👇timestamped transcript (better than YouTube’s auto-generated one, tap More or scroll down) … PREVIOUS Q&A: Gui/Dario    • GUI SANTOS quickness, lateral movemen...   … PREVIOUS VIDEO: Valkyries    • Golden State Valkyries branding: new ...   … MORE PODZIEMSKI:    • Brandin Podziemski ✌️ aka “BP” or “BP...   … MORE PLAYLISTS: https://youtube.com/letsgowarriors/pl...

NOTE: Video enhanced by LGW to hear all of the reporters’ questions.

[👇see Comments for entirety of timestamps/transcript👇]

TRUNCATED TIMESTAMPS/TRANSCRIPT:

0:00 Brandin, congratulations. How did you find out the news and what was your reaction?

BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI AFTER BEING NAMED TO FIRST-TEAM ALL-ROOKIE: “Found out, watched the video that Raymond showed me and Steve Nash gave me a shout out. So it was pretty cool.”

What does this honor mean to you?

“It means a lot. In the off season, you think about your journey, where you came from, what steps it took to get here. Being a 19th pick in an organization where not a lot of rookies get to play, and ending up on first team all-rookie, it's a credit to my work ethic, but also to my teammates and the coaches in the front office for providing the opportunity. And then me just taking full advantage of it, it means a lot. It's something that I had on a goal list of mine coming into the year. And I got to check that box. So it's a pretty cool feeling to be a rookie one time.”

0:57 In reflecting on your journey, what are some areas where you think you grew the most this year as a rookie?

“Yeah, I think my leadership role within the team increased. As a rookie in an organization like this, you come in and you want to listen and learn. And then you kind of take what you can from that and try to apply it. And for me being a natural leader, I think towards the end of the season, I was able to apply it more. And yeah I think it just gave him more confidence, not only on the court, but off the floor, talking to teammates and stuff like that.”

1:32 You talked about your journey, going back to Illinois. I mean, it's a pretty good rise, obviously from Illinois to here, but when you think back on that one season where, you didn't play much at all, how much of that experience kind of led you or pushed you to where you are now?

“Yeah, it helped me a lot. I was actually talking to my high school coach about it yesterday. And I just told him, he's like, ‘How did you handle that?’ And for me, it was kind of like, obviously you control the controllables, that's a given, but I just used it as an extended summer for myself. I wasn't playing from November through March when our season ended. So I used that as an extended summer to work on my game, get better, compete against the first-team guys. And it gave me a chip on my shoulder because the first couple of games I didn't play there, I really questioned my ability. Was I good enough to play? So I really had to think about that and if it was really something I wanted to do to push through it. And I did because I love the game and here we are today, two years later from actually when I transferred from Illinois. So it's been a pretty cool ride to see where I've grown, developed, what I've become, as a person, as a man, as a player, and my goal is just to continue to get better and see where things take me.”

2:55 You've discussed this before about why you ended up at Santa Clara there, but that year that you spent there, how big was that as sort of an in-between time between Illinois and getting here?

“Yeah, it was a very critical year. It was nice to be welcomed and loved by the coaching staff and entrusted with a heavy position on a team. They can say it's mid-major or not, but through this year I proved it doesn't matter where you come from. And that year was just really good for me. Herb and the staff came to me right when I hit the portal and had a vision for me that I may have not even saw myself. So, to get that opportunity after playing four minutes a game at Illinois and them saying, ‘We just want you to do what Jalen (Williams) just did, and that gave me the most confidence and me being a confident person already. I think I just took that and took full advantage of the opportunity.”

[👇see Comments for entirety of timestamps/transcript👇]

MORE TRANSCRIPTS ON OUR WEBSITE: https://www.letsgowarriors.com

#Warriors #BrandinPodziemski #JalenBrunson