In a press‑conference style interview, Warriors forward Gui Santos reflects on the team’s recent road trip, the importance of playing at a fast pace, and how the Warriors’ ball‑movement system differs from more physical, paint‑focused teams. He recounts his personal evolution from a point guard in Brazil, through a year in the G League, to becoming a regular starter for Golden State, emphasizing patience and adapting his game to fit the Warriors’ system. Santos explains how injuries to teammates like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, and Jimmy Butler have opened up space for him to showcase his playmaking abilities, and he expresses enthusiasm for handling the ball, dishing assists, and contributing as a hybrid guard/forward. He acknowledges the supportive role of the coaching staff and the return of trainer Rick Celebrini. When asked about facing NBA superstars, Santos notes that early in his career he felt starstruck by players like Luka Dončić and LeBron James, but now views them through a scouting lens. He describes Luka’s blend of shooting, passing, and physicality as a defensive nightmare. Finally, Santos touches on the upcoming game against the Lakers, considering the ramifications of a win or loss for both teams.
Chapters
Hey, Gui Santos, what did you guys kind of go over today?
We went a little bit from the last two games that we had, some good and bad stuff that we did. We, of course, went over some stuff that we got to do tomorrow against the Lakers, and yeah, it was basically that.
What were some of the takeaways from that quick road trip?
I think it's most The way that we play, like when we play with pace, is a whole different game. You know, when we play moving the ball, everybody running around for each other, it's just such a different game for us when we do that, you know. And when we don't move the ball side to side and trying to get into the paint, a lot of like athletic teams like New Orleans, that was kind of tougher for us, but we're going to figure that out.
I don't know if you got to see Chris Daps practice at all, but if you did, how did he kind of look?
He was good. Yeah, he was good. He was out there with us today. You know, like, he's always like looking very, very, very nice on the court, so yeah.
Gui, we've watched you over these years, last few years, kind of go from when you first got drafted here and G League time, and now you're in the starting lineup a lot. What do you look back on and say, okay, how did you get here, I guess is what I'm asking. The road to getting to this point.
Man, I think the key word for that is patience. Patience, you know, like, 'cause when I got here, I was a point guard. Playing back in Brazil was like playing as a point guard, you know, having the ball in my hand. Then I spent the whole year in the G League just learning how to fit in the system here, you know. 'Cause my goal, I always go like, My goal always was playing in the NBA, play for the Warriors. And what I asked him, like, what I gotta do to do that? They say like, all right, we're gonna give you the way. Like, you gotta play hard on defense. You gotta be crashing the boards all the time. And you just gotta find Steph. It's easy. So I said, all right, I'm doing that. I'm doing that. So I was just working on that in my first couple years. You know, and I think this last season right now, like, has been the best, like, of myself, you know. It's kind of like what I was doing before I got here because I had to change my game a little bit to fit in the system. And I think that's what a lot of players struggle with, you know, because it's hard. It's not easy just like, all right, I've been a point guard my whole life. Now I'm going to be a 4, you know. Sometimes I was playing 5 in the G League and— 5. I just like keep going, keep going, and the coaches here, the staff, the organization, they always nice with me. They always help me with everything that I need. And right now they giving me the option, the opportunity to show a little bit more to, you know, like because all that happened, Jimmy, we lost Jimmy during the season. Now we don't have Steph. Chris Ups was like out for a couple games, Raymond. And that's open a little more space to show a little bit more what you can do. And I'm glad they still like trusting me for all these papers during the whole you know, during this whole path to the NBA.
When you have the ball though, you can see, we're starting to see more of that point guard skills, you know, as far as passing the ball, getting 5 and 6 assists and so forth. Are you enjoying that part of it?
Man, I'm loving it. Yeah, I'm loving it, you know, because it is, it's like, not that I don't like the other part, you know, I love to just be in the NBA floor, but when you're in the NBA floor and you got the little, like, bit more freedom to, you know, like, find teammates and either go to the basket and do all that, that give you so much more like joy to play, you know. So I really love it, the momentum. Then of course we know when we had Steph and Kristaps that we're gonna be a lot of different, you know, but we still having a great team. Everybody been playing together, everybody been playing well. In the last couple games we have a lot of players score more than 10 points, you know. So that's one big, that's a big step for us right now.
Rick is back from Milan.
Did you guys feel his absence in the training room, or was it pretty seamless?
For who? Rick Celebrini.
Rick? Oh, yes. He just back today, so that was good to see him. Of course, Rick is a nice guy, you know. Ricky's always joking around, the best what he does. So we missed him, and now he's back with us. I am not from USA, but I guess everybody that is from USA is probably talking something to hinder. I was not watching that.
Sir, everything you've gone through to get here and play here now, I know you're worried about your own thing, but is there any element of, I don't know, being starstruck or whatever when you're going to step on the court as like Luka and LeBron James, do you take that moment to say, wow?
I think I feel that more in my first years. Right now, of course, you respect them for all they've been doing and all they did, you know, so, but it's a different feeling. First, when I got here in the league, my first year, I was in the court just like, damn, that's Luka, that's LeBron, you know, all these guys. But right now you see them like, oh, right now I'm not thinking about that's him, or I'm just thinking like, oh, he does that, that one does another thing. Like, so it's more like kind of like a scout vision than more than, you know, like a fan vision.
When you look at Luka, what makes him so tough to defend?
Ah, man, the, like, the fact that he can stop and go, you know, all the time. The, like, he knows how to use his body. He's a great passer at the same time that he's a good shooter. He's a good driver, so he can do everything on the court. So that's what makes it really, really tough to guard him.
Are you at the point now where you're looking at this game and seeing, all right, what are the ramifications if we win, if we lose, and for the Lakers too?
Yeah, we definitely like watching that because we know how important it is for us, each victory right now. Doesn't matter, you know, if it's against who we're playing, but specifically Lakers, we know they're like ahead of us, a couple games ahead of us, so that's an important matchup for us. All right.
