Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski and Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. among NBA sophomores expected to make leaps

AP Basketball Writer

MIAMI (AP) — The first three names last season on the NBA All-Rookie team list were no surprise.

San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 and unanimous rookie of the year, was an obvious lock. So was Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft and rookie-eligible last season because he missed what would have been his first year with injury. And Charlotte’s Brandon Miller, the No. 2 pick in 2023, was an easy call as well.

They all lived up to their billing. The other two first-team All-Rookie picks outperformed their billing.

Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski weren’t even lottery picks — yet there they were on the All-Rookie first team, two players who outperformed their draft spot perhaps more notably than anyone else last season. And as this season gets set to open, Jaquez and Podziemski know they’re going to be asked to play bigger roles for their clubs as a pair of NBA sophomores poised to take significant leaps forward.

“During the pre-draft process, I told all the GMs and all the front offices that interviewed me that in the re-draft I would go top-five,” Podziemski said. “Some of them looked at me crazy and some of them believed me. And I think being a first-team All-Rookie member, I think that kind of solidifies what I was saying.”

The voting after last season made that clear. There were 99 ballots cast by a panel of reporters and broadcasters who cover the league as part of the NBA’s award selection process; in the All-Rookie race, Wembanyama, Holmgren and Jaquez appeared on all 99. Miller was on 98, Podziemski on 97.

It’s fitting that Jaquez and Podziemski ended up on the All-Rookie team together, because they were together plenty along the way. They were drafted back-to-back in 2023 — Jaquez. at 18, Podziemski at 19. Both were West Coast kids out of college — Jaquez at UCLA, Podziemski at Santa Clara. They worked out together heading into their rookie NBA seasons. And both were picked to be part of USA Basketball’s Select Team this summer, part of the group that was tasked to get the senior national team ready to win gold at the Paris Olympics.

“I don’t look at draft position as a make-or-break type of thing. No matter where you get drafted, you’ve got to go out and play,” Jaquez said. “A lot of that has to do with fit. Some guys like other guys better. Myself and Podz, I had a lot of workouts with him and I knew that he was going to be a problem coming into this league.

“Both of us just have a lot of experience playing basketball and have very sound games and understand the game of basketball at a very high level. And I think that we’ll just kind of use that to our advantage going into this year.”

The Heat and Warriors both hope that plan pays off. Jaquez. was fifth in total points and third in steals among rookies last season, while Podziemski was third among rookies in total rebounds (no small feat considering only Holmgren and Wembanyama were ahead of him) and fourth in assists.

Plus, both will be tasked with picking up some of the slack created by departures. Golden State saw four-time champion Klay Thompson leave over the summer for Dallas, and Miami lost Caleb Martin in free agency to Philadelphia.

More is expected. What that means, only time will tell.

“The rate that that growth happens, it varies for everyone,” Golden State forward Draymond Green said. “Steph Curry’s biggest level of growth probably game between Years 4 and 5; like, that’s when he started to really become Steph Curry. LeBron James was an All-Star in Year 2.

“You look at where the two are today, I don’t think you would guess that one was like that in Year 2 and one of them became that in Year 5 or Year 6,” Green added. “But that’s just kind of how the cookie crumbles sometimes because it’s not a direct science.”

Wembanyama is already the star of the Spurs, expected to lead the team back into the playoff mix at some point. Holmgren is a huge part of a team in Oklahoma City that has an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and is already considered a true title contender. Miller seems like the cornerstone of what Charlotte will try to rebuild.

Jaquez and Podziemski aren’t in that face-of-a-franchise space yet. For now, they’re just looking to grow – which is all the Heat and Warriors asked.

“I think an area that I can really improve on is just being very sound when it comes to my defense,” Jaquez said. “Not doing too much, just making sure that I’m making it as tough a shot as possible or making them get rid of the ball.”

Along with Jaquez and Podziemski, there are other NBA sophomores – other than Wembanyama, who’ll likely find his way into MVP and defensive player of the year conversations this season – expected to make jumps.

Among them: Portland’s Scoot Henderson, Dallas’ Dereck Lively II and Utah’s Keyonte George. It’s a big leap from Year 1 to Year 2, and Podziemski is feeling comfortable about that.

“I think I know what’s expected of me,” Podziemski said. “I think I know what the league is. I think I know just what my teammates expect of me and think of me. So just going in there with that mindset of I know what I’m supposed to do, I’m not trying to just find my way around like last year.”

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA