Warriors’ Podziemski, Jackson-Davis named to USA Select Team
The Select Team will train with Team USA in Las Vegas before the Summer games.
Trayce Jackson-Davis and Brandin Podziemski’s busy offseasons just got busier.
Both young Warriors were chosen for USA’s Select Team, a group of elite young players who will train for a couple days with Team USA in Las Vegas ahead of the Summer Olympics. That they were identified and chosen is a good sign for how the league views them.
Podziemski, a First-Team All-Rookie, led the NBA in charges drawn and hauled in the most total rebounds on the Warriors. Jackson-Davis emerged as a rim-running, shot-blocking center during the second half of the year.
The Select Team will practice with Team USA — led by Steph Curry and coached by Steve Kerr — in Vegas from July 6-8.
Right after that weekend, the NBA’s Summer League begins in the same city. Both Podziemski and Jackson-Davis are expected to participate in that, as well.
Podziemski is tasked this summer with improving his on-ball playmaking. As the lead guard on the Warriors’ Summer League team, he’ll have ample opportunities to flex his creating muscles.
“It’ll be an opportunity for me and him to lead a team and to be the best players out there,” Podziemski said in his exit interview. “To lead other guys who are new coming in or played on our G League squad with us, and win. I think it’s super critical for Mike (Dunleavy Jr.) to see the leadership me and Trayce can provide.”
Beyond Podziemski and Jackson-Davis, the Select Team includes projected 2025 top pick Cooper Flagg, Pelicans sharp-shooter Trey Murphy, defensive ace Jalen Suggs, Kings stretch-four Keegan Murray and buzzer-beater wizard Payton Pritchard. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Heat), Brandon Miller (Hornets), Jabari Smith Jr. (Rockets), Amen Thompson (Rockets), and Jalen Duren (Pistons) are also on the team.
Wiggins out for Team Canada
Andrew Wiggins, who was on Team Canada’s training camp roster, reportedly won’t represent his native country.
Per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, the decision to hold Wiggins out of the Summer Games was made mutually between him and the Warriors over a medical issue. Wiggins played through pain at various points of last season, including a foot sprain in February and an ankle injury late in the year.
Wiggins could be involved in a trade this offseason, though he maintains value to Golden State as its best on-ball wing defender.
It’s a big blow for Team Canada, which is expected to put together a formidable roster that includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, Lu Dort, Dillon Brooks and Andrew Nembhard.