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Podziemski-Melton bond perfectly portrays new Warriors vibe originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
HONOLULU, Hawaii – As warmups were ending ahead of their first preseason game together as teammates, two Warriors competing to be in the starting lineup embraced. Brandin Podziemski turned around to De’Anthony Melton in the layup line and opened his arms out wide before the two smiled, laughed and shared a big hug.
About an hour and a half earlier, after days of keeping his lips sealed and refusing to reveal his plans, coach Steve Kerr finally told reporters that Melton would start alongside Steph Curry in the backcourt, also sharing the floor with Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
The pregame moment between teammates was a reflection of what a week away in Hawaii was all about, as well as time spent together at Chase Center leading up to training camp. Bonding was a requirement and chemistry had quickly taken shape.
Podziemski and Melton on paper could have formed bad blood battling for the same spot. As a rookie, Podziemski was the one who replaced Klay Thompson in the starting lineup and has been propped as an up-and-coming face of the franchise. Melton was wooed by the Warriors, using the mid-level exception by waiving Chris Paul and signing the combo guard to a one-year, $12.8 million contract. The front office wasn’t shy in hiding how much they coveted him, both to Melton and amongst each other.
Now, he’s the first to be Curry’s new backcourt mate for the 2024-25 NBA season, along with a nickname from Podziemski he laughs at while still trying to figure out his reasoning.
“That’s my dog,” Melton says of Podziemski. “He calls me OG, but I’m not that old, so I don’t know about that. But that’s my dog. We actually chop it up a good amount. We just pick each other’s brains, see what’s going on and I like being around him.”
In the locker room after the Warriors’ buzzer-beating 91-90 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the never-shy 21-year-old Podziemski explained his thoughts behind his OG of a 26-year-old Melton.
“I call De’Anthony OG because he looks…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/podziemski-melton-bond-perfectly-portrays-173520842.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-10-06 17:35:20
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