The changes Brandin Podziemski made in offseason to play all 82 Warriors games

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Brandin Podziemski’s original plan last offseason was to stay in San Francisco. The first option was nixed, so he pivoted to home. Podziemski’s next plan was to go back and get his summer work done in the Milwaukee area, coming off his second NBA season, which ended in the second round of the playoffs. From Plan A to Plan B, Podziemski finally landed on the right Plan C for him to avoid one obstacle: Distractions. His father, John, used a favorite movie of theirs for inspiration. “Remember how Rocky trained in Rocky IV?” he’d ask his son. “All focus, no distractions.” The change in direction helped put Podziemski on the path of being one of 18 NBA players in 2025-26 to play all 82 games in his third season, and the only one on the Warriors. Podziemski played 74 games as a rookie, but that number dropped to 64 last season, making health and longevity a new main goal of his. Like the Warriors did for Buddy Hield last season, and Kevon Looney at the end of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 regular seasons, Podziemski received a loud ovation from coaches and teammates in the visiting locker room Sunday night in LA after the regular-season finale, a game he limped off the floor in the first quarter from a knee to his thigh, returning in the second. “Not easy to do these days, especially with the pace and the space and the ground these guys cover every single night,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s one of Brandin’s best qualities, really, is that he’s there for us every single day, every single night. He’s just really durable, he loves to play. That’s quite a feat.” Instead of staying in San Francisco or opting for the Midwest, Podziemski spent a large chunk of his offseason training in Orlando. The initial reason was the weather, and not for days spent tanning at the beach. Podziemski missed games last season due to a broken nose, abdominal strain and a back injury. He then underwent two surgeries last summer. Podziemski had surgery on his left wrist in late May, and then just two weeks later, he had surgery to repair a core muscle injury. Staying stagnant isn’t how Podziemski is wired. Picking Orlando allowed him to check the boxes he needed to, one step at a time.“I think really just to first ramp up my conditioning with the heat, the humidity,” Podziemski explained to NBC Sports Bay Area. “Just wanted to be somewhere warm where I could, not catch up but knowing I was behind the eight ball, not being able to do anything May, June, July because of my surgeries. It was somewhere I could get back into shape quickly. So that was the place, and it worked.” Surrounding himself with the right people also played a big part in Podziemski’s focus.He wasn’t in a rugged Siberian cabin to isolate himself. But like Rocky primarily only bringing Apollo Creed’s former trainer and his own brother-in-law, Paulie, with him to prepare for Ivan Drago, aside from a few friends who play overseas to be part of drills and on-court work, Podziemski only brought his shooting coach, Dustin VanLieu, and a nutritionist one of his agents found as Warriors strength coaches popped in here and there for workouts over a six-week period. Learning about his body became a study course of sorts for Podziemski. As a sophomore at Santa Clara, he missed just one game, so health never was a question going into the pre-draft process a few years ago. He then couldn’t understand why he had back problems as a rookie. It turns out he didn’t. An MRI revealed his pain had nothing to do with his back. Podziemski began firing questions left and right to find answers. The answers began in his hips. “When your hips are tight, they start pulling on your hamstrings, your quad, your groin,” Podziemski says. “So that led to the groin stuff and learning that and how it all connects and how to keep things loose and flowy, and then strengthening your core. I think it all stems from that as well. “I’ve been able to learn all that over three years now and that helped me play all 82.” Someone who puts their body on the floor as much as Podziemski is bound to be shelved here and there, dusting off bumps and bruises and hoping not to be sidelined for too long. The hard-nosed guard led the NBA in charges drawn as a rookie, finished third in his second year and second in Year 3. The best ability truly is availability for a team that entered the season with the NBA’s second-oldest roster. There wasn’t one Drago in Podziemski’s way. Maybe there wasn’t 82, but getting through an NBA season is attuned to stepping in the ring for 12 rounds against a steroid-popping, pulverizing machine. Podziemski took his hits and got back up repeatedly, raising his hands in victory at the final bell. No distractions, one singular focus. Podziemski made his body a book to learn from with each page he turned, and now can proudly open the doors of the All 82 Club.Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

The changes Brandin Podziemski made in offseason to play all 82 Warriors games

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