“I would never have guessed it, his rookie year, he was lost”- Steve Kerr amazed by Poole's work ethic
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is amazed by Jordan Poole's rise in the NBA. Poole started off his career on a disastrous note and was then sent down to the Warriors G-League affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors.
However, Poole scratched and klawed his way back to their main roster, showing a remarkable amount of growth in his game. Over the course of the year, Poole has shown a lot of improvement in his game. While his decision-making on the court was once termed as a laughing stock, Poole is now one of the better on-ball guards in the entire league.
Poole averaged 12.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in the 2020-21 regular season. The young guard then took a jump last season and finished with 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been in the league for a long time. Kerr won 5 NBA championships during his playing days and went on to fulfill various possible roles in the league. Kerr has been a commentator, front-office manager and head coach during his long career.
Hence, Kerr's words will boast Poole's confidence even more as the Warriors begin their championship defense.
Steve Kerr on Poole's rise: "I never would have guessed it. His rookie year, he was lost.."
Kerr commended Poole's work ethic that led him to this contract.
The Warriors will look to begin their championship defense on a proper note after a drama-filled off-season. Poole's altercation with teammate Draymond Green has made headlines for a while now after the latter sucker-punched his younger teammate. With a lot of contract-extensions on the table for the Warriors, there might be a lot of drama in the organization as the season gets underway.
Jordan Poole’s amazing development after ‘lost’ rookie season
In the 2019 NBA draft, Jordan Poole was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 28th overall draft pick. However, the rookie was then sent to Warriors G-League affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors in December 2019. It took him a year to come back up to the Warriors main roster. With Klay Thompson out injured, Poole grabbed his chance and continued to cement his spot in the Warriors' rotation.
When the 2021-22 NBA season started, Poole became the Warriors' starting shooting guard. With Klay Thompson on the sidelines recovering from his Achilles injury, Poole became their go-to bucket-getter in non-Steph minutes during the regular season.
Once Klay returned from his injuries, Poole was slotted back into the reserve role. However, Poole made the most out of his role yet again and played a crucial role enroute to Golden State's championship run in 2022. Poole was also part of the Warriors' death lineup in the playoffs alongside Curry, Thompson, Green and Wiggins. This showed the franchise's faith in the youngster as he played a lot of important minutes during the playoff run.
Poole was a starter in their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets as Steph Curry came off the bench after returning from an injury. Poole had some amazing moments in the playoffs but will look to be more consistent heading into the new season. With Klay Thompson getting older by the day, Poole might be asked to carry a bigger load in the regular season this time around. Poole is expected to be in the race for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award as well.