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Basketball Aggregated: Yahoo Sports NBA
9 min read • 1 Oct 2026

Warriors training camp takeaways: Podziemski stands out in lively scrimmage

By: Top Tipper
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Warriors training camp takeaways: Podziemski stands out in lively scrimmage originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LAIE, Hawaii – Students of BYU-Hawaii lined up for what felt like miles to get a glimpse of the Warriors’ third day of NBA training camp. 

They, as well as Warriors families and team sponsors, watched from the bleachers at the George Q. Cannon Activities Center. Traveling media members also got their first real look at this season’s squad, and there was a lot to digest. Thursday was the Warriors’ liveliest and most physical scrimmage of training camp, just a few days from Sunday’s preseason opener against the LA Clippers. 

The first sight that stood out was who was wearing which colored jersey. On the floor was a group in blue jerseys, and a group in yellow. The blue group featured Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Yaxel Lendeborg, Draymond Green and Al Horford. Wearing yellow were Brandon Williams, De’Anthony Melton, Gui Santos, Gary Payton II and Georges Niang. 

Warriors coach Steve Kerr confirmed after practice that those wearing blue on Thursday will be his starting five on Sunday. 

“Really good size on the front line,” Kerr first said about what he likes from that five-man lineup. “Good playmaking from obviously Steph and Dray together, but also spacing from Al. All three of those guys – Al, Yaxel and BP – can shoot the three but also make plays. 

“It’s a good, well balanced lineup. The question will be, can we do that opening night given the age of Al and the minutes and all that stuff, who knows. But for now, that’s how we’ll start.” 

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ scrimmage on their third day of training camp, featuring comments from Kerr and Lendeborg. 

Podz Pops

Those who waited in the rain and braced tropical humidity surely were there to see Curry. They saw one 3-pointer go down, a few rattle in and out, a handful of cutting layups fall off the rim and a halfcourt heave barely miss at the buzzer. 

The standout player of the day offensively was Podziemski. There wasn’t a close second. Podziemski looked like the player the Warriors are looking to take another leap in Year 4 as he waits on his second contract. 

“Three days in, he’s had a great camp,” Kerr said. 

Podziemski was loud and vocal defensively and offensively. He was directing traffic with the ball in his hands and found multiple ways to score without hesitation. Podziemski drew four fouls, including two three-point plays, and only missed one free throw. 

On back-to-back possessions, Podziemski got a frustrated Charles Bassey to foul him at the rim. Immediately after getting a whistle called on his teammates for the fourth time, Podziemski blew past Dalen Terry on the run for a layup. 

“That’s what we like about Brandin: His ability to see the game, attack angles and he understands the officiating,” Kerr said. “He can dribble, pass, shoot. You can put him at any spot out of a timeout. Really versatile and obviously crucial to make the whole thing go.” 

His day wasn’t only a display around the rim. Podziemski also hit a step-back three off the dribble and knocked down a buzzer-beating three at the top of the arc after a Curry miss to end the day for the starters. 

“Oh, he’s an elite scorer,” Lendeborg said of Podziemski. “Pretty much every time we’re in a fastbreak drill, he can easily get in there and manipulate the defense, get an and-1, get a couple free throws easily. That’s something I’ve been noticing really, really quickly.” 

Lightning Quick

The Warriors saw up close and personal what a difference-maker Brandon Williams’ speed with the ball in his hands can be last season when he dropped 26 points against them on Christmas and 19 a few weeks later. Watching him during Thursday’s scrimmage was quite the reminder.

Williams was blowing by defenders and getting into the teeth of the defense as a playmaker. He dropped dimes to Bassey and Santos, and used his speed cutting to the hoop for layups. That’s a huge part of the Warriors’ new 5-out offense, too. 

All five players are aligned around the 3-point line: One at the top, two on the wings and two in the corners. The concept doesn’t call for all five to chuck threes. The goal is to get organized and put the defense at a disadvantage. 

Just look at his movement here as one example. 

Williams’ speed also will be key to the Warriors getting out in transition. When Williams caught an errant pass by Curry, he zoomed down the court in three dribbles and found Santos with a bounce pass for a layup.

He’s quick as a hiccup, and the Warriors badly needed a new wrinkle. 

Learning Curve 

Bringing in new concepts means teaching moments and adjustments for youngsters and veterans alike. Within the first minute or two of watching practice, a spirited Kerr walked on the court and yelled, “What the f–k are we doing?! Wake the f–k up!” to his starters. Message received. 

There were moments where Curry went to run baseline and yelled “Ahh!” as the spacing was wrong. Even he has to rewire his brain to make everything eventually come second nature. So does his longest-tenured teammate. 

Kerr has preached how he wants Green to shoot more, and the pass-first forward has been very receptive to the idea. Yet on Thursday, at least in the moments the media was let in, Green didn’t shoot once. Not a layup, not a runner, not a jumper and not a three. Green didn’t pass shots up, but he didn’t let it fly. 

“We’re really still chaotic offensively, so we’re nowhere close to where we will be,” Kerr said. “I think the biggest adjustment offensively will come for Draymond, Gary, even for Steph, because we are putting such an emphasis on being better spaced, better organized, playing less out of chaos. 

“Steph and Draymond have been here for 12 years, doing things a certain way. We’re asking them to do some different things, so bigger adjustment for them. But once once we’re through these first couple of weeks, I think it’s all going to make a lot of sense because the whole thing is designed for us to still do the things we do best: The ball movement, the spacing, split cuts, high pick and roll, but with much more emphasis on our organization. We have to get organized before we get to that stuff, and that’s what we’re working on.” 

Of course, Lendeborg also will go through a handful of learning curves too. His physicality and length on the wing was hard to miss offensively. As was his ability to stretch the floor at his size. 

But defensively, Lendeborg is going to be thrown into the fire. Georges Niang hit two corner threes on Green, and the second was a coaching moment for the rookie. Green instantly started talking to him about where he should have been. So did Kerr, assistant coach Anthony Vereen and others. 

Once the starters were done, Lendeborg, Green and Vereen all sat together. Even from a distance, it was clear Green and Vereen had a lot to go over with Lendeborg, who was attentive as could be. 

“I was talking to Draymond a little bit later on after the scrimmage and stuff, and he was telling me, ‘I need to be a lot more aggressive this year,’” Lendeborg explained. “Just having the confidence to believe in myself and go out there and make the extra play, and not always worry about being a playmaker.” 

Through the ups and downs of a rookie year, Lendeborg is guaranteed to be a breath of fresh air. 

That was evident as ever when reporters, not coaches, were the ones to break the news to him that the group he was part of will be the starters on Sunday. 

“That’s going to be the starting lineup?” Lendeborg replied. “Oh god damn, that’s got me nervous man. No, it’s definitely going to be nice for me to be able to play with them in my first game, learn so much, because I feel like I was a little bit sloppy today. It’s definitely going to be something where I can keep asking questions in live action play, which will definitely help me out a lot more going forward.”

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