Skip to content

Warriors rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. Reveals NBA Role Models

Patrick Baldwin Jr. of the Golden State Warriors.

Getty

Patrick Baldwin Jr. of the Golden State Warriors.

Over the past few seasons, the Golden State Warriors have gone on quite the journey. Due to brutal injuries to Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, they went through a bit of a rebuild, and in the end, it worked out well for them, as they have a great mix of veteran talent and young talent.

Now, alongside the Big 3 of Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green, they have youngsters such as Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman, and Jordan Poole. And even this offseason, they were able to add even more young talent to the roster.

One of their new rookies, Patrick Baldwin Jr., recently spoke with Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area on the Dubs Talk podcast about his upcoming season. When asked about which NBA players he is trying to model his game after, he mentioned multiple former Warriors, Kevin Durant and Otto Porter Jr., in his response.

“As you know, the game has changed a lot. I like to watch [Kevin Durant]I like to watch Khris Middleton, I like to watch [Jayson Tatum]. I’m watching Otto Porter Jr., Michael Porter Jr. — guys that I think have roles that I can fill some day.

“It’s just important to be multifaceted and learn from everybody,” Baldwin said.


Biggest threats to dethrone Warriors; Exclusive interview with Patrick Baldwin Jr. | Dubs TalkPatrick Baldwin Jr. joins Dalton Johnson on this episode of Dubs Talk to discuss his reaction to being drafted by the Warriors, who he is looking forward to playing against and the part of his game he hopes to grow. Plus, NBC Sports’ Tom Dierberger stops by to share his biggest threats to dethrone the…2022-08-24T18:40:24Z

Golden State selected Baldwin in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft with the 28th overall pick. The rookie also spoke about what he’s working on with the Warriors.

Baldwin: ‘A Complete Offensive Team Player’

Although he’s only been with the Warriors for a couple of months, the team has already started working with him on specific areas of his game. Baldwin said that Golden State is trying to help him improve as a movement shooter and decision-maker.

“They’re just definitely trying to tap back into that movement shooting that I just wasn’t required to do at Milwaukee. You talk about point-five decision-making, getting off the ball quickly, making a quick decision — whether that’s [Steph Curry] or that’s me, you got to make quick decisions. Just knowing who to locate, how to set good screens. Just being a complete offensive team player.

“That’s something that I’ve already learned and picked up pretty quickly here, that we love to share the ball here,” Baldwin explained.

In his one season at Milwaukee, Baldwin struggled, as he was tasked with lots of heavy-lifting and an ankle injury threw him off for the majority of the year. Baldwin appeared in 11 games, averaging 12.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 34.4% shooting from the field and 26.6% shooting from behind the three-point line.

As far as improvements in the big leagues, Baldwin thinks it’s only a matter of time.

Baldwin: ‘I’m Gonna Start to Take Off’

While Baldwin may not have lived up to the hype in college, there is still plenty of time for him to figure things out at the NBA level. The rookie believes that once he figures out the speed of the game, he’ll be even better in the future.

“I think baseline, I have a lot of skills that I need to tap into. But once I figure out the speed of the game, the pace of the game, defensive concepts, offensive concepts… I think that’s when I’m gonna start to take off.

“The quicker I can study in the film room and learn from some of the great players I’m gonna be playing with, I think the better I’m going to be off in the future,” said Baldwin.

The youngster may not have a huge role on the team next season, but at just 19 years old, he has plenty of time to develop in the Warriors’ system.

.

Tags: