Jordan Poole spent four weeks in Orlando last season, tearing through the G League bubble as a dominant force with the Santa Cruz Warriors. He hasn’t slowed down since.
Since rejoining Golden State in March, Poole has established himself as a rising star and breakout candidate for the 2021-22 season. Sure, Steph Curry will always be the main attraction when it comes to the Dubs, but Poole is the player fans might be the most excited to watch during the regular season.
The Warriors kick off their campaign with a marquee matchup at Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. During his media session with reporters Sunday, Poole said the Warriors have title aspirations on their mind.
“Everybody in the locker room wants to win a championship, first and foremost,” Poole said. “Whatever that takes, whether it’s sacrifice, adjustments, anything.”
Poole might have to make the biggest adjustment of all this season. He has been so explosive on offense during the preseason that coach Steve Kerr can’t keep him out of the starting lineup to begin the year. But Klay Thompson is expected to practice at full speed by mid-November and return by December or January, meaning Poole would likely head to the bench as an uber-valuable sixth man.
What if Poole is averaging more than 20 points per game at that point of the season and improving, though? Personally, if I were coaching the Dubs and were using them on NBA 2K, I’d use Curry, Poole and Thompson on the floor together with Andrew Wiggins at power forward and Draymond Green at center. If you’re going small-ball, how much fun would that lineup be? Forget the potential defensive matchup problems and take the buckets, baby.
But, seriously, if the Warriors do return to the playoffs following a two-season hiatus, you have to figure that Poole will play some sort of key role.
“Our expectations are definitely higher this year than they have been the last couple years,” Kerr said.
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Poole created instant offense for the Dubs during the five exhibition games, scoring at nearly a point-a-minute clip. He averaged 21.8 points in 22.7 minutes, shooting 50.6 percent from the floor while making 3.2 3-pointers per game at a 36.4 percent rate.
Poole already plays like a dude who drops 25 a night, with his swagger overflowing. When asked if he has been surprised by his preseason success, Poole calmly and confidently replied, “No, not at all.”
He can razzle, dazzle, get to the rim and pull up from 30 feet. But Kerr wants to see more consistency with routine plays, citing poor passes and some “overly ambitious” drives in the preseason finale against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.
“We want him to hit singles instead of hit home runs,” Kerr said. “[Saturday] night he was over swinging a little bit.”
Last week, Kerr also told reporters that he and his staff are pushing Poole to develop on the defensive side of the ball, something the 22-year-old said he’s embracing.
“If anything, I look at it as a good thing that your coaching staff and your head coach are challenging you to be more than just a one-dimensional player,” Poole said. “Especially as a young guy, if your coaches are lighting a fire under you to be good, they wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have the potential. Definitely taking it as a challenge.”
Some are already anointing Poole the leader of the next wave of Warriors, along with other youngsters like James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. But Poole is focused on keeping the Warriors title window open, starting Tuesday night.
"We still got Steph, Klay and Draymond," Poole said. "I don’t even think that the first run is over with. Whenever you got those guys on your team, you’re always going to have a chance."
