemski also revealed his welcome-to-the-NBA moment: Adjusting to treatment from refs that's different than the game's big-name players, such as Harden and other Clippers.
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“If I’ve had one [welcome-to-the-league moment], I will say dealing with the referees,” Podziemski told Johnson and Poole. “The foul that I got called on Kawhi [Leonard] at home. [Los Angeles] challenged it and obviously we won it because it wasn’t even remotely close. But just to see, like, ‘Wow, that’s the type of calls [stars] get, that was not even close,’ it’s something cool.”
But, instead of wishing for fair whistles across the board, Podziemski wants to earn lucrative whistles as an NBA star instead.
“To see, like, ‘OK, maybe if I can get to that level, now I can start getting calls," Podziemski said. "Or the little stuff James Harden does when he comes off screens or when he bumps you and that’s how [stars] get those calls. It just makes me more hungry to get better and to get to that level.”
So far in his young career, Podziemski is averaging 8.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
While the rookie has a long way to go before earning foul calls like Harden, Podziemski is on the right track.