In this Warriors Sound Podcast episode, host SPEAKER A interviews NBA rookie Brandin Podziemski to give fans a personal look beyond his on‑court performance. The conversation covers a wide range of topics: how Brandin spends his time on long road trips (mostly chilling in the hotel, watching Netflix and other NBA games), his unconventional basketball path from high‑school standout in Wisconsin to a transfer at Santa Clara and finally to the Golden State Warriors, and the "chip on his shoulder" that fuels his manic intensity. He reflects on being named to the All‑Rookie First Team despite being the 19th overall pick, and shares light‑hearted personal details such as his favorite food (steak and salad), music (Gunna), and celebrity crush (Rihanna). Brandin also discusses his multi‑sport background—playing wide receiver and safety in football, excelling in baseball, and even taking batting practice with the Giants and Brewers—highlighting how those experiences shaped his work ethic. He talks about his signature defensive play of drawing charges, his family’s supportive but basketball‑novice perspective, and his observations on teammates’ family lives. The interview touches on fan engagement (kids dressing like his hair), his recent Europe trip that included the Paris Olympics, and which teammate (Gary Payton II) would best fit on a guys’ trip. Finally, he emphasizes the joy of playing basketball as “no homework” and urges young listeners to stay in school and get an education.
Chapters
Throughout the season on the Warriors YouTube channel, we wanna let you get to know the different Warriors, not just stats and basketball and highlights, but who they are as guys and people. And so we start this one off with Brandin Podziemski. What do you do on road trips? When you're on long road trips, how does Brandin Podziemski kill time?
Uh, I definitely just chill in my hotel room. Uh, like to watch Netflix for sure, big Netflix guy. Um, watch other NBA games that are on, especially on off days. Um, but yeah, I don't really leave the hotel much.
High school, freshman year, you end up switching and become Mr. Wisconsin in basketball. College, freshman year, end up transferring to Santa Clara. What's wrong with these teams that don't realize you can play as a freshman and then you show out when you move?
Yeah, I mean, every step of my journey, when I first started somewhere, I didn't get the opportunity that I would have liked. And so switching was to my benefit, and coming into the Warriors, I thought it was kind of going to be the same story and not play my rookie year. But I think it turned out for the best, and I'm glad this step is the step that kind of switched that for me.
Does that kind of chip on your shoulder fuel you? Is that why you play with that kind of manic intensity all the time?
Yeah, I do think so. I think a lot of things The reason why I do it is, you know, not only to prove people wrong, but to prove myself right, that I am worthy of what I'm getting. And so, you know, every time I go out there, I just try to, you know, prove to people that I belong here.
Given that, how, just how good did it feel to be All-Rookie First Team after high school, college, and like, all right, this is the league. I'm drafted 19th, but I was First Team All-Rookie.
Felt good. There's only 5 people that make it. And so for me, just looking from our draft class, You know, I was the 19th pick, and so only 5 of us made it, and I was the lowest out of the 5 that made that team. So you could say that I should have been drafted higher than I was, but it just felt good because everything that you've put into it your whole year, on the back end to get first-team All-Rookie meant a lot.
All right, so let's check a few boxes here. Can you sing?
No.
Can you dance?
Sometimes.
Sometimes. Favorite food?
Steak.
Really? Italian or anything like that, or just all— you're going steak and potato guy?
Steak and salad.
Steak and salad, all right. Favorite music?
Anything by Gunna.
Now, where did that fascination with him start from? I've seen pictures, you've gone to his events. I mean, where was it? As a kid growing up or something, or just—
Yeah, I would say my sophomore year of high school really started to— kind of fall in love with his music. He started becoming popular around 2016-ish, and that's just kind of when I started to fall in love with it and just kind of continued on to this day.
What was it like to meet him?
It was really cool. I was surprised with how short he was. A lot of rappers are very short, but it was cool. He was a super down-to-earth guy. I got to talk to him, you know, for 10, 15 minutes just about everything, and he's just a super cool guy to be around.
A lot of people would be starstruck to meet Steph Curry. Take away the basketball side. Who would you be starstruck to meet, whether it's an actor, actress, politician, business leader? Who would— Brandin Podziemski, man, if I met this guy, it would be something, or gal?
Um, probably Rihanna. Really?
Yeah. Just because of her talent and ability or listening or just her persona? What would it be?
Probably everything, and she's my celebrity crush.
Okay.
So, yeah.
When you look at being a pro athlete and you see different guys that are young and single and then different guys that are dads and have kids, can you imagine your career but then also being a parent at the same time?
Yeah, I think there's different steps of the way. There's different ways to do it. I know Steph had his first kid, I think, when he was 24, maybe. And so just to see the different kind of styles even within our team, the guys that are single, guys that are married, have kids, you know, it's good for me being a young guy to see kind of both worlds, knowing that in the future I want to have kids, just to see how they go about that, how they manage basketball and their family life. So I think for me it's just been good to see you know, every perspective you can get.
High school baseball, football, basketball. What kind of football player was Brandin Podziemski?
