Getty Moses Moody #4 of the Golden State Warriors goes up for a rebound against Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half at Chase Center on April 4, 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The Golden State Warriors are the quintessential NBA team in more ways than one.
In an age of player empowerment that has spurred extensive player movement, particularly among superstars, the Dubs have kept their core trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green together for more than a decade. The result has been six trips to the NBA Finals and four championship rings in the last eight years.
A host of role players have cycled through the organization, including several on multiple occasions like Andre Iguodala and Gary Payton II, just to name a couple. Young players fresh out of college have also entered the mix, setting aside their egos and adapting the selfless culture of team basketball that Golden State promotes in a more seamless fashion than most rookies entering the NBA through other organizations.
A prime example of this is second-year guard Moses Moody, who the Dubs drafted 14th overall in 2021. Moody has seen a couple of newcomers usurp him in minutes played this season, but has handled the situation with a level of professionalism that head coach Steve Kerr lauded on Wednesday, April 5, when speaking with 95.7 The Game’s Willard & Dibs.
Steve Kerr said him and Bob Myers sat down with Moses Moody six weeks ago to discuss his lack of playing time:
“He just said, ‘I chose to develop in the NBA. … This is part of it.’ It was so eye-opening to hear a young guy say something like that.”
(via @WillardAndDibs)
“I chose to develop in the NBA,” Moody told Kerr and GM Bob Myers six weeks ago. “This is part of it.”
Moody’s comments surprised even Kerr, who has been both a championship player and coach, as well as a former national broadcast announcer and team executive in the league.
“It was so eye-opening to hear a young guy say something like that,” Kerr said Wednesday.
Warriors Newcomers Jerome, Lamb Playing More Minutes Than Moody
GettyShooting guard Ty Jerome of the Golden State Warriors dribbles the ball during a game against the Miami Heat at Chase Center on October 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Moody’s minutes in the 2022-23 campaign are up from his rookie year, though only slightly. The shooting guard averaged 11.7 minutes per night two seasons ago and is getting 12.8 minutes of floor time this year, according to Basketball Reference. His counting statistics are nearly identical, with fractional upgrades in points, assists and steals per contest.
As far as appearances go, Moody will actually outpace his tally from 2021-22 by double figures. He played in 52 regular season games during his rookie campaign and had registered 62 games played this season as of Thursday, with two outings remaining on the schedule.
The issue is that while others on the team have seen their minutes increase during the absences of players like Curry and Andrew Wiggins, Moody’s floor time has remained stagnant. New additions to Golden State this year in shooting guard Ty Jerome and small forward Anthony Lamb have outpaced Moody’s floor time by 5.3 minutes and 6.9 minutes per game, respectively.
Kerr spoke to why that has been the case during an interview with 95.7 The Game’s Damon & Rattoin in February.
“What you have to keep in mind is there’s only so many guys you can play and, frankly, Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome have both played really well and played positions of need for us given the injuries,” Kerr explained. “That’s why those guys have seen more minutes than Moses.”
Moses Moody Has Proven to Warriors He is Playoff Ready
GettyShooting guard Moses Moody of the Golden State Warriors.
What Moody’s role will be in the postseason is hard to gauge and will likely depend on overall team health, foul trouble and individual matchups.
However, the shooting guard did have a solid outing against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a big win for Golden State on Tuesday. Moody played 26 minutes, the most of this calendar year and the most this season since December 21. He shot 5-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from deep, scoring 13 points to go along with five rebounds, an assist and a block.
Moody is shooting nearly 36% from the 3-point line for his career and proved last season that he could play meaningful playoff minutes for the Warriors if called upon. The positive attitude he expressed to Kerr and Myers in February is proof that Moody will be ready when his postseason opportunities arise and can be counted on by his teammates.
Moody may also get a chance to tune up a bit before the start of the playoffs, as Golden State finishes the year with road games against the Sacramento Kings on Friday and the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
The Warriors are currently the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, tied with the Los Angeles Clippers at 42-38, though the Clippers own the tiebreaker. Each team is one game ahead of the No. 7 seed Los Angles Lakers, who would host an NBA Play-In Tournament game if the season ended today.