Destined for baseball, Brandin Podziemski had to convince his father to let him play basketball

Guest on the podcast “ The Dinner Table “, Brandin Podziemski was led to talk about the beginnings of his passion for basketball. This came late in life since it was only in middle school that he began to consider this option seriously.

Before that, his father had pushed hard to get him into baseball, until that damn orange ball changed his trajectory. The Warriors guard recalled having to muster up the courage to tell his dad that he was going to bet everything on basketball and quit baseball for good. He was in eighth grade at the time, and that moment clearly had an impact on him.

“It was really hard. My mom is a go-with-the-flow kind of girl. Whatever I want to do, she’ll always tell me, ‘Yeah, that’s good.’ But my dad wanted me to be successful in baseball, to play. That’s something he didn’t get to do, so he wanted me to be successful.”, did he declare. “It was a tough conversation. I remember we were coming back from a tournament in Nashville and I said to him in the car, 'I don't think I want to keep playing baseball. I think basketball is what I love to do right now, and I want to quit baseball.'”

Promise kept

Brandin Podziemski had to hold on, and the future ultimately proved him right considering his journey that then led him to the Warriors, where he integrated Steve Kerr's rotation from his rookie season, ending in the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

“I remember him almost crying because he was like, ‘This can’t be happening. You’re so talented, you’re so good, you’re meant to play baseball.’ But I stuck with it. I was like, ‘If you let me play, I’m going to be a good basketball player.’ Five or six years later, I got drafted, so I just stuck with what I told him.”he added.

It all ended well in the end. The date of June 22, 2023, the evening of the Draft, was a particularly strong moment for the entire Podziemski clan, once again united behind their little prodigy.

“I don't think it was anything he said, it was just tears of joy,” he recalled. “In my whole family, I don’t think anyone has ever played sports, even at the college or high school level. So to be the one in my family that did, and to be able to celebrate with them, to have them all here with me in Brooklyn, was really cool.”.

How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.