Wide receiver and safety. Led the state in touchdowns my junior year as a wide receiver. Just wanted honestly to play football just because I wanted to get tougher and my family was super hesitant on letting me play just because of the injury perspective of it. But I felt like it was something I needed just for my physical toughness, and it worked.
But baseball might've been your best sport, maybe even better than basketball, right?
Yeah, baseball was my sport. It was the sport I only played until 8th grade is when I picked up basketball. And then I played both for a while, and then right before COVID hit, I stopped playing baseball. But it was just something I was naturally gifted at. My dad kind of taught me everything I knew about it. It was one of those things where you could put it down for a while, pick it up, and just be the same player you were before. And I think that harmed me in a way which my work ethic wasn't as strong. And so when I found basketball, I found that I needed to work every day at the game of basketball to make me, you know, better. And I think that's just what drove my work ethic, and that's kind of what keeps me going.
So if you let baseball down, it's not like you could take batting practice in a major league stadium and hit a home run or anything. Could you— oh, you've already done that. That was BP with the Giants, BP with the Brewers. What was that like?
Yeah, it was really fun. Definitely a dream come true for me. Just being able to hit out there was a dream come true. But it was really fun. I had a blast both in Milwaukee and in San Francisco. You know, Giants and Brewers did a good job of hosting me, letting me, you know, kind of live out a dream of mine. But it was really good. My family was super happy to see me do that. Obviously my dad for sure. But it was really good.
A dunk, a 3, or drawing a charge? Which do you like the best?
Probably drawing a charge. I feel like it's just become my staple in the league right now. Just kind of what I'm known for. But the other 2 aren't bad either.
Pods, AirPods, or the Milwaukee Mauler? Which one do you want me and Kalena to throw at you?
Uh, I would say mix in all three just depending on the moment.
The rebound and we gotta go Milwaukee Mallard.
Yeah.
That's a good one. You've told me your mom and dad don't really know basketball. They watch the games, but that's not a sport. Your dad taught you baseball, but in basketball, are they asking you questions in terms of how things are going or are they just supporting you and watching the games?
Yeah, so I'm the only one in my family actually that's ever played basketball. You know, aunts, uncles, cousins, anything like that. I'm the only one. So a lot of my family doesn't really get it, but they're trying to pick it up and learn it as I go. But yeah, there's a lot of questions being asked, just things that kind of sound dumb to you as a basketball player, but you have to understand their perspective and where they're coming from, from it. So it's been good for them to just be super supportive through my journey, but also, you know, want to learn and not just there just to watch the games. They want to understand it too.
Jordan Poole, Tyler Herro, Kevon Looney, Brandin Podziemski. What's in the water in Milwaukee and the surrounding areas producing NBA guys?
Yeah, I don't think it's anything in the water. I think it's more so the chip on the shoulder when it comes to, you know, our talent and Chicago's talent. We're often overlooked with guys from Chicago. And so we just, you know, everybody gets the hype and the limelight from Chicago. I think we just take that a little bit personally and want to show that we're just as capable to produce pros both here and overseas. So I think this is where it comes from.
What do you think about kids wearing your hair as a Halloween costume?
Oh, I love it. I saw a lot of it on social media this past Halloween. It was super cool to see that, but it's just, I guess, using your platform in a positive light and You know, my hair is something that's unique to me, and it's cool to see, you know, little kids and younger generations kind of want to be like BP.
You went over to Europe with your buddies, went to the Paris Olympics. That was going to be kind of a guys' trip, and then you morphed it into a "let's check out the Olympics" trip?
Well, we go on a guys' trip every summer at the end of the summer, and we wanted to go to Paris and London. And we did that, and Olympics was part of that trip. And it was a good experience for me just because I did do the USA stuff early in July. And so to see what it's like for them, that little 6-week period and what that kind of looks like, obviously I want to be a part of the 2028 Olympic team if I can. And so to see what kind of everything goes into that, I think that was needed just for my— [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] my development, and being able to see Steph and Steve at the Olympics and do what they did was super special, and it just makes you, you know, want to do it more for your country.
All right, the annual guys' trip for Brandin Podziemski, which Warrior teammate would fit in best and hang on that trip with your guys?
Oh, probably Gary. Yeah, Gary, probably. You know, he's just like the crazy uncle, we call him. You know, he's always so fun to be around, always joyful, never in a bad mood. And that's kind of what our guys trip is about, just having fun, not really having anything, you know, sort of scheduled every moment of the day. We kind of just go with the flow, and I think that's how Gary is too.
I will finish with, the best part of being an NBA player is?
I told Monty Poole this last year, is no homework. I hated schoolwork during my school time, and basketball is like, you know, they call it work, but it's really just fun for me. And to be able to just— everything you do revolves around basketball is pretty cool to me. And not having to, you know, do math or science is nice too.
All right, finish though telling kids to stay in school and do their homework.
Yes, yes, yes. Stay in school, get your education, and then hopefully if you're good enough, you'll be here too.
