Getty Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors have been able to stay dominant for so long due to their elite player development. Guys like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, and more have all been drafted by the Warriors and developed internally.
Over the past few years, Jordan Poole has become their latest project, and he’s turning into an All-Star caliber player. But according to LA Clippers star Paul George, he didn’t see the emergence of Poole coming during his rookie season.
“I gotta shout out Jordan Poole because I didn’t see the vision from year one to year two,” George said on his podcast “Podcast P with Paul George.” “And don’t hate me, Jordan Poole. If you asked me after watching him the first year if he was going to be good, I would be like, ‘Nah, I don’t see it.’”
Poole’s first year in the league was when the Warriors were going through a little bit of a rebuilding process. He played 22.4 minutes per game, but the team went just 15-50 on the season, as Curry, Thompson, and Green were absent for a large majority of the year.
However, by Poole’s second year in the league, George had come to realize just how good the young Warriors guard is. In fact, he sees him as a third member of the Splash Brothers.
“I guess you don’t have a choice but to learn and be a sponge and raise your game [when] you get to play with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson,” George said. “So when I [saw] him in year two, I was like, ‘Wow.’ I was literally like, ‘Damn, it’s three of them now.’”
Stephen Curry Delivers Frustrated Rant
On Wednesday night, the Warriors’ road struggles continued as they lost their contest against the LA Clippers. After the game, Curry delivered a frustrated rant about the team’s overall play this season.
“I mean, y’all know me,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “It’s nice to play well and shoot well. That’s what I expect to do every night. No matter what the stat sheet looks like after the game, it’s just frustrating when you can’t get over the hump and figure out a way to get a win. Especially with where we’ve been all season on the road. So, our job is to just keep playing, keep competing at a high level, and try to figure it out. Whatever I got during the process individually, it’s what I expect to do. So, I’m just going to keep doing that.”
Kawhi Leonard Sounds Off on Stephen Curry
Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard spoke about what it was like to face off against Curry for the first time in years, as they have both been held back by injuries.
“Yeah, I mean, you already know what he can do,” Leonard said of Curry via The Sporting Tribune on YouTube. “He brings the best out of everyone on the floor. You have to stay tuned into his game, locked in at all times. Because one second, you’re not thinking about him. He’s going to come and make shots. So, yeah, it was great to see him back out there. It was fun.”
