Warriors' Brandin Podziemski gets new contract update before matchup vs. Bucks

For a franchise whose immediate future had become a massive area of concern over the past few NBA seasons, the Golden State Warriors' next generation of difference-makers have showed out to begin the 2025-26 campaign.

The Warriors' young trio of Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski continue to provide valuable contributions on both ends of the floor for a Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler-led group with serious title aspirations, and the organization has started to show their appreciation to the rising talents.

Specifically, Golden State's front office recently decided to express their confidence in the latter of the trio by making an important decision with regard to Podziemski's contract.

"Warriors announce they've exercised the fourth-year team option on Brandin Podziemski," The San Francisco Standard's Danny Emerman shared via X/Twitter on Thursday.

"Basically a formality given how productive he's been. Podziemski, 22, will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension this upcoming summer."

It's hard not to agree with Emerman that it was a given for Golden State's general manager Mike Dunleavy to make this decision despite Podziemski's streaky shooting.

In five appearances and three starts for the Warriors in 2025-26, the 6-foot-5 combo-guard has contributed 12.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals while knocking down a blistering 42.3% of his 5.2 three-point attempts, proving to be a suitable backcourt partner for their future Hall of Famer, Curry.

The third-year shooting guard's latest opportunity to earn even more favor from the Warriors' head coach Steve Kerr came in a dominant 98-79 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, an outing in which he poured in 12 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished four assists in 26 minutes of action, netting a +10 in the plus-minus department.

Podziemski's patient offensive style and veteran-like poise are just a few of the qualities that led to Golden State exercising their fourth-year option on the young guard.

To pair with his calm demeanor on the offensive end, the 2024 All-Rookie First Team selection is a gritty, first-guy-to-the-floor hustler with fantastic rebounding prowess and a proven ability to step in and draw charges.

Due in large part to his hard-working mindset and defensive activity, he will likely remain a part of the Warriors' plans for the foreseeable future.

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