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The battle between the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors is more than a battle between two teams. It has also become a rookie battle between Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandin Podziemski.
The two teams were next to each other in the 2023 NBA draft, with the Miami Heat picking at 18th and the Golden State Warriors at 19th. Miami picked Jaime Jaquez Jr. from UCLA, while the Warriors picked Brandin Podziemski from Santa Clara.
Flash forward to their first encounter of the 2023-24 season, and both head coaches, Steve Kerr and Erik Spoelstra, said they did great in picking up the players they wanted in the draft.
"Funny 'cause you brought up Spo, we texted each other on draft night and we both said the same thing," Kerr revealed during the post-game press conference. "I said, 'I love the guy you got'. We love the guy we got but we also love the [guy they got]. They really liked Brandin [Podziemski] and we really liked Jaime [Jaquez Jr.]."
Kerr and Spoelstra spent the summer together as coaches of the USA basketball team that had a fourth-place finish in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Brandin Podziemski, Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s performances so far in their rookie season
The Miami Heat defeated the Golden State Warriors by 12 points, 114-102, at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. Beyond the scores, rookies Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandin Podziemski were good contributors.
Jaquez Jr. finished with 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and one steal for the Heat, while Podziemski tallied 10 points, six assists and three rebounds.
Finding a player to contribute like this in the NBA as the 18th and 19th pick in the draft is already a success. Steve Kerr sees this as a testament that each team's front office has done a good job finding players that fit their system.
"Shows our front office is doing something right, I guess. Those guys have turned out to be really good players," said Kerr. "It's impressive watching Jaime play. He is strong, physical, very skilled, obviously comes in with a ton of experience. He's made a huge impact."
In 30 games played, Jaime Jaquez Jr. gave the Miami Heat 13.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game. On the other hand, the Golden State Warriors are getting from Brandin Podziemski 8.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 24 games.
