Klay Thompson isn't on the Warriors anymore, but Brandin Podziemski has a teammate in the Splash Brother for life.
Just a couple of weeks after Thompson joined the Dallas Mavericks in free agency, Podziemski recalled the veteran's impact on his rookie Golden State season in an interview with NBA TV’s Chris Haynes during the Warriors' 80-83 Summer League win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday in Las Vegas.
"It meant a lot," Podziemski told Haynes of Thompson's mentorship during the 2023-24 NBA season. "It's something you can't just go on Google or go on YouTube and search up when you get advice from someone like that. And so for me, just appreciating his presence, appreciating everything he shared with me from an on-court and off-court perspective.
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"Getting a call from him a couple of days ago, and him telling me I'll always have a brother in him for life is pretty cool. We can't wait to go against him and compete against him when we play Dallas."
As the Warriors' first-round pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, Podziemski benefitted from just one season playing alongside Thompson with Golden State. Thompson's advice to Podziemski throughout his first NBA campaign helped him earn All-Rookie First Team honors, and it's clear the relationship between them remained strong even as the youngster replaced the four-time champion in the starting lineup.
Now, the second-year guard will look to fill the shooting void left by Thompson's departure, along with the exit of veteran point guard Chris Paul, who joined the San Antonio Spurs on a one-year contract after being waived by the Warriors.
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And even though they've gone from teammates to Western Conference adversaries, it's clear there's no contract that can break the friendship between Podziemski and Thompson.
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