Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski gives injury scare less than 4 minutes into season debut

SAN FRANCISCO — Brandin Podziemski gave the Warriors a scare early in his season debut.

Less than four minutes into the Warriors’ home opener Friday night, their most durable player from a season ago was in visible pain, laying prone on the hardwood beneath the Grizzlies’ basket.

Podziemski, who missed the Warriors’ season opener with a sore back, took a hard fall — and a blow to the face from Memphis center Zach Edey — on a drive into the lane and remained on the floor while the game continued at the other end.

Brandin Podziemski went to the locker room after Zach Edey appeared to hit him on the head pic.twitter.com/uunqOyl0C4

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 24, 2026

Podziemski immediately retreated to the Warriors’ locker room at the next stoppage of play and re-emerged a short while later with a heating pad wrapped around his lower back.

However, it didn’t take long for the fourth-year guard to assuage any concerns about his health.

Podziemski re-entered the game, to relieved cheers from the sold-out Chase Center crowd, with 1:06 left in the quarter, intercepted a pass from former teammate Quinten Post and scored the Warriors’ final two buckets of the period.

He finished with 18 points, including a team-high nine in the opening quarter despite his brief detour to the locker room. However, he missed 11 of his final 14 shots from the field after starting 4-for-4.

Golden State Warriors player Brandin Podziemski warms up before a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center in San Francisco, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images

Needless to say, it hasn’t exactly been an auspicious start to the season for one of 18 players around the NBA to appear in all 82 games last season. Podziemski said afterward that he would also sit out Saturday night against the Suns in the second half of the Warriors’ first of 15 back-to-backs.

Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara, left, reaches for the ball as Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski dribbles during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu