Getty Stephen Curry and Moses Moody of the Golden State Warriors high-five during a game against the LA Clippers.
It took Moses Moody a hot minute to get going during his first year with the Golden State Warriors. The 20-year-old didn’t notch double-digit minutes in consecutive games until mid-December. And, at that particular moment in time, he was averaging just 1.9 points per contest and shooting 33.3% from the field.
By year’s end, though, the Dubs’ other rookie had made clear the reason why team president Bob Myers selected him 14th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Over a six-game stretch in February/March, Moody averaged 12.2 points in just under 23 minutes per outing and shot 58.7% from the field (and 50% from deep). Then, during the Warriors’ postseason run, he found himself thrust into the conference-finals rotation while the club awaited Gary Payton II’s return. For the most part, he acquitted himself well, too.
For year two, though, Moody doesn’t want to be just a capable fill-in or a garbage-time hero. Instead, he has designs on expediting his development to the point that the team is counting on him to deliver in the biggest moments.
Facilitating the Year-Two Jump
Even with the team signing Donte DiVincenzo to help make up for the loss of Payton, Moody figures to be in for an upswing in playing time next season. To that end, he already has some ideas about how he’ll boost his efficacy with the increased minutes.
“Mainly, I’m thinking about coming off down screens, coming off pin-ins,” Moody told The Athletic‘s Anthony Slater about expanding his offensive output. “Dribble handoffs. Knocking down shots like that. I want to become a better shooter stationary, but also off movement.”
He’s not just focused on one side of the court, either.
“Right now, I feel like I’m a good defender,” Moody said. “I use my length. I use my size. Reactivity. All that. But I want to cause more havoc. Right now, you can’t really get past me. But I want to speed you up. I want to mess with the ball. Make you have to get off it. Upping the pressure. I want to add that intensity to my defense.”
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Becoming a Key Cog
While Moody is getting granular in his approach to improving his game this summer, he’s also keeping the bigger picture in mind. The former Arkansas standout expressed to Slater that he’s confident in his ability to “go in there [and do what he does],” but he doesn’t want to be just another guy on the floor.
Instead, he’s looking to do the following:
Try to win another championship. Try to make myself beneficial. Make it to the point where if I’m getting into the game, it’s not because someone likes me. It’s not doing me a favor. I want to be needed. I want you to think ‘I need Moses on the floor.’ That’s on me. I gotta make that the scenario.
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