SAN FRANCISCO – Warriors guard Cory Joseph practiced Wednesday for the first time since sustaining a lower back lumbar strain over the summer that also held him out of suiting up for Canada in the FIBA World Cup.
Joseph doesn’t know what exactly caused the injury, remembering his hips feeling tight and out of place and certain movements made his back spasm. The Warriors had a light day of practice Wednesday and didn’t scrimmage, but Joseph was able to go through all shooting and defensive drills and 5-on-0 work. Everything the Warriors did, Joseph participated in and he was happy with how he felt physically.
“It feels great to be back on the court,” Joseph said. “Making good progress, which I’m happy about. Just got to continue to keep going.”
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The veteran point guard is entering his 13th NBA season and perfectly fit what the Warriors were trying to find in the offseason: Smart, high-IQ players.
Joseph, 32, ranked eighth in the NBA last season with a 3.9 assist-to-turnover ratio as a member of the Detroit Pistons. In 62 games, Joseph averaged 3.5 assists and 0.9 turnovers while playing 19.8 minutes per game. He has averaged 3.0 assists and only 1.0 turnovers per game for his career, and never has averaged more than 1.4 turnover per game.
For a team that led the league in assists per game last season -- but also turnover per game -- Joseph’s style is welcomed by the Warriors. So is his leadership and story of his career thus far.
The start to Joseph’s career mirrors that of Warriors rookie guard Brandin Podziemski. Joseph was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft at 20 years old after only one year in college. Podziemski, 20, played one full season in college before being taken by the Warriors in the first round of the 2023 draft.
Golden State Warriors
In San Antonio, Joseph could lean on Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich, as well as Hall of Fame players Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, plus star point Tony Parker and even T.J. Ford, who was in the final year of his career when Joseph arrived in San Antonio. Podziemski can always ask questions and rely on answers from coach Steve Kerr, who will one day be in the Hall of Fame and won two rings himself under Popovich, as well as a plethora of future Hall of Fame players in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Chris Paul.
Joseph is part of that mentorship group, too.
"Cory's just a great human being, a great teammate,” Kerr said. “He's been through what Brandin has gone through already. As a rookie in San Antonio, one year college, he had a lot to learn. That was a great place to go, to be coached by Pop, play with that group. He can recount those experiences to Brandin and Brandin can relate to that.”
Watching from the bench in street clothes, Joseph saw first-hand how Podziemski was able to take lessons and turn them into production in his NBA preseason debut. Podziemski played 26 minutes off the bench Saturday in the Warriors’ 125-108 win against the Los Angeles Lakers and put up 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.
“He’s having a great camp so far,” Joseph said. “He’s doing really well, everything he’s supposed to be doing plus more. Just talking to him through my experience, when I was with San Antonio it’s kind of similar to this program right now.
“I’m just trying to whenever I see something, speak up and likewise. We got that open dialogue. If he sees something, he speaks up to me. He’s been having a great camp.”
There will be times this season where Joseph will be a crucial part to the Warriors’ success, especially in cases where Curry or Paul are needing rest, or in the case either one misses time to an injury.
There also will be a handful of games where Joseph is relegated to the bench for the entirety of the game. Either way, Kerr knows Joseph's impact will be felt by the Warriors.
“Cory's just rock solid, whether he's playing or in a reserve role, he's going to be a really important member of the team because he's always pulling for the team,” Kerr said.
Neither Kerr nor Joseph could confirm if he’s expected to play Friday night in the Warriors’ second preseason game against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. A few more boxes needed to be checked, but a big one was marked off on Wednesday.