Golden State Warriors Starting to Lean on Recent NBA Draft Acquisitions

Golden State is starting to rely on their young prospects more as they get further in the 2023-24 NBA regular season.

While the Golden State Warriors likely haven’t gotten off to the start they’d hoped for, they may have found a silver lining.

With some of their former championship core out or seeing shooting percentages dip, they’ve finally begun to rely on some of their younger players to carry the load.

It’s been a long time coming for head coach Steve Kerr and co., who typically don’t reach deep into the roster on a nightly basis.

Perhaps the most impactful has been Jonathan Kuminga, who was taken No. 7 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. To this point, the former Ignite prospect has had a bit of a tumultuous career. But the year three turnaround seems to be real.

On the season, Kuminga is averaging 12.5 points on 50% shooting — good for third on the entire team — and he’s come alive of late. In his last eight games, he’s averaged just shy of 16 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 58% overall and 44% from beyond the arc.

Moses Moody, who was taken just a few spots later in the very same draft, has also been a contributor this season, averaging 18.8 minutes and 8.4 points per contest.

Finally, Golden State has finally started to lean on its two rookies — Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis — in the second unit.

Podziemski has been a revelation impact-wise so far this season, totaling 8.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in just 22.3 minutes off the bench. Overall, he’s shot 46% in slowly working his way into consistent playing time.

Jackson-Davis, a collegiate supernova over the last few years, has only recently become a mainstay in the rotation. He’s averaged just 10.7 minutes per game on the year, but in his last four has scored 11.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 22.0 minutes per game.

No matter how this season shakes out for Golden State, they’ve at least armed themselves with young talent that can potentially propel them into a new era, should they choose.

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