Monday belonged to Warriors star Jordan Poole.
The fourth-year guard showed just how far he's come both on and off the court, on a night where the first 10,000 fans in attendance at Chase Center received a Poole bobblehead.
Poole, starting for Klay Thompson -- who was out for rest purposes on the second half of a back-to-back -- went off for 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting in Golden State's easy win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs.
Poole also chipped in two rebounds, two assists, three steals, a block, and registered a game-high +33 in 29 minutes.
Incredibly, Poole's huge game marked the first time this season that a player logged at least 30 points and a plus-minus of +30, and shot 60% from the field, according to Warriors Muse.
Interestingly, it was also a night of reflection for Poole.
With center James Wiseman being assigned to the G-League following the game, Poole was seen consoling Wiseman and giving him a "pep talk."
Asked later about what he told Wiseman, Poole said he told the third-year center to embrace the opportunity to improve his game out of the bright lights of the NBA.
“I told him it’s not a demotion," Poole said. "It’s not a punishment. He’s going to go down there and shoot as many shots as he wants, get as many touches as he wants, work on as many moves as he wants.”
Poole would know.
He himself was sent down to refine his game two seasons ago, and seemed all the better for it when he returned last season, beating out Otto Porter and Damion Lee for the starting shooting guard spot while Thompson was recovering from injury.
Coach Steve Kerr echoed Poole's remarks, saying he still believes in Wiseman's talent, and that the former No. 2 overall draft pick just needs consistent reps to improve his game.
For Poole, he will have to draw on some of that maturity and experience in what has been an up-and-down season for him as well so far. He has thrived in spot starts in place of Thompson, and struggled at times with the second unit, which has lagged far behind the play of the starters.
The gap between the starters and reserves was perhaps best personified by Wiseman. He has seen his minutes trending down in recent games, and Kerr suggested veteran JaMychal Green would continue to soak up those minutes as the backup to starting center Kevon Looney with Wiseman now in Santa Cruz.
A pair of notable bench players in forward Jonathan Kuminga and guard Moses Moody saw an uptick in playing time on Monday, but that might have been explained by the Warriors' 37-point margin of victory. It remains to be seen whether they will continue to see more action in the games ahead with Thompson back on the floor.
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