On the day the Warriors topped the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2015 NBA title, Jordan Poole was three days shy of his 16th birthday. At that point, he had just wrapped up his first varsity season at Rufus King high school in Milwaukee as a sophomore.
Seven years later and he’s about to enter the postseason with Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala – and hopefully – Steph Curry.
Poole was one of several Warriors to stop by 95.7 The Game's “Steiny & Guru” live broadcast from Chase Center Wednesday. He gave an insightful look into his career from his rookie struggles to now, as he’s primed to make a lot of money with a big contract extension in the summer. You can listen to his full interview above.
Following Saturday’s heart-pumping 111-107 comeback win over the Utah Jazz, Poole and Thompson shared a big embrace. Poole told 95.7 The Game hosts Matt Steinmetz and Daryle “The Guru” Johnson about the significance of that moment, after he watched Klay drop 36 points.
“We’re so close,” Poole said. “For me, personally, being the team player that I am and the playmaker I am, I love to see my teammates have a great game or go nuts. That’s just something that’s stuck with me since I’ve been young. Seeing him dominate the way he did and help us the way he did was amazing to feel, amazing to be a part of.
"I was in high school not too long ago watching these guys win championship after championship. It feels amazing to be a part of. I personally wanted to show him, I’m lil bro and I’m watching, and I’m definitely a fan for sure.”
Just two years ago, Poole was floundering as a rookie. After being selected No. 28 overall out of Michigan, he looked overmatched and his numbers told the story. Poole finished the campaign with a 33.3 percent shooting percentage and 27.9 percent from 3-point land.
According to his teammates and coaches, Poole’s work ethic never wavered despite his struggles. Poole said something clicked for him early in his career.
“I really started to buckle down and work in December of my rookie season,” Poole said. “I haven’t really let go since then and everything’s kinda been able to fall into place.”
Now he has become a crucial part to this team’s chances to winning another title, the fourth of the Dubs Dynasty era. Poole is among a short list of players who are currently riding a streak of at least 17 games with 20-plus points.
That’s elite company. He’s approaching stardom sooner than most thought after all that rookie season chatter.
“You hear stuff like that pretty often,” Poole said. “It didn’t (affect me). I knew what I was capable of and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would be able to make people eat their words. That’s kinda been something I’ve been used to my entire life. Like I said, It just came time. Luckily, we were able to turn it around.”
Poole is excited to take the next step in his career and prove he can be a winner in the postseason.
“I wanna be able to rise up to the level that those guys are playing at,” Poole said. “I want them to go out there and have the utmost confidence and trust in me to play my game. And know that I’m going to help them win and nothing’s on the back of my mind since Day 1. So when you talk about hearing all the noise earlier on, yeah that’s cool, but I need to make sure Draymond and Steph and Klay and Andre know that when we go out there, they don’t gotta worry about looking over their shoulder.”
