Much to the chagrin of Draymond Green, not to mention the whole of Dub Nation, Golden State Warriors wing Jordan Poole did not win the NBA‘s Most Improved Player Award. Not only that — the baller wasn’t even a finalist for the trophy.
That doesn’t change the fact that the 22-year-old expanded his game to an exponential degree in 2021-22. And Poole’s star turn has clearly continued into postseason play.
After averaging 18.5 points per contest during the regular season — which was up from 12.0 in 2020-21 — Poole has been Golden State’s No. 2 scorer through six playoff games at 22.7 points per contest. He has also averaged six assists and more than three rebounds while hitting 56.1% of his shots and 48.8% from deep.
According to one league insider, Poole has made it all possible by being willing to do more and go farther than any of his famously hard-working teammates.
Spears: Poole Is the Ultimate Workhorse
During a recent appearance on The Hoop Collective with Brian Windhorst, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears made an incredible statement about Poole’s will and desire to improve. In short, he intimated that the baller’s work ethic is considered the best among all of the Warriors players.
You read that correctly — on a team that’s led by Stephen Curry, Poole is the shining example of the lunchpail mentality.
“I kept hearing that his work ethic was the best on the team,” Spears said. “Best on the team? Better than Klay and Steph? Hey, best on the team? He built himself, credit to him. The Warriors built him into, you know, credit to Chris DeMarco that built him into this.”
DeMarco, of course, is the Warriors’ player development coach. And he has been working intimately with Poole dating back to 2019. In particular, the coach played a key role in helping to foster his growth amid pandemic-related restrictions in 2020.
However, it was Poole who recognized what needed to be done and set the tone throughout the process.
“I just knew that if I was able to get in there every single day for however long the pandemic was,” Poole said of his one-on-one sessions with DeMarco, via ESPN. “I knew I would improve in some way or fashion.”
The latest Golden State Warriors news straight to your inbox! Heavy on Warriors newsletter here!
Poole’s Bench Explosion
With the Warriors facing a unique challenge in attempting to contain Grizzlies star Ja Morant, head coach Steve Kerr opted to put Poole back on the bench in favor of defensive ace Gary Payton II. Clearly, the “demotion” did little to slow Poole down, as he responded by scoring a team-high 31 points during Game 1.
And while other players of Poole’s status may have quibbled about being relegated to the second unit, the breakout wing was more than willing to do what was necessary to help his team win.
“It’s the playoffs,” Poole said of the change, via the Mercury News. “Whatever coach wants to do help win games just to close it. Being able to trust every single person from the top of the line down to the bottom. It was really amazing.”
READ NEXT:
Comments
Insider Reveals Wild Jordan Poole Chatter: ‘Better Than Klay & Steph?’